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Courses | B.S. in Design

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 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.

Program 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 courses, 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 3 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.

Curriculum Requirements

Program-Specific Core Curriculum Courses
Core Curriculum requirements for the Bachelor of Science degree in Design must conform to the University standards for B.S. degrees. All B.S. in Design majors are exempt from the Core Curriculum requirement in fine arts. All B.S. in Design majors are required to take the following courses:
Integration Seminar (taken as "Contemporary Art and Theology")
Introduction to Philosophy and Aesthetics
Program Courses
ARTS 107Drawing I3
ARTS 1102-D Design3
ARTS 1113-D Design3
ARTS 1124-D Design3
ARTS 116History of Western Art I: Prehistoric Through Renaissance3
ARTS 126History of Western Art II: Baroque Through Modernism3
ARTS 217Typography I3
ARTS 220Professional Practices3
ARTS 314Integrated Design I3
ARTS 315Contemporary Art Trends3
ARTS 321Historical Development of Design3
ARTS 333Graphic Design Forms I3
ARTS 337Typography II3
ARTS 423Integrated Design II3
ARTS 450Internship3
Select one upper-division ARTS elective3
Program Course Requirements: 48 credits
Core Curriculum Requirements 164
General Electives8
Total Credits120
1

See Core Curriculum Program section for details.

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