For more information, please contact Randy Horst | 406/683-7232 | r_horst@umwestern.edu.
The primary objectives of the BA in Visual Arts Option are to provide education to those seeking personal enrichment and/or career opportunities related to the visual arts, including practicing studio artists and employees of Art Galleries, Museums, and Community Arts Centers, and provide educational preparation for those seeking continued graduate study in the visual arts.
Discipline-specific Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities:
. Demonstrated skill with more than one artistic medium (all 2-D, 3-D courses, ART 105, ART 141)
. Demonstrated understanding and use of vocabulary and theories of visual design (ART 105)
. Demonstrated understanding of how art and artists reflect their culture or historical context (ART 211 & 212)
. Demonstate the use of electronic technologies to research art, artists, or create art(ART 105, 211, 212)
Communication Skills:
. Ability to create artwork that visually communicates an idea and/or feeling to others (ART 225-489)
. Demonstrated ability to write about artists, about art history, and art criticism (ART 105, 211, 212)
Problem-solving Skills
. Create original artwork that communicates ideas and/or feelings (ART 141)
. Demonstrated ability to discern the potential content of artwork (ART 105, 211, 212)
Discipline-specific Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities
. MEDIA SKILLS - student artwork samples that demonstrates technical proficiency
. Review of student artwork in the sophomore and senior portfolio reviews
Specific courses and assessment activities:
Review the Sophomore Portfolio submitted as part of the MBE Art Scholarship Application at the end of the sophomore year; review the Senior Portfolio submitted as part of ART 400 Cooperative Education/Internship or ART 498 Senior Project/Thesis. Classes that can contribute work that may be included in either portfolio include the following:
ART 105, Introduction to Art & Design: color and value control, control of positive and negative space
ART 141, Drawing: drawings, rendering skills
ART 221, 3-D Design/Crafts: theoretical and practical studies of form, mass, and space as they relate to ceramics, sculpture, and crafts
ART 225 thru ART 489, 2-D, 3-D, and Advanced Studio: demonstrate skill with more than one artistic medium
Communication Skills
. VISUAL COMMUNICATION - student visual communication assessment critique: (mid) student visual communication assessment submitted in Sophomore Portfolio and (capstone) student visual communication assessment submitted in the Senior Portfolio (as part of ART 400 Cooperative Education/Internship or ART 498 Senior Project)
. WRITTEN COMMUNICATION - student writing sample: (mid) student artwork submitted in Sophomore Portfolio and (capstone) student visual communication assessment submitted in the Senior Portfolio (as part of ART 400 Cooperative Education/Internship or ART 498 Senior Project)
Specific courses and assessment activities:
Review writing sample included in the Sophomore Portfolio submitted as part of the MBE Art Scholarship Application at the end of the sophomore year; review writing sample included in the Senior Portfolio submitted as part of ART 400 Cooperative Education/Internship or ART 498 Senior Project/Thesis. Classes that can contribute writing samples that may be included in either portfolio include the following:
ART 105, Introduction to Art & Design: paper focusing on art criticism
ART 141, Drawing: self-assessment on drawings, artistic autobiographical research paper
ART 211, Art History I: art historical research paper
ART 212, Art History II: journal
ART 225 thru ART 489: oral critique of art work
Problem-solving Skills
. CREATING ART - student artwork sample that demonstrates problem-solving through the integration of subject matter, formal theory, and technical skill.
Specific courses and assessment activities:
Review the Sophomore Portfolio submitted as part of the MBE Art Scholarship Application at the end of the sophomore year; review the Senior Portfolio submitted as part of ART 400 Cooperative Education/Internship or ART 498 Senior Project/Thesis. Classes that can contribute work that may be included in either portfolio include the following:
ART 105, Introduction to Art & Design: control of positive and negative shape
ART 141 Drawing: rendering skills
ART 221 3-D Design/Crafts: creating/designing process to complete each project (recorded in journal); how form, mass, and space relate to ceramics, sculpture, and crafts
Feedback from Current Students
. Student survey created and administered by ART faculty
. Course evaluations
. Graduate/exit survey
. Mid-point assessment: Art Portfolio submitted as part of the MBE Art Scholarship Application at the end of the sophomore year
. Capstone assessment: Senior Art Portfolio submitted in ART 400, Cooperative Education/Internship, or ART 498, Senior Project
Feedback from Outside Constituencies
. Internship reports
. Alumni survey (implemented AY 2006-07, feedback from 2004-05 program/option graduates)
. Employer survey (implemented AY 2006-07, feedback of 2004-05 program/option graduates)
The ART faculty collaborated with personnel in the Career Services Office to draft alumni and employer surveys, which were sent in mid-October 2006 to 2004-05 graduates and employers of these graduates. After the surveys are returned to Career Services, these data will be compiled and the resulting information sent back to the ART faculty around mid-January for review and to assist with making program/curriculum decisions.
Evaluation of teaching
During fall semester, the VCAA chooses the faculty member's course to be evaluated. Each ART faculty member chooses a course during spring semester that s/he wants evaluated by students. Feedback is compiled and shared with the faculty member and VCAA. In addition, each faculty member also has at least one peer evaluation per year.
Curriculum Review
The curriculum for the BA: Visual Arts option was reviewed extensively in preparation for implementation of Experience One (block scheduling). Program faculty continue to review curriculum both formally and informally during departmental meetings.
Once the ART faculty begin receiving the results of graduate/exit, employer and alumni surveys from the Career Services Office, they will review the information and make adjustments to the Visual Arts option area as necessary.
Criteria & Procedures for Admission & Retention of Students
Program admission follows criteria established for admission to UMW and the MBE Art Scholarship, which requires students to annually submit a portfolio of their artwork and a statement of educational goals (the scholarship form is reviewed and updated every two to four years).
Use of information to improve teaching & learning
Annual review of assessment information from recent graduates and employers, as well as current students by the faculty as a group, and reviewed individually on an ongoing basis to improve the overall curriculum and success of the program.
Self-study or Reports from External Reviews
As part of UMW's systematic academic program review cycle, a self-study of the BA: Visual Arts option will be prepared and completed prior to or during the 2007-08 academic year. An initial review of this academic program by an external reviewer(s) will occur during the 2008 academic year as well.
Program-specific Curriculum Development Bodies & Advisory Groups
All faculty teaching courses in the Visual Arts option assist with program-specific curriculum development. No other program-specific curriculum development bodies exist at this time.