The Visual Arts Department offers the bachelor of fine arts (B.F.A.) and bachelor of arts (B.A.) undergraduate degrees.

See Art in the Programs of Study and Courses 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 practice. Intermediate and advanced courses provide concentrated training in six major areas: design, drawing, media, painting, photography, print, and sculpture. Students declare a concentration in one of these areas in their sophomore year, although they can take studio electives in other areas.

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.