School of Visual Art and Design
Laura Kissel, Director
Degree Programs
The Bachelor of Arts degree is available with majors in art history, art studio, and media arts. A Bachelor of Fine Arts degree is offered in art studio and art education. The art education BFA is designed for students who seek certification to teach art in K-12 settings. The Bachelor of Fine Arts in art studio offers concentrations in: ceramics, drawing, graphic design, painting, photography, printmaking, and 3D/sculpture.
The School of Visual Art and Design offers four major areas of study and several degrees in the fields of ART EDUCATION, ART HISTORY, ART STUDIO, and MEDIA ARTS.
Students pursuing a degree in ART EDUCATION receive broad exposure to studio art, art history, education, critical perspectives and aesthetics, and can earn certification to teach art in K-12 schools.
The ART HISTORY program offers courses in art and architecture across cultures and from antiquity to the present. Students develop skills in research, analysis, criticism, and theory.
ART STUDIO encompasses seven areas of studio specialization within the BFA degree: ceramics, drawing, graphic design, painting, photography, printmaking, and 3D/sculpture.
Students pursuing a degree in MEDIA ARTS study media practices and global media cultures in courses where they analyze and produce media such as films, video games, manga, animations, internet art, mobile applications, screenplays, and more.
Interested in film and media studies?
Interested in film and media production?
Honors Sections
The School of Visual Art and Design participates in the University’s Honors College. Each year, one or more sections of art, media, or art history courses are generally offered for honors students.
Scholarships
A limited number of competitive scholarships are available for School of Visual Art and Design majors, including incoming freshmen. Contact the department office or visit the School of Visual Art and Design website for further information.
Class Attendance
Students are obligated to complete all assigned work promptly, to attend class regularly, and to participate in whatever class discussion may occur. The instructor’s attendance policy should be ascertained by the student at the beginning of the semester. Faculty members should notify classes specifically of the attendance policy which they intend to follow in each class.
Courses
Introduction to art appreciation. Elements and principles of the visual arts, with examples from the history of art.
Carolina Core: AIU
Topics selected by the instructor for specialized study. Course content may include a variety of new, contemporary, and emerging art-related issues that are not regularly included in the general art education curriculum. May be repeated.
The study of relationships among visual arts, music, theatre, and dance.
Carolina Core: AIU
The language of art is taught through viewing, interpreting, producing, and appreciating art. Historical and contemporary art criticism; methods of teaching art criticism to children and young adults.
CL: 2020.
Graduation with Leadership Distinction: GLD: Research
Methods of teaching art to elementary and preschool children. Major emphasis will be given to relevant studio experiences.
Curriculum, methods, and materials for teaching art to elementary and preschool children.
Experiential practice and learning in elementary schools.
A study of prominent theories of the artistic development of children from infancy through adolescence. Students will examine children’s art from various age groups and apply theoretical explanations to these observations.
An introduction to art education as a profession. The history, curricular development, and current issues are examined. Students practice proven teaching techniques.
A sequence of supervised practicum experiences in middle and secondary school art education settings. Seminars and group discussions.
Applications new media such as digital photography, sound, and other interactive hypermedia for the art classroom. Emphasis on integrating art production with art history, criticism, and aesthetics.
Curriculum, methods, and materials for teaching art to secondary school students.
Corequisite: EDSE 471.
Students seeking K-12 certification in art participate in directed teaching in elementary and secondary art programs while being supervised by an art education faculty member. Students are evaluated using a state-mandated assessment tool. Completion of course work in art education, admission to professional program, College of Education, and FBI check are required.
Graduation with Leadership Distinction: GLD: Professional and Civic Engagement Internships
A workshop especially for teachers and prospective teachers, featuring practical art experiences and projects for elementary and secondary school. Topic varies by title.
The visual arts from Paleolithic times to the Renaissance.
Carolina Core: AIU
Graduation with Leadership Distinction: GLD: Global Learning
The visual arts from the Renaissance to the present.
Carolina Core: AIU
Graduation with Leadership Distinction: GLD: Global Learning
Art and culture of India, China, and Japan from prehistory to the present.
Carolina Core: GHS
A survey of ancient architecture, painting, and sculpture 2000-160 B.C.
An examination of the development of architecture, painting, and sculpture until the end of the Roman Empire.
Graduation with Leadership Distinction: GLD: Global Learning
A survey of architecture, painting, and sculpture in Europe during the Middle Ages.
The origins and development of Renaissance painting, sculpture, and architecture in Italy during the 15th and 16th centuries.
Graduation with Leadership Distinction: GLD: Global Learning
The arts of Northern Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries with particular emphasis on the developments in the Low Countries, Germany, and France.
Graduation with Leadership Distinction: GLD: Global Learning
The art and architecture of Italy and Spain in the 17th century.
Graduation with Leadership Distinction: GLD: Global Learning
The art and architecture of Holland, Flanders, France, England, Germany, and Austria in the 17th century.
Graduation with Leadership Distinction: GLD: Global Learning
A survey of eighteenth-century European painting and sculpture, following the lives and works of major artists, changes in style and taste against the backdrop of a broader cultural and historical context.
A survey of nineteenth-century European painting and sculpture, following the lives and works of major artists, changes in style and taste against the backdrop of a broader cultural and historical context.
Considers anatomical instruction in artistic training; anatomy and ideas of beauty and morality; role of art in dissemination of anatomical/medical information; why artistic representations of medicine and anatomy feature in popular culture; role of art in medical training; how art has imagined anato-medical improbabilities that are now reality.
A survey of architecture, painting, and sculpture in the 20th century.
Architecture from the turn of the century until the present.
A survey of the history of art in America from colonial times to 1860.
A survey of art in America from 1860 to the present.
Recent trends in painting and sculpture.
A survey of the visual arts of India, China, and Japan from prehistory to the present.
Sculpture, painting, architecture of Sub-Saharan Africa.
Art criticism from antiquity to the present.
Survey of the international cinema from its inception until 1945.
Survey of the international cinema from 1945 to the present.
Topic varies by title.
CL: 2020.
Graduation with Leadership Distinction: GLD: Research
Graduation with Leadership Distinction: GLD: Research
Graduation with Leadership Distinction: GLD: Research
A seminar for art history majors and graduate students in the history and various methodologies of the discipline.
Supervised experience in the field of art history, including museums, galleries, art dealers and auction houses. Requires a university internship contract and is subject to approval by advisor. May be repeated.
Graduation with Leadership Distinction: GLD: Professional and Civic Engagement Internships
Seminar in the art and civilization of the pre-Roman Etruscan peoples of Italy. Slide lectures, discussion sessions, and some examination of archaeological field methods and pottery classification.
Topic varies by title.
Topic varies by title.
An analysis of the paintings and painters of importance during the period of the Renaissance in Europe.
A survey of the major developments in the art of sculpture associated with the European Renaissance.
European architecture and architectural theory during the 15th and 16th centuries.
The artistic development of Florence from the age of Giotto to that of Michelangelo as seen in the context of social and cultural developments.
Topic varies by title.
A detailed examination of 20th century painting.
The development of sculpture in the 19th and 20th centuries with special attention to contemporary tendencies.
Topic varies by title.
Important aspects of American painting with emphasis on the 19th and 20th centuries.
A consideration of the evolution of architecture in America including aspects of town and city planning.
A survey of our material culture concentrating upon the evolution of styles.
Topic varies by title.
Topics in modern Chinese art selected for specialized study. May be repeated as content varies by title.
Topics in Asian art selected for specialized study. May be repeated as content varies by title.
Topic varies by title.
A critical examination of the development of the discipline of art history and an analysis of its major trends and theoretical positions.
Technical, aesthetical, and historical study of the development of printmaking.
The history and theory of museums and an introduction to museum practices in the setting of a multi-disciplinary institution. Practical experience provided through the various units of the University Museums.
Museum practices emphasizing the conservation, installation, and interpretation of the object in the context of an art museum. Practical experience provided through the Columbia Museum of Art.
History, theory, practices, ethics, and procedures of modern art conservation. Practical experience provided through the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology.
Intensive study of a specific topic in film and media history. May be repeated as content varies by title.
Independent study for advanced undergraduate majors and graduate students in art history. Approved independent study contract required for enrollment. May be repeated, but no more than 12 credits of Independent Study may be applied to the degree.
A foundations level course in the use of personal computers and discipline-related software as aids in visual design.
Introduction to visual thinking and principles of two-dimensional design.
Carolina Core: AIU
Introduction to visual thinking and principles of three-dimensional design.
Carolina Core: AIU
Graduation with Leadership Distinction: GLD: Research
Color, color theory, and compositional systems.
Introduction to the materials and basic techniques of drawing.
An introductory course in the materials and techniques of painting.
Carolina Core: AIU
Exploration of materials and techniques of painting with emphasis on individual creative expression.
An introductory course in printmaking with emphasis on monotype, relief, and intaglio prosesses.
An introduction to the materials and techniques of ceramics through hand-building and throwing on the wheel.
An introductory course in the concepts, materials, and techniques of three-dimensional media.
The structural nature of figure, with emphasis on the translation of form in space onto a two-dimensional surface.
Drawing from the human figure.
An introductory course in the materials and processes of fiber arts.
Color theory, systems, and applications in visual communications.
Graduation with Leadership Distinction: GLD: Research
The basics of visual communication, including formal issues, fundamental communication principles, image development, and relevant digital applications.
Typography, word/image relationships, relevant digital applications.
Introduction to concepts and design of jewelry objects in a variety of metals and other materials.
Photographic history, theory, and practice with emphasis on developing a personal vision through the use of digital still cameras.
A thorough grounding in 35mm black and white photography using both digital and traditional output, as well as the aesthetics of the photograph as a personal artistic expression.
An exploration of painting as a means of multi-sensory expression through visual experience.
An exploration of the depiction of space and form in painting with a continued emphasis on materials and techniques combined with individual creative expression.
Linoleum, woodblock printing, and other relief techniques including the execution of original works in these media.
Screen printing techniques including the execution of original works in these media.
Concentration on development of throwing skills. Experimentation with clay and glaze chemistry.
Concentration on hand-building skills. Glaze experimentation and ceramic materials will be researched.
Contemporary principles in various three-dimensional media.
Further study of various three-dimensional media.
Enhancing graphic richness in drawings with intellectual and visual perception as content.
Contemporary cultural stimuli as the content for drawing projects. Emphasis on intellectual and emotive approaches.
Exploration of fiber constructions such as weaving, spinning, and feltmaking.
Exploration of fiber surface design techniques such as batik, tie dye, and block printing.
Development of complex visual communication projects that involve problem-seeking and problem-solving and result in works with multiple elements. Discussion of current visual communication issues. Graphic design majors only.
Creative use of contemporary photographic equipment and techniques in solving graphic design problems.
Jewelry fabrication using the centrifugal casting methods.
Jewelry fabrication using the electroforming method.
Continuation of black and white photographic techniques introduced in ARTS 261. Introduction to advanced exposure and film development, exhibition quality printing and presentation, medium and large-format cameras, b&w digital output and darkroom experimentation.
Exploration of digital imaging techniques including image adjustment and printing methods with an emphasis on color photography.
Specialized investigation into relevant current trends in illustration.
Investigation and analysis of various thematic concepts, processes, and techniques in a variety of media. Content varies by course title.
Contract approved by instructor, advisor, and department chair is required for undergraduate students.
Graduation with Leadership Distinction: GLD: Research
Advanced development of individual direction in painting and skills in the representation of the human figure working observationally from the live model. Special emphasis on material selection and formal principles of painting as applied toward individual goals.
Intaglio techniques, such as drypoint, etching and collagraph, including the execution of original works in these media.
Lithography techniques, including the execution of original works in these media.
Further development of throwing and hand-building skills. Continued development of kiln-firing methodology. Research in clay and glaze technology.
Development of highly individualized content in a series of drawings.
Advanced study of materials and techniques of fiber arts with emphasis on individual creative expression.
Advanced study of materials and techniques of fiber arts with emphasis on individual creative expression.
Advanced visual communication projects involving time and sequencing with both visual and verbal elements using a variety of media.
Advanced exploration of visual structures, both 2D and 3D, in visual communication problems.
Individual final project in graphic design.
Graduation with Leadership Distinction: GLD: Research
Advanced studies in professional presentations of visual communication projects, professional interviews, and graphic design business topics.
Advanced intermedia; formal and conceptual problems associated with combining multiple forms of imaging processes.
Advanced intermedia; creation of portfolio work combining multiple forms of imaging processes.
Advanced problems and individual investigation in jewelrymaking techniques.
Advanced problems and individual investigation in jewelrymaking techniques.
Advanced techniques and career practices in photography. The development of personal vision through the production of a fine arts portfolio. Students may work with any photographic process (digital or analog) towards the completion of a cohesive body of work.
Projects in advertising and editorial illustration. Further development of style, media, and technique.
CL: 2020.
Graduation with Leadership Distinction: GLD: Research
Graduation with Leadership Distinction: GLD: Research
The analysis, structuring, and production of individual works of art using traditional and non-traditional approaches.
Business practices for the studio artist. Contracts, portfolio preparation, promotion, alternate professions, museums, galleries, copyright, and shipping will be discussed.
BFA Painting Capstone course focusing on further development of individual approaches to painting culminating in a BFA Senior Thesis Exhibition and defense.
Introduction to traditional and experimental transparent watercolor technique. Encompasses field work at off campus locations.
Advanced study of watercolor and water-based media with emphasis on individual creative expression. Encompasses field work at off campus locations.
Advanced study in various painting problems, content varies by title.
Further development of individual approaches to printmaking.
Professional development practices including preparing a portfolio and oral presentation of work, researching career options, and preparing applications for exhibition and funding opportunities.
Preparing for an exhibition.
Advanced investigation and analysis of various printmaking techniques. Topic varies by title.
Further development of a personal approach to the ceramic process, supported by an investigation of ceramic history.
Further development of a personal approach to the ceramic process, supported by an investigation of ceramic history.
Advanced investigation and analysis of problems and methods in ceramics. Topics vary by title.
Investigation and analysis of various three-dimensional concepts, processes, and techniques. Content varies by title.
Further development of individual approaches to drawing with emphasis on intellectual and visual perception as content.
Further development of individual drawing with emphasis on intellectual and emotive approaches.
Advanced study in the processes and materials of fiber arts.
Advanced study in the processes and materials of fiber arts.
The art and techniques of handmade paper.
Advanced study in various technical aspects of fiber arts. Topic varies by title.
Work experience at a visual communication place of business.
Graduation with Leadership Distinction: GLD: Professional and Civic Engagement Internships
Advanced individual projects in graphic design.
The development of individual directions in jewelrymaking.
The development of individual directions in jewelrymaking.
Contemporary applications of traditional craft media, emphasizing the design and conceptual development of works of art.
Advanced study in various technical aspects of jewelrymaking. Topic varies by title.
Further development of individual approaches to photography.
Further development of individual approaches to photography.
Advanced investigation and analysis of problems in photography. Topic varies by title.
Advanced visual arts computing techniques on using software such as Photoshop, Studio Pro, and Netscape.
Television as a medium; small format video systems are used in the creation of individual projects.
Independent study for advanced undergraduate majors and graduate students in art studio. Approved independent study contract required for enrollment.
Introductory media arts creation and study for non-majors. Developing an individual aesthetic for the screen and related media by becoming proficient in the conception, creation, and refinement of graphics, audio, and video, while emphasizing the histories and theories that led to and support the current state of the media arts.
Introduction to the critical study of film,video, photography, audio, and new media.
Cross-listed course: FAMS 110
Carolina Core: AIU
Fundamental conceptual and technical aspects of media.
Carolina Core: AIU
Introduction to theory and practice of origination, sequencing, and processing of screen-based and related media art.
Carolina Core: AIU
Aestheic and communicative elements of the production of digital images, including capture, processing, and output.
Storytelling forms and formats for screen-based and related media arts.
Aesthetic and communicative elements of audio design for screen-based and related media arts.
Contract approved by instructor, advisor, and department head is required for undergraduate students.
Graduation with Leadership Distinction: GLD: Research
May be repeated once for credit as topic varies by title.
Research in a selected area of media arts.
Graduation with Leadership Distinction: GLD: Research
Supervised experience in media productions and media production facilities. Contract approved by instructor, advisor, and department head is required for undergraduate students.
Graduation with Leadership Distinction: GLD: Professional and Civic Engagement Internships
Experiential Learning: Experiential Learning Opportunity
Advanced study of screenwriting. Content varies by course title: 521A Screenwriting; 521B Feature Film; 521C Manga and Anime; 521D Television Writing. May be repeated as content varies by title up to 3 times.
Advanced study of feature film writing. Content varies by course title: 521A Screenwriting; 521B Feature Film; 521C Manga and Anime; 521D Television Writing. May be repeated as content varies by title up to 3 times.
Advanced study of Manga and Anime. Content varies by course title: 521A Screenwriting; 521B Feature Film; 521C Manga and Anime; 521D Television Writing. May be repeated as content varies by title up to 3 times.
Advanced study of television writing. Content varies by course title: 521A Screenwriting; 521B Feature Film; 521C Manga and Anime; 521D Television Writing. May be repeated as content varies by title up to 3 times.
Narrative for motion picture.
Documentary production.
Animation production.
Experimental motion picture production.
Motion picture cinematography.
Sound production for motion picture.
Art and practice of site-based and installation art. Content varies by course title: 581A, Site-based and Installation Art; 581B, Mobile Platforms; 581C, Media Performance; 581D, Video Game Design; 581E, Sound Art. May be repeated as content varies by title up to 3 times.
Art and practice of mobile platforms. Content varies by course title: 581A, Site-based and Installation Art; 581B, Mobile Platforms; 581C, Media Performance; 581D, Video Game Design; 581E, Sound Art. May be repeated as content varies by title up to 3 times.
Art and practice of media performance. Content varies by course title: 581A, Site-based and Installation Art; 581B, Mobile Platforms; 581C, Media Performance; 581D, Video Game Design; 581E, Sound Art. May be repeated as content varies by title up to 3 times.
Art and practice of video game design. Content varies by course title: 581A, Site-based and Installation Art; 581B, Mobile Platforms; 581C, Media Performance; 581D, Video Game Design; 581E, Sound Art. May be repeated as content varies by title up to 3 times.
Art and practice of sound art. Content varies by course title: 581A, Site-based and Installation Art; 581B, Mobile Platforms; 581C, Media Performance; 581D, Video Game Design; 581E, Sound Art. May be repeated as content varies by title up to 3 times.
Selected topics in media arts. Course content varies and will be announced in the schedule of classes by title.
Intensive study of a specific topic in film and media history. May be repeated as content varies by title.