Studio Art

Studio Art seeks to create an environment of exploration and investigation. The program emphasizes technical skills, visual analysis, creative problem solving, art historical research, critical thinking, and writing. These skills equip students to express their personal vision with clarity and excellence. 

The Department of Art & Design offers 3 undergraduate degrees and 3 minors in Art. Each degree/minor is unique and requires a different course of study.

Minors in Art

• Studio Art Minor: This minor is for students who desire to develop their creative problem-solving and artmaking skills alongside a major in another college or department.
• Art History Minor: The Art History minor is intended for students interested in art history to take additional courses to complement other degree programs offered at the university. 
• Photography Minor: The Photography minor is intended for all students interested in photography. Students will learn the fundamental techniques of deliberate picture-making to create series and stories in images. 

BFA and BFA-TC Application Form & Presentation Template

Admission to the BFA and BFA-TC degrees is by special application. Such application can be made upon completion of 30 semester hours of art coursework and must be made before completion of 48 semester hours of art coursework. A portfolio consisting of ten to fifteen works representing a variety of media must be submitted using the Presentation Template that can be downloaded on the link below in addition to the application form.

Click here for BFA Application Form
Click here for Specifications for Presentation Template Submission 
Click here to download the BFA Presentation Template

Application Deadline  

• April 15 if applying for the Fall semester.
• November 15 if applying for the Spring semester.  

Application Review 

Applications are reviewed by an admission committee composed of full-time art faculty. Decisions made at this time are final. Reviews are held early in May and December of each year, near the close of each semester. The admission committee assigns one of three designations to program applications. They are:  

• To admit the applicant to the BFA program. 
• To deny admission to the BFA program with the recommendation that the applicant continue in the Bachelor of Arts program. 
• To defer a decision to allow the applicant an opportunity to prepare additional work to strengthen certain specified areas of the portfolio. The admissions committee will resolve each deferral at the next Fall or Spring semester review date and admit or not admit the applicant to the BFA program. An applicant for the BFA program may be deferred only once. No further deferrals will be granted. 

BFA Interim Critique

After acceptance into the BFA program, students take classes and create work until they have enough art samples to submit a portfolio for review by the art faculty at an Interim Critique scheduled in the junior year, but no later than the semester before the year of graduation. Interim Critique is the gateway into the BFA Capstone Exhibition. Entry into the BFA Capstone Exhibition requires at least one Interim Critique by the entire art faculty. Once accepted, students propose and begin work on their senior project. The Art Faculty will meet with students enrolled in the BFA degree to review their artwork the semester before they intend to participate in the BFA Senior Exhibition. At that time, they will evaluate the work and recommend whether to approve it or request a delay. 

• At the Interim Critique, students will present a sampling of finished works (5 pcs. minimum) representative of the body of work they intend to exhibit in their BFA exhibition semester. 
• Students will meet frequently with their professors in their studio area of interest during the last two semesters. 
• Students will enroll in courses taught by professors in their studio area of interest in their final two semesters of study. 
• Students will notify their major professor of their intention to graduate and exhibit their work before signing up for the Interim Critique.

BFA Senior Project and Capstone Exhibition

Students enrolled in the BFA degree program will present a senior project during their final semester of undergraduate work. Students cannot present a senior project during the summer sessions. While preparing the senior project, the student must be enrolled in a related course with his or her faculty supervisor.  Work completed, while a student at TAMUCC, is eligible for the exhibition.  BFA students will present their Senior Project of work in the BFA Capstone Exhibition.

Scholarships

Several academic scholarships are available to students who apply. Typically, a minimum GPA of 3.0 and a portfolio of recent work are required for application. Awards from the Department range from $500 to $2,500 annually, and awards from outside sources can be as high as $7,500 annually. All program students are notified of available funding opportunities.

List of Local Galleries or Museums

• The Art Museum of South Texas
• K Space Contemporary
• Art Center of Corpus Christi

Course Rotation Guide

To review which courses are historically offered in Spring and Fall semesters, download the ARTS Undergraduate Course Rotation Guide.