B.A. in Art

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Overview

The Department of Art in the Claire Trevor School of the Arts takes a wide-ranging, interdisciplinary view of contemporary art practice. With an emphasis on experimentation and innovation, the Department of Art is viewed as a leader in genres addressing cultural identity and emerging technologies. The Department provides students a solid theoretical and technical foundation from which to approach art making as both process and product. Each student is encouraged to develop an individual, disciplined direction approach to media, materials, and techniques. To this end, the curriculum provides studio experiences in drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, digital imaging, video, performance art, and new media. Visiting artists, theorists, curators, and other arts professionals are an integral part of the program.

The Art Culture Technology (ACT) building, was completed in Winter 2003. ACT houses the ROOM Gallery, CATALYST student gallery, undergraduate honors studios, the Video Studio, department administrative offices, faculty studios, and graduate student studios. The University Art Gallery provides a venue for student shows as well as faculty and guest artist presentations. The original Studio Art buildings have been seismically retro-fitted and extensively remodeled and renovated.

The University's Education Abroad Program offers students the opportunity to study abroad. Special programs for Studio Art majors are offered in Venice. Graduate-level study also is available.

Admission

UCI’s Department of Art is an interdisciplinary art program dedicated to exploring and expressing a broad range of ideas through creative practice and experimentation. To be considered for admission into the undergraduate Art major, students must submit a portfolio of recent artwork accompanied by a one-page artist statement. The portfolio review is designed to identify, recruit, and admit highly motivated, artistically talented high school seniors and transfer students dedicated to their creative practices who would thrive in UCI’s Art Department.  The review process is designed to evaluate and credit students for their investment in their creative practices, which is not captured by the weighted GPA or other numerical metrics used in the admissions process.  The Department of Art seeks creative thinkers and encourages applicants from diverse backgrounds to apply, regardless of prior access to high quality arts education.

UCI Admissions will email all Art applicants in early December with instructions on how to submit the portfolio.

Portfolios must be submitted by January 5. Please check your UCI Application Portal for more information.

Portfolio Requirements

• To be considered for admission into the Art major, students must submit a portfolio of 10 images or up to three videos totaling no more than 5 minutes in duration, or a mix of both images and videos; as well as a one-page artist statement.
• Please refrain from submitting slides containing multiple images, text descriptions or text labels.  Each slide should be either a single image or a single video as the submission process allows text descriptions of your slide to be entered elsewhere. Do not use a graphic design template with text to compose your slides.
• Portfolios will be reviewed by Art department faculty with expertise in a given media area. During the submission process, students will select the media represented in their portfolio: painting, drawing, sculpture, photography & printmaking, new media, or video, as well as the media they may be interested in studying at UCI. Faculty do not expect applicants to have studied all media they may study at the college level.
• Portfolios will be evaluated on their creativity and inventiveness, formal and technical skills, conceptual aptitude, and thematic cohesion.
• Current UCI students who wish to transfer into the major may apply after completing 2 Lower Division studio course(s) with a B or higher. 
   

Coursework

Departmental Requirements for the Major

• Art 1A-B-C (taken the first year in residence);
• Art 9A and 11A;
• one course from Art History 40A, 40B, 40C, 42A, 42B, 42C, 42D, 42F;
• one course from Art 20-39;
• one course from Art 40-70 or Art 95-99;
• one course from Art 71-94;
• one additional course from Art 20-39, Art 40-70, Art 95-99, or Art 71-94;
• six courses from Art 100-115 and Art 130-195;
• two courses from Art 116-129 or any Art 100 with "Issues" in its title.

Please consult the UCI General Catalogue for details about the general education, degree, and graduation requirements.

Departmental Requirements for Honors in Art

The Honors in Art program gives qualifying students a more rigorous course of study in contemporary art practices, thus challenging superior students beyond the scholarly requirements demanded of the Art major. This program is designed to further develop students' critical, analytical, research, and technical skills. It is particularly suited to those wishing to go on to graduate school and/or exhibition careers.

Eligibility Requirements for Honors in Art

• one year in good standing as a Art major; completion of Art 1A, 1B, 1C; four lower-division courses from Art 20-99; 
  one Art History course from either the Art History 40 or 42 series;
• an overall GPA of 3.2 or higher with a GPA of at least 3.4 in Art courses; and
• must be a Junior (or a Senior intending to stay one more year) at time of application.
  Application Requirements & Procedure for Honors in Art

All applicants to the Honors Program must email the following to StuArt@uci.edu.

• A portfolio of up to 10 images and/or other media samples. Images/media samples must include title of the work, size, year, medium, description, and duration of the work, if time-based.
• A brief statement (250 words maximum) of research and career goals; and
• UCI transcripts (downloadable from StudentAccess).
• The applicant’s name, UCI student ID number, and e-mail address must be printed legibly on all submitted materials.

All applicants will be notified of their application status no later than the end of spring quarter finals week.

Students accepted to the program will share the Catherine Lord Undergraduate Honors Studio for the entire academic year.  Students accepted to the program must actively participate in programmatic activities.  Students must follow the Department's studio occupancy guidelines in order to maintain their studios.  GPAs will be reviewed each quarter to ensure programmatic requirements.

Beyond fulfilling regular courses for the Art major, honors students must complete the following:

• two courses selected from: Art 100-191, Art 199;
• one Art History course of the student's choosing;
• three Art 199 (2-units each) with an assigned faculty mentor (one in Fall, one in Winter, and one in Spring); and
• Art 198 Honors Exhibition (this course will prepare students for a mandatory, group interdisciplinary honors gallery exhibition to take place during either winter or spring quarter of the student's matriculating year, at which time students will defend their thesis work to faculty on the Undergraduate Committee.

Non-compliance with any of the requirements will result in dismissal from the program. 

Learning Outcomes

• Learn the basic skills, vocabulary, and aesthetics of the discipline.
• Conceive, design, realize, and assess art works.
• Develop creativity and original thinking.
• Gain knowledge of the qualities and applications of contemporary and traditional art-making materials.
• Work safely and properly with all manner of tools and equipment.
• Work collaboratively on group projects.
• Foster respect and active cooperation in spite of differences
• Be able to describe art verbally and in written form.
• Think critically about the issues of value, representation, hierarchy, and power that condition our understanding of what constitutes art.
• Recognize major figures and movements in the history of art, and understand their relevance to the current practice of art.
• Pursue a career in art as an intellectual and creative endeavor.
   

Career Opportunities

Departmental faculty and the range of artists whose work is represented in the University Art Galleries provide diverse career models. Some graduates go on to careers as exhibiting artists or teachers; others work in arts-related activities in museums, galleries, and artists' organizations. A bachelor's degree in Art is usually required as preparation for graduate-level study in art.
 

How to Apply

Students complete a UC application and submit it by the deadline for admission. All majors in the Claire Trevor School of the Arts accept admissions for Fall Quarter only. The application filing period for Fall Quarter is from November 1 to November 30 of the previous year.

See UC Irvine's Office of Undergraduate Admissions for full information.