Art Practices Emphasis, BFA
General Requirements
To earn a degree, students must satisfy all requirements in each of the areas below, in addition to their individual major requirements.
- CU Denver General Graduation Requirements
- CU Denver Core Curriculum
- College of Arts & Media Graduation Requirements
- Click here for information about Academic Policies
Program Requirements
- A minimum letter grade is required for each course in the major for the course to satisfy the degree requirement. All grades apply to the major and are averaged to generate the major-specific GPA.
- A minimum grade of C (2.0) is required to satisfy degree requirements for any major course taken at CU Denver.
- A grade of C- (1.7) or lower will not fulfill a major, minor or certificate requirement, but is calculated in the major GPA.
- A grade of S is acceptable only for courses in which the grading basis is S/U. No more than 6 semester hours of P+/P/F is allowed in any given semester. No more than 12 semester hours may be elected as P+/P/F toward the degree.
- All upper-division visual arts courses must be taken at CU Denver unless approved otherwise by Department of Visual Arts faculty.
- At least 27 semester hours of visual arts credits (at any level) must be taken at CU Denver.
- At least 24 semester hours of total visual arts courses must be upper-division.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Arts Foundation | ||
| Take all of the following Arts Foundation courses: 1 | ||
| FINE 1100 | Drawing I | 3 |
| FINE 2200 | Painting I | 3 |
| FINE 2155 | Introduction to Digital Photography | 3 |
| FINE 1500 | Three-Dimensional Design | 3 |
| FINE 2600 | Art History Survey I | 3 |
| FINE 2610 | Art History Survey II | 3 |
| Primary Visual Arts Concentration Courses | ||
| Take all of the following Main Studio Concentration courses from this list: 1 | 24 | |
| Secondary Concentration Courses | ||
| Students must take five courses as listed below in a second area or discipline, choosing one of those listed below: 2 | 15 | |
| Additional Required Courses | ||
| FINE 4990 | Contemporary Art: 1960 to Present | 3 |
| Electives | ||
| Take three semester hours of upper-division Art History elective. | 3 | |
| Take nine semester hours of Visual Arts electives. 3 | 9 | |
| Capstone Courses | ||
| FINE 4215 | Interdisciplinary Studio | 3 |
| FINE 4515 | Advanced Art Practices | 3 |
| FINE 4950 | Studio BFA Thesis | 3 |
| Total Hours | 81 | |
- 1
Note that Secondary Concentration courses must be different from the Primary Concentration courses that you selected to take.
- 2
These may include studio, lecture, internship, art-focused study abroad or art history courses.
- 3
Capstone courses must be taken within the same year that the student wishes to put on their thesis exhibition FINE 4215 in the Fall and FINE 4515 and 4950 in the Spring of the exhibition (whether or not they have additional credits to finish up after this for graduation).
Primary Visual Arts Concentration
Take all of the following Primary Visual Arts Concentration courses:
Art Practices Required Courses
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| FINE 2030 | Life Drawing | 3 |
| FINE 2510 | Shaping Material | 3 |
| FINE 3300 | Painting, Drawing and the Printed Image | 3 |
| FINE 3500 | Immersive Installation Art | 3 |
Art Practices Choice Courses
Choose 4 additional primary Visual Arts Concentration courses (12 credits) from the list below:
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| FINE 2500 | Beginning Foundry | 3 |
| FINE 3030 | Media of Drawing | 3 |
| FINE 3040 | Color Theory: Studio and Screen-Based Practice | 3 |
| FINE 3050 | Figure Drawing and Painting | 3 |
| FINE 3200 | Intermediate Painting and Drawing | 3 |
| FINE 3240 | Abstract Painting and Drawing | 3 |
| FINE 3405 | Video and Performance Art | 3 |
| FINE 3450 | Digital Painting | 3 |
| FINE 3532 | Character and Product Prototyping | 3 |
| FINE 3510 | Form and Play | 3 |
| FINE 3515 | Public and Environmental Art | 3 |
| FINE 3545 | Intermediate Sculpture | 3 |
| FINE 4225 | Advanced Painting and Drawing | 3 |
| FINE 4505 | Sculptural Drawing | 3 |
| FINE 4530 | Advanced Sculpture | 3 |
| FINE 5995 | Travel Study If a 6-credit program, 3 credits here, 3 additional as electives | 1-15 |
Secondary Concentrations
Take all of the Secondary Concentration courses from one of the following categories (Art History, Illustration or Photography).
Art History
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Nine credits of Art History Elective | 9 | |
| Six credits of Art History Seminar | 6 | |
Illustration
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| FINE 2405 | Software Applications for Digital Design | 3 |
| or FINE 2406 | Introduction to Digital Art & Imaging | |
| FINE 3010 | Illustration I: Image Making | 3 |
| FINE 3450 | Digital Painting | 3 |
| or FINE 3014 | The Graphic Novel Workshop | |
| FINE 3410 | Illustration II: Digital Media | 3 |
| FINE 3414 | Motion Design I | 3 |
| or FINE 3455 | Intro to 2D and Traditional Animation | |
Photography
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| FINE 1150 | Introduction to Darkroom Photography | 3 |
| FINE 3161 | The Silver Fine Print | 3 |
| FINE 3162 | Photoshop and Digital Print | 3 |
| FINE 3171 | Experimental Photography | 3 |
| FINE 4195 | Photography Portfolio I | 3 |
| or FINE 4196 | Photography Portfolio II | |
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| FINE 3030 | Media of Drawing | 3 |
| FINE 3040 | Color Theory: Studio and Screen-Based Practice | 3 |
| FINE 3050 | Figure Drawing and Painting | 3 |
| FINE 3200 | Intermediate Painting and Drawing | 3 |
| FINE 4225 | Advanced Painting and Drawing | 3 |
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| FINE 2500 | Beginning Foundry | 3 |
| FINE 3405 | Video and Performance Art | 3 |
| FINE 3510 | Form and Play | 3 |
| FINE 3545 | Intermediate Sculpture | 3 |
| FINE 4530 | Advanced Sculpture | 3 |
Please contact the College of Arts & Media at CAM@ucdenver.edu for course sequencing, any prerequisite updates and for lists of approved electives and more information about this emphasis.
To review the Degree Map for this program, please visit our website.