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Courses | B.S. in Art

Below are the course requirements for this academic program. In addition to these program-specific requirements, all majors include Biola's traditional undergraduate core curriculum. For more program details, including a sample course sequence, visit Biola's academic catalog.

Admissions and Program Requirements

The Department of Art has an open admissions policy. Incoming first-year students and transfer students from other institutions may declare an art major when they apply for admission to Biola University. Because of the rigorous schedule and amount of work required in the B.F.A. degree program, transfer students and Torrey Honors College students may need an additional semester to complete all of their requirements.

The Department of Art offers three degree programs. The Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art is a professional degree program focusing on intensive studio practice and requiring an area of concentration; the B.F.A. is the preferred degree for students who anticipate having an art-related career, or who are planning to attend graduate school. The Bachelor of Science degrees in Art and in Design contain a broader range of liberal arts general education courses and allow students the option of choosing a wide range of general electives. The two B.S. degrees also allow greater flexibility for students completing a double major or a minor in another academic discipline.

Every year, all art majors participate in formal reviews to evaluate their progress in the department. Student portfolios are appraised using a variety of criteria, such as technical achievement, creative problem solving, and aesthetic/artistic development. Reviews are conducted at the end of the freshman, sophomore and junior years. Graduating seniors in the B.F.A. program are evaluated the semester before their thesis exhibitions.

All art majors are required to maintain a 2.5 GPA in the program. Any grade below a C- (1.67) must be repeated.

In art and design studio classes, contact hours define the meaning of a credit hour. In these courses, one semester hour of credit equals two hours of class instruction with at least one additional hour of unsupervised laboratory work each week. Studio courses receiving three credits typically meet six hours a week for class instruction with the expectation that students complete an additional three hours of assigned laboratory work. Students taking ARTS 462 or ARTS 464, and independent studies, must complete a minimum of three hours of research/laboratory work each week during the semester for one hour of credit.

It is recommended that all Art majors own a Macintosh laptop. Contact the Department of Art office for recommended specifications.

Curriculum Requirements

Core Curriculum requirements for the Bachelor of Science degree in Art must conform to the University standards for B.S. degrees. All B.S. in Art majors meet the Core Curriculum requirement of 6 credits in philosophy and integration seminar within the major and are exempt from the Core Curriculum requirement in fine arts.
Program Courses
ARTS 107Drawing I3
ARTS 1102-D Foundations3
ARTS 1113-D Foundations3
ARTS 116History of Western Art I: Prehistoric Through Renaissance3
ARTS 126History of Western Art II: Baroque Through Modernism3
BBST 4654Integration Seminar: Contemporary Art and Theology 13
PHIL 216Introduction to Philosophy and Aesthetics 23
Select a Concentration below 3
Total Credits21
1

Fulfills the BBST 465 Biblical and Theological Studies Integration Seminar requirement.

2

Fulfills the Philosophy Core Curriculum requirement.

3

See concentration tables below which detail the requirements to earn a Bachelor of Science in Art degree.

Concentrations 

Pre-Art Therapy

In addition to meeting the Core Curriculum requirement of 6 credits in philosophy and integration seminar within the major and being exempt from the Core Curriculum requirement in fine arts, Pre-Art Therapy concentration students meet the Core Curriculum requirement of 9 credits in behavioral science, mathematics, and science within the concentration.
Program Courses21
Concentration Courses
ARTS 210Sculpture I3
ARTS 211Ceramics I3
ARTS 213Painting I3
ARTS 315Contemporary Art Trends3
ARTS 356Art Therapy I3
ARTS 433Global Art Paradigms3
ARTS 482Art Therapy II3
BIOS 254Human Anatomy 14
PSYC 200Introduction to Psychology3
PSYC 206Psychology and Christian Thought3
PSYC 209Statistics with Computer Applications 23
PSYC 211Statistics with Computer Applications Lab 21
PSYC 309Introduction to Psychopathology3
PSYC 320Developmental Psychology: Lifespan3
PSYC 411Theories of Personality3
SOCI 220Introduction to Sociology 33
or ANTH 200 Cultural Anthropology
Concentration Electives
Select one upper-division ARTS course3
Concentration Course Requirements: 50 credits
Core Curriculum Requirements 445-49
General Electives0-4
Total Credits120
1

BIOS 254 fulfills the Science Core Curriculum requirement.

2

PSYC 209 & PSYC 211 fulfill the Mathematics Core Curriculum requirement.

3

SOCI 220 or ANTH 200 fulfills the Behavioral Science Core Curriculum requirement.

4

See Core Curriculum Program section for details.

Studio Art

Program Courses21
Concentration Courses
ARTS 1124-D Foundations3
Select one upper-division art history course from the following:3
Contemporary Art Trends
Global Art Paradigms
Select two courses from the following:6
Sculpture I
Painting I
Idea and Image
Photography I-Introduction to Darkroom and Digital Processes
Concentration Electives
Select one lower-division ARTS course3
Select seven upper-division ARTS courses21
Concentration Course Requirements: 36 credits
Core Curriculum Requirements 154-58
General Electives5-9
Total Credits120
1

See Core Curriculum Program section for details.

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