Art department

The art program at Bluffton University provides a comprehensive knowledge of all aspects of art, helping you define individual aesthetic attitudes and develop personal goals with an emphasis on studio disciplines. Liberal arts is an integral part of all Bluffton University courses of study. For art majors, a liberal arts education provides access to your cultural past and present diversity, as well as helping you to understand yourself as an individual, artist and member of a complex and changing society.

Majors and career choices

Bluffton offers two majors in art: art and art education and two minors: art and graphic design.

The art major provides a strong foundation in a variety of studio experiences and allows time for you to pursue your own special interests.

The art education major prepares you to teach art in grades K-12. It is a comprehensive major, requiring accurate scheduling and careful time management.

Our graduates are working as public and private school art teachers, college professors, design artists for publications, museum directors, freelance artists, silk screen printers, interior designers and production craftspeople.

The art program

The art program is structured to include studio experiences which will provide you with sound preparation for creative endeavor in a variety of career settings.

The first year provides fundamental training in essential design and drawing skills. It includes Drawing I, Figure Drawing, Design I (two-dimensional) and Design II (three-dimensional).

The sophomore year typically includes exploration in a variety of studio areas. These include required courses in Ceramics, Painting, Printing, Printmaking, Sculpture and elective options in graphic design, photography and watercolor.

Additional elective and required studio courses are included in your junior year curriculum with specific requirements for career goals, including certification for teaching.

An important backdrop to this program of studio experiences is a series of three art history courses surveying the development of Western art from the prehistoric period to the present. One course from this sequence is offered each year and the series of three is normally completed at the end of your junior year.

As a senior art major you will complete advanced requirements and electives in the studio area and may pursue advanced individual goals with particular media or processes through independent study. In addition, three special courses will prepare you for the particular challenges you will face upon graduation. Portfolio Organization and Review assists in the development of a professional portfolio in preparation for the job search process. Senior Exhibition provides the experience of mounting an exhibition of personal work. Art Now Seminar provides an on-site survey of current trends in the visual arts through study of the galleries, museums and art resources of a major urban area.

The student teaching experience is also central to the senior if you are majoring in art education.

Check out the Grace Albrecht Gallery.

Check out our full list of majors, minors and programs.