(Drawing, Filmmaking, Graphic Design, Painting/Printmaking, Photography, and Sculpture)

Director of undergraduate studies: Alexandria Smith; art.dus@yale.edu, 122 GRN, 432-2600; art.yale.edu

Students in the Art major develop a critical and practical understanding of the visual arts and design through a studio-based curriculum that organically blends practice with critical thinking and art historical precedents; apply fundamentals of visual art across a variety of mediums and disciplines; relate the practice of making art and design to culture and the study areas of art history and theory; and learn to embody the knowledge and practice of at least one artistic discipline through active search and research. Students may concentrate on a medium such as painting/printmaking, sculpture, graphic design, photography, or filmmaking, and interdisciplinary study is supported. Art majors learn to place their own work in the context of an inclusive group of contemporary art worlds and national and global cultures. This study is a crucial element in a liberal arts curriculum both for future arts practitioners and for those ultimately studying and working in other fields. A key element of the creative learning process is the critique, which is implemented via both group settings and one-on-one studio visits with faculty and visiting critics. Through rigorous practice and regular feedback, a student gains insight into one's own critical voice. Art majors have access to the graduate program by attending regular lectures, critiques, events, and exhibitions that represent a diverse set of art practitioners who regularly visit the School of Art.

Courses for Nonmajors and Majors

Courses in Art are open to all undergraduate students, but are registered by permission of instructor only due to limited class size. In cases where student demand for entry into a course is greater than can be accommodated, priority is given to School of Art students and declared Art and Computing and the Arts majors. The director of undergraduate studies (DUS) and members of the Art faculty typically hold counseling meetings during the registration period. See the Art department website listed above for more information. Students seeking advice about course selection or the program in Art should attend these advising sessions. Others wishing to elect an Art course should visit the course’s Canvas site for details, and request instructor permission during the registration period to apply for these limited-enrollment classes. Many studio art courses require the purchase of a limited number of supplies in addition to the materials provided in the class. All Art majors are required to register with the DUS at the beginning of each term to be enrolled or to continue in the major, as well as participate in the sophomore review in the fourth term.

Prerequisites

The prerequisites for acceptance into the major are the sophomore review, which is an intensive advising session and evaluation of work from studio courses taken at the Yale School of Art, and five introductory courses (courses numbered 0001–1999). Four of the introductory courses must have been completed at the time of the sophomore review. Visual Thinking (ART 1111) and Basic Drawing (ART 1514) are mandatory, and may not be waived. At the time of the review, the student should be enrolled in the fifth 1000-level prerequisite course. In exceptional cases, arrangements for a special review during the junior year may be made with the DUS.

Requirements of the Major

The Art major requires fourteen courses, including the following: (1) five prerequisite courses at the Introductory level numbered 0001–1999 (including ART 1111 and ART 1514); (2) four courses at the 2000-level or above; (3) the Junior Seminar (ART 3995); (4) the two-term senior project (ART 4995 and ART 4996); and (5) two courses in the history of art, or DUS-approved equivalent. A student who has completed five courses numbered 0001–1999 may count a sixth such course towards the 2000-level course requirement. Program guidelines and specific requirements for the various areas of concentration are described below.

Areas of concentration Each Art major selects an area of concentration from five possible choices: (1) graphic design, (2) painting/printmaking, (3) photography, (4) sculpture, and (5) filmmaking. Suggested courses for the graphic design concentration are: ART 1732, 2764, 2765, 2766 or 3768; ART 3769 or 3770; and ART 4768 or 4769. Specific courses recommended for the painting/printmaking concentration are ART 1516, 1530, 3531 or 3532; ART 2524, 2545 or 3556; and ART 4514, 4532, 4533 or 4557. Students in the photography concentration should take ART 1836 and/or 1838; ART 2837 and/or 2839; ART 3837 or 3838; ART 3879 and 4801. The sculpture concentration recommends 2 of the following: ART 1610, 1620, 1621, 1621 or 1623; and 3 of the following: ART 2610, 3646, 3648, ART 3771 or 4646. Required courses for the filmmaking concentration are ART 1942, 3941, 3942, and ART 4942 or 4943. Students in the filmmaking concentration may substitute two non-production courses in Film and Media Studies for the history of art requirement, and the same for other concentrations only with permission of the DUS. Students wishing to work interdisciplinarily should consult with the DUS.

Credit/D/Fail No more than one course taken Credit/D/Fail may be applied toward the requirements of the major.  

Outside credit Courses taken at another institution or during an approved summer or term-time study abroad program may count toward the major requirements with DUS approval. 

Senior Requirement

The senior requirement consists of a two-term senior project, ART 4995 and ART 4996.

Unique to the Major

Summer fellowship Art majors are eligible to apply for the Ellen Battell Stoeckel Fellowship for study at the Yale University Summer School of Music and Art in Norfolk, Connecticut. Applicants for the program must be officially classified as junior Art majors and be returning to Yale for two terms of their senior year. The program awards up to three course credits for work successfully completed. These credits may be used toward the requirements of the Art major at the discretion of the DUS.

Repeated and outside courses Some Art courses may be repeated for credit, with permission of both the instructor and the DUS. Course credits in studio art earned at other institutions may, in some cases, be applied toward the requirements of the major, but not to replace the two prerequisites, and is done solely at the discretion of the DUS and subject to a faculty review process.

SUMMARY OF MAJOR REQUIREMENTS

Prerequisites Favorable faculty review of work done in studio courses before end of sophomore year; ART 1111 and 1514; 3 addtl courses numbered 0001–1999

Number of courses 14 courses (incl prereqs and yearlong senior project)

Specific courses required All concentrations—ART 3995; Graphic design—ART 1732, 2764, 2765, 2766 or 3768; ART 3769 or 3770; and ART 4768 or 4769; Painting/printmaking—ART 1516, 1530, 3531 or 3532; ART 2524, 2545 or 3556; and ART 4514, 4532, 4533 or 4557; Photography—ART 1836 and/or 1838; ART 2837 and/or 2839; ART 3837 or 3838; ART 3879, 4801; Sculpture—any 2 of ART 1610, 1620, 1621, 1622 or 1623; and any 3 of ART 2610, 3646, 3648, ART 3771, or 4646; Filmmaking—ART 1942, 3941, 3942; ART 4942 or 4943

Distribution of courses 4 courses at 2000-level or above; 2 courses in hist of art

Senior requirement Two-term senior project (ART 4995, 4996)

Substitution permitted Filmmaking concentration—2 courses in Film and Media Studies may be substituted for the hist of art req

The program in Art offers courses in a variety of media and provides a background in visual arts as part of a liberal education and as preparation for graduate study and professional work. Areas of concentration include painting/printmaking (including drawing), sculpture, graphic design, photography, and filmmaking.

All introductory courses numbered 0001–1999 are open to first-year students, and no prior experience is required. Demand is usually great for basic courses, and students should consider more than one section. During registration, prior to the start of the term, the director of undergraduate studies (DUS) meets with students who need advice about course selection.

Students are admitted to the major in the spring term of their sophomore year after a sophomore review. Prospective majors present a portfolio of work from Yale studio art courses to a group of faculty and receive advice based on their coursework and on the strengths and deficiencies of their portfolios.

Five introductory-level courses, including First-Year Seminars, are required as prerequisites to the major, including ART 1111 and ART 1514. To be eligible for the sophomore review, students must have completed four of the prerequisite courses and should be enrolled in the fifth.

Acceleration credits are not available in art.

MEMBERS OF THE SCHOOL OF ART TEACHING IN YALE COLLEGE

Professor Martin Kersels

Associate Professor Meleko Mokgosi

Senior Critics Julian Bittiner, Sandra Burns, Alice Chung, Benjamin Donaldson, Pamela Hovland, Matthew Keegan, Lisa Kereszi, Sophy Naess, Christopher Pullman, A.L. Steiner, Sarah Stevens-Morling, Elizabeth Tubergen, Henk Van Assen

Critics Beverly Acha, Michel Auder, Yeju Choi, Rachelle Dang, Maria de Los Angeles, Neil Goldberg, Halsey Rodman, Karin Schneider, Douglass Scott, Alexander Valentine, Anahita Vossoughi, Molly Zuckerman-Hartung

Lecturers Jonathan Andrews, American Artist, Elena Bertozzi, Nathan Carter, Luiza Dale, Luchina Fisher, Ben Hagari, Shira Inbar, Hasabie Kidanu, Desmond Lewis, Jesse Marsolais, Rosa McElheny, Ted Partin, Michael Rader, Kern Samuel, Ryan Sluggett, Greg Parma Smith

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