Undergraduate : Graduate

Core Curriculum : Foundations : Academic : Design : Studio

The Foundations Program consists of several courses designed to ground the student in the basics of art making and exegesis. It provides the beginning artist with the tools needed to proceed to advanced levels and helps focus the skills of those who have already begun their training.

This program is required for those who wish to become majors in the School of Art and Design, but will also prove interesting to many who only wish to explore the visual arts for the first time. The program serves all areas of the School of Art and Design from painting to ceramics to industrial design.

This combination of courses exposes students to a wide array of contemporary and traditional art forms and techniques. Projects are designed to introduce and fuse content, skill, and the principles of design and composition. Students use a wide variety of materials and processes from digital applications to plaster and watercolors. They become familiar with critical and creative thought processes through sketchbooks, journal work, and critiques, developing the vocabulary to speak and write about their own work and that of their peers.

In the end, the Foundations Program exposes students to a broad range of art and provides them with the abilities to start creating their own. It supports risk-taking and the investigation of the individual’s artistic possibilities.

Art History Courses AD 207 A, B, & C
Studio Foundations Courses AD 100A and AD 100B
Drawing Courses AD 110 and AD 120.

For specific degree requirements, please see the Degrees Offered at the School of Art and Design.

Please visit the Studio Faculty list for more information about Foundations faculty at the School of Art and Design.