Undergraduate Programs
UALR Department of Art Offers New Bachelor of Art in Art and Bachelor of Fine Art in Art Degrees
The Department of Art is pleased to announce that it began offering two, new degrees during the 2011-2012 academic year: the Bachelor of Art in Art (BA in Art) and the Bachelor of Fine Art in Art degrees (BFA in Art). Current students who have declared majors in either the Bachelor of Art in Studio Art or the Bachelor of Art in Art History may continue to complete requirements and graduate under the catalog year in which they declared their major. The BA in Studio Art and the BA in Art History no longer be available to new or undeclared students.
Bachelor of Art in Art
The new BA in Art is a Liberal Arts degree that has three tracks, Studio Art, Art History, and Secondary Education (Art Education) The studio art and art history tracks each have a 45 credit hour major. The BA in Art requires an 18 credit hour minor which can be any minor offered by the university, excepting the Studio Art minor. The art education track is a 64 hour major with a minor in Secondary Education. To see requirements for the tracks in the BA in Art degree, click here.
Bachelor of Fine Art in Art
The BFA degree is a pre-professional degree. Students must be accepted into the BFA program by means of a portfolio and transcript review process. Students must first be a declared major in either the BA in Studio Art (available to students prior to 2011-2012) or a BA in Art before they may participate in the review process for admission to the BFA. The BFA requires 21 hours in a particular studio emphasis or concentration area, thus allowing students to develop their conceptual abilities and hone their technical skills.
The BFA in Art has tracks in Fine Art (or Studio Art), Applied Design, and Secondary Education (or Art Education). The BFA tracks for fine art and applied design students require a 72 hour major within a total 124 hour degree. Click here to see requirements for the BFA Fine Art or Applied Design tracks. Students in the Secondary Education track will have an 84 hour major within a total 144 hour degree. The BFA/Secondary Education track will allow art education students to have a fully developed studio art emphasis in either fine art or applied design studio areas. Click here to see requirements for the BFA/Secondary Education.
Students currently in the BA in Studio Art (with tracks in Fine Art, Applied Design, and Art Education) and transfer students should consider their career goals and decide if they would like to apply for BFA admission. Students who are accepted to UALR will first need to declare the degree BA in Art through the online BOSS system. When they meet the qualifications of the review process, BA in Art or BA in Studio Art students may apply for admission to the BFA program.
Admission to the BFA program occurs via a review process that includes a portfolio and transcript review as well as the submission of a goal statement and application form. Minimum requirements for admission eligibility are the completion of 24 art hours: 15 hours of studio prerequisites, 6 hours of art history, 3 hours of the studio foundation courses which should be in the student’s intended studio emphasis area. Students must have a minimum 2.75 overall GPA and a 3.0 GPA in all art courses. Students are allowed a total of three attempts to pass the review before they are ineligible for the BFA program. Click here for more information about the BFA review.
Transfer students are encouraged to meet with an advisor as soon as possible to review their transcript and make preparation for the advancement review. Transfers are required to meet the same curricular completion standards as previously outlined, and are encouraged to participate in the review prior to enrollment in the UALR Department of Art courses.
Advisors
The department has advisors for both undergraduate and graduate students. Incoming freshmen and transfer students should contact the department chair, Professor Win Bruhl, wgbruhl@ualr.edu, for initial advising. Continuing undergraduates should contact Professors Marjorie Williams-Smith (mwsmith@ualr.edu), Jane Brown (jhbrown@ualr.edu), or Floyd Martin (fwmartin@ualr.edu) for assistance with their academic programs.
Students interested in public school teaching should contact Professor Heidi Mullins at (hcmullins@ualr.edu).
Undergraduate students who have completed a minimum of 100 academic credits should contact Professor Aj Smith (ajsmith1@ualr.edu).
Prospective or current students may also call the art department at (501) 569-3182 to contact an advisor.
Transfer Students
Students transferring to UALR who intend to major in art should contact the department chairman, Win Bruhl, (wgbruhl@ualr.edu) before enrolling to arrange for advising. Students may be required to take additional hours in areas where deficiencies are noted.
Transfer students must complete at least nine hours of their studio concentration at UALR. For example, a student who has 15 hours accepted in transfer credit for painting must complete an additional nine hours of painting at UALR if painting is the studio concentration.