Art Major, Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA)
The Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Art is a studio-focused degree that helps students build strong technical skills, creative thinking, and a personal artistic practice. Students learn alongside a supportive cohort while engaging in professional development opportunities that prepare them for careers in the arts and creative fields. Through hands-on studio courses, critique, and community engagement, students explore ideas, experiment with materials, and develop their unique artistic voice. The program culminates in a public BFA Exhibition, where graduating seniors present a focused body of work that showcases their ideas, skills, and conceptual growth.
Students work closely with a faculty advisor to create a degree plan that aligns with their artistic interests and career goals.
| Art Core Courses | ||
| ART 201 | ART AND TECHNOLOGY | 5 |
| ART 202 | METHODS AND MATERIALS | 5 |
| ART 211 | DRAWING | 5 |
| Art Experience Courses | 20 | |
| In consultation with art advisor, choose four of the following courses: | ||
| ILLUSTRATION | ||
| DIGITAL ART | ||
| PHOTOGRAPHY: DIGITAL PRACTICES and PHOTOGRAPHY: DIGITAL PRACTICES LAB | ||
| PHOTOGRAPHY: BLACK AND WHITE and PHOTOGRAPHY: BLACK AND WHITE LAB | ||
| FIGURE DRAWING | ||
| CERAMICS: FUNCTION & FORM | ||
| PAINTING | ||
| WATERCOLOR | ||
| PRINTMAKING | ||
| SCULPTURE: MOLD MAKING AND WOOD CONSTRUCTION | ||
| FIBER AND TEXTILES | ||
| EXPERIMENTAL | ||
| VIDEO ART | ||
| BODY AND TIME | ||
| CERAMICS: CONTENT & SURFACE | ||
| PRINTMAKING | ||
| SCULPTURE: WELDED AND EXPANDED FORM | ||
| Visual Culture Courses | ||
| ART 313 | ART ACROSS TIME: 18TH CENTURY TO CONTEMPORARY | 5 |
| ART 317 | ART AS SOCIAL ACT | 5 |
| or ART 406 | ART AND COMMUNITY | |
| ART 331 | CONTEMPORARY ART | 5 |
| Visual Culture Elective, choose one: | 5 | |
| ART ACROSS TIME: PREHISTORY TO 17TH CENTURY | ||
| THE BODY IN ART | ||
| HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY | ||
| NATIVE NORTH AMERICAN ART | ||
| WRITING ABOUT ART | ||
| Art Development Courses | ||
| ART 472 | PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE FOR ARTISTS | 5 |
| Development Electives, 400 level courses can be repeated. | 24 | |
| EXPANDED PRACTICE: PHOTO/MEDIA and EXPANDED PRACTICE: PHOTO/MEDIA LAB | ||
| TOPICS IN PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE | ||
| EXPANDED PRACTICE: 2D | ||
| WORKSHOP IN ART | ||
| EXPANDED PRACTICE: 3D | ||
| INTERNSHIP | ||
| Senior Thesis and Capstone Exhibition | ||
| ART 470 | MAKING AND MEANING (Fall Quarter) | 3 |
| ART 470 | MAKING AND MEANING (Winter Quarter) | 3 |
| ART 490 | SENIOR CAPSTONE: BFA EXHIBITION (Spring Quarter) | 5 |
| Total Credits | 95 | |
Plan of Study
The following plan of study is for a student with zero credits. Individual students may have different factors such as: credit through transfer work, Advanced Placement, Running Start, or any other type of college-level coursework that requires an individual plan.
Courses could be offered in different terms, checking the academic schedule is paramount in keeping an individual plan current. Students should connect with an advisor to ensure they are on track to graduate.
All Undergraduate students are required to meet the Undergraduate Degree Requirements.
| First Year | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall Quarter | Credits | Winter Quarter | Credits | Spring Quarter | Credits |
| ART 201 | 5 | ART 202 | 5 | ENGL 201 | 5 |
| ENGL 101 | 5 | Humanities & Arts BACR 21 | 5 | Natural Science BACR 1 | 5 |
| Humanities & Arts BACR 11 | 5 | Social Science BACR 11 | 5 | Social Science BACR 21 | 5 |
| 15 | 15 | 15 | |||
| Second Year | |||||
| Fall Quarter | Credits | Winter Quarter | Credits | Spring Quarter | Credits |
| ART 211 | 5 | MATH 107 or 170 | 5 | Art Experience Elective2 | 5 |
| Natural Science BACR 21 | 5 | Art Experience Elective2 | 5 | Art Experience Elective2 | 5 |
| Elective - minor or general elective | 5 | Elective - minor or general elective | 5 | Elective - minor or general elective | 5 |
| 15 | 15 | 15 | |||
| Third Year | |||||
| Fall Quarter | Credits | Winter Quarter | Credits | Spring Quarter | Credits |
| Art Experience Elective2 | 5 | ART 313 | 5 | ART 331 | 5 |
| Visual Culture Elective4 | 5 | Art Development Elective3 | 5 | Art Development Elective3 | 5 |
| Global Studies - graduation requirement2 | 5 | Diversity - graduation requirement1 | 5 | Elective - minor or general elective | 5 |
| 15 | 15 | 15 | |||
| Fourth Year | |||||
| Fall Quarter | Credits | Winter Quarter | Credits | Spring Quarter | Credits |
| ART 317 or 406 | 5 | ART 470 | 3 | ART 490 (Senior Capstone - graduation requirement) | 5 |
| ART 470 | 3 | ART 472 | 5 | Art Development Elective3 | 5 |
| Art Development Elective3 | 4 | Art Development Elective3 | 5 | Elective - minor or general elective | 5 |
| Elective - minor or general elective | 3 | Elective - minor or general elective | 2 | ||
| 15 | 15 | 15 | |||
| Total Credits 180 | |||||
- 1
University Graduation Requirements (UGR) and Breadth Area Course Requirements (BACR) courses may be less than 5 credits and additional credits may be required to reach the required 180 total credits needed to graduate. Students should connect with an advisor to ensure they are on track to graduate.
- 2
Art Experience Elective–choose 20 credits from the approved list.
- 3
Art Development Electives–choose 24 credits from the approved list.
- 4
Visual Culture Elective–choose 5 credits from the approved list.
General Education Requirements (GER)
- Minimum Quarter Credits—180 cumulative credit hours
- 60 upper-division credits (300 level or above)
- 45 credits in residence (attendance) at EWU, with at least 15 upper-division credits in major in residence at EWU
- Minimum Semester Credits—120 cumulative credit hours
- 40 upper-division credits (300 level or above)
- 30 credits in residence (attendance) at EWU, with at least 10 upper-division credits in major in residence at EWU
- Minimum Cumulative GPA ≥2.0
University Competencies and Proficiencies
Writing
Quantitative and Symbolic Reasoning
Placement and Clearance
Prior Learning/Sources of Credit AP, CLEP, IB
Breadth Area Core Requirements (BACR)
Humanities and Arts
Natural Sciences
Social Sciences
University Graduation Requirements (UGR)
Diversity Course List
Global Studies Course List
Minor or Certificate
Senior Capstone Course List
World Language (for Bachelor of Arts)
Application for Graduation (use EagleNET) must be made at least two terms in advance of the term expected to graduate (undergraduate and post-baccalaureate).
Use the Catalog Archives to determine two important catalog years.
- The catalog in effect at the student's first term of current matriculation is used to determine BACR (Breadth Area Core Requirements) and UGR (Undergraduate Graduation Requirements).
- The catalog in effect at the time the student declares a major or minor is used to determine the program requirements.
Students who earn a BFA in Art from EWU should be able to:
- create works of art that demonstrate technical skill;
- produce a professional quality artist’s portfolio;
- use appropriate terminology to evaluate works of art;
- write a well-crafted artist statement;
- produce a coherent body of work for exhibition.