See Art in the Programs of Study for Liberal Arts Students section for the bachelor of arts (B.A.) program information.
The bachelor of fine arts (B.F.A.) program in visual arts is for students who
want to become professional artists and who wish to pursue their
specific professional goals within the stimulating intellectual climate
of Rutgers University. The education offered by Mason Gross School of
the Arts differs from an art school program that focuses exclusively on
studio skills. At Mason Gross School of the Arts, studios and seminar
discussions together confront students with a wide range of techniques,
materials, visual languages, and cultural issues. Creation and
critical analysis go hand in hand. The program assumes that to be a
surviving professional artist in the 21st century one should be
educated to make informed choices, not only about aesthetic strategies,
but also about who to work for and how to serve the demands of society
and oneself.
Work toward the B.F.A. degree starts with
foundation courses that introduce the techniques and materials as well
as the artistic and cultural questions of contemporary art.
Intermediate and advanced courses provide concentrated training in six
major areas: ceramics and sculpture, video, painting and drawing,
photography, print, and design.* Students are asked to
focus in one of these six areas. They may be grouped in agreeable
arrangements such as painting and drawing or design and printmaking.
Enrollment in advanced design courses is limited to 20
students.
The B.F.A. program in visual arts is committed to
the development of both personal expression and cultural analysis
through which a student prepares to face the aesthetic, social, and
personal choices involved in being a professional artist.
