Location: 104 Art Building, Phone: (409) 880-8141
Chair: Donna M. Meeks
Chair E-mail: donna.meeks@lamar.edu
The Department of Art provides an environment designed to nurture artistic, academic and personal growth in our students. Through its curricula and community outreach the department prepares the student for a professional career in the discipline with courses in both practice and theory. In a time when the visual arts are undergoing rapid change, the department maintains a balance between its own traditions and the unknown challenges of the future, between skill-building and theoretical insights. Educational, cultural, and academic opportunities are made available so that each student might reach his or her full potential and participate in those human experiences and qualities inherent in the fine arts. Building on a legacy of quality teaching, the faculty of the Department of Art are actively involved in scholarly and creative activities, serving as a model of commitment to excellence.
The Department of Art offers undergraduate instruction leading to the Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in either Graphic Design or Studio Art. Students may elect courses that further professional development in the following areas: Visual Design, Illustration, Computer Graphics, Photography, Painting, Drawing, Printmaking, Sculpture, Ceramics, Video Art and Fibers. The Bachelor of Science degree is offered in visual art for students seeking all-levels art teacher certification. Art electives are available for non-majors who desire experiences in the visual arts as part of their general education.
All students entering a degree program in art must be counseled by the chair of the art department as to study options in the department. Academic advising is mandatory for all art majors. Art majors are required to follow the prescribed sequence of courses. The letter grade “C” will be the minimum prerequisite grade for continuing studio courses in sequence. All prerequisites must be satisfied prior to enrollment in Art courses.
All art majors must be counseled during the first semester of their senior year prior to graduation by the art department chairperson. During either the fall or spring semester prior to graduation, a candidate for a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree will be required to take Senior Thesis and prepare an exhibition as a degree completion requirement.
A minor in art history is available to students in other programs or departments by earning 18 hours of credit as required by the Department of Art.
Transfer credit of freshman and sophomore art courses is in compliance with the Transfer Curriculum for Visual Arts adopted by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
Undergraduate
Graduate
Suggested Program of Study – Total Min. Hours: 126
All students must satisfy provisions of the Texas Success Initiative program, see section 6.1.22 in this catalog. Developmental courses do not count in the GPA (except for determining full-time status and issues related to probation and suspension) and do not count toward graduation.
Suggested Program of Study – Total Min. Hours: 126
The Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art requires 48 credit hours of academic foundations and 78 credit hours of professional program including studio elective courses. Students must select a major in one of the following areas:
All students must satisfy provisions of the Texas Success Initiative program, see section 6.1.22 in this catalog.. Developmental courses do not count in the GPA (except for determining full-time status and issues related to probation and suspension) and do not count toward graduation.
A. Philosophy of Knowledge Core Curriculum: 48 hours
B. Major Requirements: 78 hours
C. Other Requirements:
Suggested Program of Study – Total Min. Hours: 132
The Bachelor of Science degree in Studio Art is designed for those seeking all-levels art teacher certification and requires 48 credit hours of academic foundations and 84 credit hours of professional program (including 24 hours of professional development in the College of Education and Human Development). For details concerning requirements for teacher certification and information on professional education courses, consult the College of Education and Human Development section in this catalog.All students must satisfy provisions of the Texas Success Initiative program,see section 6.1.22 in this catalog.. Developmental courses do not count in the GPA (except for determining full-time status and issues related to probation and suspension) and do not count toward graduation.
A. Philosophy of Knowledge Core Curriculum: 48 hours
B. Major Requirements: 60 hours
C. Other Requirements:
Suggested Program of Study – Total Min. Hours: 120
The Bachelor of Science degree in Graphic Design is available for those students seeking to combine graphic design studies with a minor program of study. Students may choose a minor program of study from any approved minor outside of the Department of Art.
All students must satisfy provisions of the Texas Success Initiative program, see section 6.1.22 in this catalog.. Developmental courses do not count in the GPA (except for determining full-time status and issues related to probation and suspension) and do not count toward graduation.
A. Philosophy of Knowledge Core Curriculum: 48 hours
B. Major Requirements: 57 hours
C. Other Requirements:
An art history minor consists of ARTS 1303, ARTS 1304, and ARTS 2305 and three courses chosen from the following: ARTS 4328, ARTS 4338, ARTS 4348, ARTS 4368, ARTS 4388, and ARTS 4398. To qualify for a minor, a grade of no less than “C” must be obtained in each of the courses applied to the minor.
The Department of Art offers a Master of Arts in Visual Art with an emphasis in either Studio Art or Art History. The Studio Art emphasis offers focused study opportunities in one of seven studio areas. Graduate studios are available. Of particular note, the Art History emphasis offers hands on research opportunities working with the 19th-century academic paintings housed in the Eisenstadt collection. Part of the permanent holdings of the Dishman Art Museum, the Eisenstadt collection features works by the American landscapist Thomas Moran and the English portraitist Sir Thomas Lawrence. Both study options provide students with the opportunity to focus and develop skills and abilities in a selected area of study.
Students seeking admission to the degree program must meet the general requirements for graduate admission outlined in this catalog.
The Master of Arts degree in Visual Art with a studio art emphasis requires 36 semester hours including 15 hours in the area of specialization, 9 hours of core courses, 6 hours of electives, and 6 hours of thesis. Specialization may be in Fibers, Ceramics, Drawing, Painting, Photography, Printmaking, Sculpture, or Visual Design and Electronic Media. The core program for studio art includes 3 hours of Art History, 3 hours of Seminar in Art Criticism and Aesthetics (5318), and 3 hours of Current Issues and Trends (5301).
Applicants to the degree program in studio art must submit a slide portfolio of 15 works, three letters of recommendation from undergraduate professors, and a letter of intent stating professional objectives to the Department of Art. The slide portfolio should demonstrate competency in the medium of specialization the applicant intends to pursue for the degree. A graduate faculty committee will review applications and portfolios. Applicants will be accepted according to the quality and maturity of the submitted work. Undergraduate course work may be required if the applicant has not earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and/or the entrance portfolio does not demonstrate the knowledge, skills and abilities prerequisite to successful graduate study.
The Master of Arts degree in Visual Art with an art history emphasis requires 36 semester hours of graduate study including 15 hours in art history, 9 hours of core courses, 6 hours of electives, and 6 hours for writing and defending a thesis. All graduate study must be within the areas of specialization offered by the program. The core program for art history includes 3 hours of Current Issues and Trends (5301), 3 hours of Seminar in Art Criticism and Aesthetics (5318), and 3 hours of Methodology in Art History (ARTS 5308). Reading competency in an approved foreign language to be determined by examination or course work will be required. Graduate courses in the literature of a foreign language, history, or English can be taken as electives and may be required.
Applicants to the degree program with an art history emphasis must submit undergraduate transcripts, a term paper indicating research and writing skills, and three letters of recommendation from undergraduate professors. A graduate faculty committee will review applications and may require undergraduate foundation courses in art history or research methods before admitting the applicant.