Freshman Foundation
All first-year students are required to complete the foundation program, which consists of four art and two academic courses per semester taken simultaneously. These courses are designed to introduce the student to the fundamental processes and principles of artmaking and design. The foundation program consists of two full semesters each of drawing, two-dimensional design, three-dimensional design, and issues in art-making. The objective of the program is to enhance the student’s visual sensitivity through developing his or her perceptual, intellectual, and technical skills.
Foundation studio classes are limited to a maximum of 25 students. Studio classes meet for two and one-half hours, twice a week. Professors, sensitive to the transition between high school and college, direct the content of the projects toward specific skill development. During this time, students learn to analyze their work, while developing sensitivity and perception in their response to other students’ efforts. The mind is developed along with the eye and hand so that ideas can be better translated into form and material. Students learn the art of classroom critique and discussion. The fall semester culminates with the Foundation Program Exhibition in the art school’s Silpe Gallery.
Curriculum
Two-Dimensional Design I,
black-&-white emphasis
Two-Dimensional Design II, color emphasis
Drawing I & II
Three-Dimensional Design I & II
Issues in Artmaking I & II
Art History Survey I & II
Rhetoric, Language,
and Culture I & II
Drawing
Foundation Drawing I & II are introductory, required courses for art students, designed to investigate the different modes of drawing, both traditional and nontraditional. The intent of these courses is not only to impart technical skills in drawing but also to investigate the nature of drawing as a way of seeing and organizing ideas and perceptions.
2D Studio
Foundation 2D Studio I & II are introductory courses required for all art students, with an emphasis on traditional and nontraditional two-dimensional studio techniques, use of materials, tools, and media. Foundation 2D Studio I focus on black-and-white issues in design, while Foundations 2D Studio II focuses on color and composition. Emphasis is placed on problem solving through studio activity and relating theory and criticism to the artmaking activity.
3D Studio
Foundation 3D Studio I & II are introductory, required courses for all students, with an emphasis on traditional and nontraditional, three-dimensional studio techniques, tools, and media. Emphasis is placed on problem solving through studio activity and relating art theory and criticism to the studio.
Freshman Year Credit Requirements
- 2.5 Two-Dimensional Design I, black-&-white emphasis
- 2.5 Two-Dimensional Design II, color emphasis
- 5 Drawing I & II
- 5 Three-Dimensional Design I & II
- 5 Issues in Art-making I & II
- 6 Art History survey I & II
- 6 Rhetoric & Writing I & II