Program Advisor: Lisa Griffith
The Visual Arts concentration in the Fine Arts degree program offers courses comparable to those taken during the first two years at typical professional art schools and in college or university art departments. The program's flexible design permits students to transfer to both kinds of institutions. There is a strong emphasis on foundation courses, and each student is encouraged in the development of a portfolio.
Related majors at the baccalaureate level: art education, art history, art therapy, arts management, commercial art, fashion design, film making, graphic arts, industrial design, interior design, painting, photography, sculpture, textile design.
This is a MassTransfer eligible program.
Expected Outcomes
Graduates of this program should be able to:
- demonstrate an understanding of the visual vocabulary of art forms and techniques;
- demonstrate with confidence an ability to solve artistic problems during the process of creating art;
- develop an artistic style that demonstrates creativity and the personality of the artist;
- demonstrate an ability to articulate and write about art projects that they are executing;
- demonstrate a general knowledge of contemporary art history, both at a conceptual level and in the context of creating one's own art work.
Graduation Requirements To earn a degree in this program, a student must complete the 66 program and general education credits, plus the additional requirements, shown below.
| Program | 31 Credits |
| FAS 111 Drawing I | 3 |
| FAS 120 Drawing II | 3 |
| FAS 123 Two-Dimensional Design I | 3 |
| FAS 124 Three-Dimensional Design I | 3 |
| FAS 163 Two-Dimensional Design II | 3 |
| FAS 210 Fundamentals of Painting | 3 |
| FAS 222 Advanced Studio Art | 4 |
| FAS 225 Figure Drawing or | |
| FAS 227 Figure Painting | 3 |
| FAS Specialized Elective (see footnote 1) | 6 |
| General Education | 35 Credits |
| COM Communication | 3 |
| ENG English Composition/Writing | 6 |
| ENG Literature | 3 |
| FAS Art History (see footnote 2) | 3 |
| Behavioral and Social Sciences | 3 |
| Environmental Studies (see footnote 3) | 1 |
| History (HI) | 6 |
| Mathematics | 3 |
| Natural or Physical Science (see footnote 3) | 7 |
| Additional | As Shown |
| Core Competencies Portfolio (items) | 4 |
| Forum (units) | 4 |
| Health/Fitness | 30 |
| Minimum Cumulative Averages Overall | 2.000 |
| Area of specialization: All required FAS courses 2.000 | 2.000 |
| First Semester | 15 Credits |
| FAS 111 Drawing I | 3 |
| FAS 123 Two-Dimensional Design I | 3 |
| FAS 124 Three-Dimensional Design I | 3 |
| ENG English Composition/Writing | 3 |
| FAS Art History (see footnote 2) | 3 |
| Second Semester | 18 Credits |
| FAS 120 Drawing II | 3 |
| FAS 163 Two-Dimensional Design I | 3 |
| FAS Specialized Elective (see footnote 1) | 3 |
| COM Communication | 3 |
| ENG English Composition/Writing | 3 |
| Behavioral or Social Science | 3 |
| Third Semester | 17 Credits |
| FAS 210 Fundamentals of Painting | 3 |
| FAS Specialized Elective (see footnote 1) | 3 |
| ENG Literature | 3 |
| Environmental Studies (see footnote 3) | 1 |
| History (HI) | 3 |
| Natural or Physical Science (see footnote 3) | 4 |
| Fourth Semester | 16 Credits |
| FAS 222 Advanced Studio Art | 4 |
| FAS 225 Figure Drawing OR | |
| FAS 227 Figure Painting | 3 |
| History (HI) | 3 |
| Mathematics | 3 |
| Natural or Physical Science (see footnote 3) | 3 |
|1. Specialized electives are a two course sequence that creates a focus for the capstone course, FAS 222. One of the following sequences can be chosen: -FAS 114 Landscape Painting and FAS 240 Intermediate Painting; -FAS 103 Printmaking I and FAS 113 Printmaking II; -FAS 245 Watercolor Painting and FAS 246 Watercolor Painting II; -FAX 144 Digital Imagery and FAS 242Illustration
2. Art History chosen from FAS 156, FAS 171, FAS 172, FAS 173.
3. The Natural or Physical Science requirement must be fulfilled by one 4-credit laboratory science and one 3-credit non-laboratory science or by two 4-credit laboratory sciences. Completion of an environmentally focused laboratory science course, such as BIO 109, BIO 110, ENV 101 and ENV 102, fulfills both the Natural/Physical science requirement and the Environmental Studies requirement.