Art, B.A.

Art Option and Design Option

General Requirements

The following general requirements apply to the Art Option (with concentrations in 2D studio and 3D studio) and the Design Option (with concentration in graphic design). Complete a minimum of 120 semester hours of work including:

General Education (36 credit hr)

• Core requirements
  • English composition (6 hr)
  • Oral communication (3 hr)
  • Mathematics (3 hr)
• General requirements
  • Humanities/Fine Arts (9 hr); at least 3 hr Humanities and 3 hr Fine Arts (excluding all ART courses)
  • Social Sciences (9 hr); in at least two different disciplines
  • Natural Sciences (6 hr); 3 hr Physical Science and 3 hr Life Sciences, one of which must be a lab course

College of Arts and Sciences Requirements (3 credit hours)

• One course in a Foreign Language (3 hrs)
• One general education or major course carrying the diversity designation (embedded)
  
  Art & Design Requirements
• 57-63 hours, depending on option.
• 18-24 hours in electives.
• Admission to any of the programs is contingent upon good academic standing and acceptance by the program. Transfer credit of D will not be accepted for courses in the major (63 credit hrs).
• A maximum of one required art history course with a grade of D earned at Chicago State University will be accepted. A grade of C or better is required in all other major courses.
• To meet NASAD requirements, no student can take 40% or more online coursework for the degree.
• Students in the Design Option taking courses ART 2710  or higher are required to have at the minimum a laptop that will run the latest Adobe Creative Cloud software including but not limited to In Design, Illustrator, and Photoshop. The industry standard is the Apple MacBook Pro, but some PCs can handle the Adobe Creative Cloud software. Please consult the Art & Design website for the latest suggested specifications on hardware and software.

Art Education Option (PK-12)

General Requirements

Completion of the teacher preparation option in Art qualifies students for an Illinois Professional Educator License (PEL) with an endorsement for teaching Visual Arts for grades preK - 12. Licensure requires the successful completion of the Visual Arts content area test and any additional College of Education or Illinois State Board of Education requirements.

Students must complete 127-129 credit hours in the following areas:

• general education requirements, 36 credit hours
• college foreign language requirement, 3 credit hours and embedded diversity requirement
• courses in the area of specialization, 57 credit hours
• professional education courses, 31-33 credit hours

Honors in Art and Design

The Honors in the Major Program (HMP) is a unique opportunity for a motivated and gifted art major to create a body of artwork, research papers, and/or written thesis, beyond basic requirements, toward an advanced individualized portfolio. Using visual language appropriate to a specific thematic concentration or media, the resulting portfolio is preparation for graduate or career pursuits. To receive honors credit, at the end of each course, the student must present his or her work to the Honors review committee selected to oversee the progress of the thesis/project. Upon successful completion of the required 12 credits, the student is recognized as an honors student on his or her transcript.

Application guidelines

Status

Students should apply during the second semester of their sophomore year or after completing 45 credits. Students must have junior level status when they begin the program and are required to have passed the First Assessment Portfolio Review.

GPA

Students can obtain a copy of their current transcript from CSU Express. Enter the GPA on the application form, and attach a copy of your unofficial transcript. Minimum requirements are 3.25 GPA in the major and 3.0 overall GPA.

Faculty Mentor

Prospective honors students must invite an Art and Design faculty member teaching in their area of interest to serve as mentor and instructor of record. This faculty member will assist the student in determining the honors thesis/project. The faculty mentor will monitor progress in the honors program and will assist the student towards completion of the honors thesis/ project requirements.

Honors Thesis/Project Proposal

The application requires a description of the area of intended focus for the honors work.

Every course with a 3000-4000 designation may be taken for honors once admitted to the Honors in the Major Program and with permission of the faculty mentor and chairperson. ART 4950 Portfolio Preparation with honors designation is required. To complete HMP, twelve honors credits with a minimum grade of B are required in any approved concentration in the options of art, design, or K-12 art education.

Application Portfolio

Students must present a portfolio of art work and research papers created in Art and Design courses or independently. Work must be presented in a slideshow in PDF file or other digital means.

Presentation and Acceptance

The faculty mentor will present the application to the HMC. Faculty mentors and the program coordinator and department chairperson’s signature are required.