Visual Arts Undergraduate Academic Programs

Work toward the B.F.A. degree in Visual Arts starts with foundation courses that introduce the techniques and materials, as well as the artistic and cultural questions of contemporary art. Intermediate and concentrated courses offer training in these major areas:

  • Video
  • Graphic Design
  • Painting
  • Photography
  • Printmaking
  • Sculpture/Ceramics
The Graphic Design concentration offers courses in information gathering, conceptual development, and visual/verbal image communication in a variety of presentational media formats. Students focus on one of these major areas.

The B.F.A. degree in Visual Arts requires a total of 120 credits. Approximately two-thirds of a student's coursework is in the major field, with the following distribution:

First-year fundamental art courses
Artmaking (2 terms) 6 credits
Drawing Fundamentals (2 terms) 6 credits
Seminar In Contemporary Art (2 terms) 6 credits
Subtotal 18 credits

Other Arts Requirements
Studio Concentration (6 terms) 18 credits
Studio Electives (8 terms) 24 credits
Critical Studies (2 terms) 6 credits
Visual Arts Practice (3 terms) 3 credits
Thesis and Exhibition (2 terms) 6 credits
Art history (4 terms) 12 credits
Subtotal 69 credits

Liberal arts and science courses
Expository Writing 3 credits
Research in the discipline 3 credits
Literature or philosophy 3 credits
Humanities 6 credits
Social and behavioral sciences 9 credits
Mathematics, Physical, or Life Sciences 6 credits
Liberal arts elective 3 credits
Subtotal 33 credits

Total: 120 credits

The Graphic Design concentration is limited to twenty students who are selected by competitive portfolio review in the sophmore year of the B.F.A. a and B.A. program.

Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design--Newark Campus

In addition to the specialization in Graphic Design offered on the New Brunswick campus as part of the B.F.A. degree program in Visual Arts, students interested in graphic design can enroll in the Mason Gross School of the Arts B.F.A. degree program offered on the Newark campus of Rutgers University. Students interested in pursuing a B.F.A. degree in Graphic Design in Newark should contact the Rutgers-Newark Art Department office at 973-353-5600.