The Department of Art & Design offers bachelor of fine arts (B.F.A.) and bachelor of arts (B.A.) undergraduate degrees, as well as a minor in art.

See Art in the Programs of Study and Courses for Liberal Arts and Sciences Students section for the bachelor of arts (B.A.) program information and the art minor.

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 within and across disciplinary artistic mediums 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 understands 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 art can function to serve not only oneself, but also the broader community and society at large.

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 artistic 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 which foster an enriching interdisciplinary arts education. Transfer students declare at their Transfer review in their first term.

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.