Fine Arts (BFA)

Quick Facts

As a Fine Arts student:

• Must complete 61.5 credits - see curriculum requirements below
• UArts Fine Arts graduates receive an accredited degree in Fine Arts, certified by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania through the Middle States Commission on Higher Education
• You are eligible for a wide range of scholarships available during the admissions process.
• You can transfer into UArts. Learn more about transfer student applications.

See the full curriculum

Studying in the City

Living and working in the heart of Philadelphia, you’ll get to know local art organizations, museums, theaters, venues and the other spaces that make Philadelphia culturally and artistically inspiring. Our accomplished faculty are deeply embedded in the vibrant Philadelphia contemporary art scene and fabrication studios, which provides networking opportunities and behind-the-scenes experiences for UArts students. Our visiting artist and speaker series brings renowned artists, curators, writers, industry professionals and gallery directors to UArts, providing you with the opportunity for one-on-one meetings with the most important professionals in the field. Beyond Philadelphia, you’ll explore New York City and Washington D.C. through program-organized visits to museums, galleries and major contemporary art sites.

Philadelphia is an aspiring artist's extended classroom. The city's vibrant gallery scene, artist cooperatives and world-class museums showcase the work of national, international and local artists.

Areas of Emphasis

Facilities

Students at UArts have access to a broad selection of well-equipped facilities. As a student in the Fine Arts Program, you will be able to take classes, create art, explore mediums and refine your skills in UArts’ state of the art spaces, including spaces, including

• Sculpture studios
• Painting studios
• Drawing studios
• Print studios
• Metal shop with cold and hot processes
• Multiple well equipped woodshops
• Foundry for creating bronze and aluminum casting
• Makerspace, offering facilities dedicated to mold making and casting
• Extensive printmaking facilities including etching, screen printing and lithography
• A letterpress studio with one of the largest movable type collections in an art school in the US
• Bindery for book arts and book binding Facilities dedicated to non-silver and alternative print and photographic processes Photography studios and dark rooms Fibers facilities Ceramic facilities

The Albert M. Greenfield Makerspace is a 3,500-square-foot digital and traditional fabrication studio that houses state-of-the-art digital and analog equipment that helps you create virtually anything you can imagine. It is outfitted with

• 3-D printers and scanners;
• a router and a mill;
• laser,
• vinyl and substrate cutters;
• printed circuit board (PCB) and decal printers;
• and more.

The Center for Immersive Media (CIM) helps you explore and create with augmented and virtual reality, performance motion-capture and human-computer interaction. At 5,600 square feet, CIM is the largest such facility in the region.

The Borowsky Center for Publication Arts offers the UArts community the opportunity to explore offset process as a creative medium. Students in Printmaking, Graphic Design, Illustration, and other disciplines can utilize this commercial process to create a variety of projects, from show posters and promotional postcards to fine prints and artists’ books. The Borowsky Center additionally acts as a research facility within the university.

Students at UArts as well as members of the public can use the Print Center in Terra Hall to produce all manner of works. The Print Center’s Print Shop is a full-service printing facility specializing in archival Inkjet printing, laser printing, vinyl cutting and laminating. The Print Center also acts as an educational facility, providing guidance on file preparation and print media.

UArts’ studios and facilities center the social environment of creativity and embrace the peer-to-peer learning that’s fostered as in comfortable, well-equipped spaces where creatives and creators can work side by side and share knowledge, inspiration and techniques.

Galleries

Beyond spaces for creating art, UArts offers extensive facilities for exhibiting and experiencing art. UArts is home to 12 galleries, including the storied Philadelphia Art Alliance and the critically acclaimed Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery.

The Fine Arts program specifically maintains three galleries at UArts, including

• The Painting Gallery, located on the 8th floor of Anderson Hall. This gallery is a model venue for exhibiting two-dimensional artwork, focusing on painting, drawing and interdisciplinary work. The gallery runs three shows per semester of art by internationally recognized visiting artists, as well as that of students, alumni and faculty.
• The Fine Arts Gallery, located on the 6th floor of Anderson hall. This gallery focuses on print-based media with exhibitions of work from students, alumni and faculty, as well as from internationally recognized printmakers and book artists.
• Hybrid installation studios.

Visiting Artists

Careers & Internships

Your creative and technical studies in the Fine Arts program will intersect with critical professional competencies, setting you up to take successful next steps after graduating.

Careers in Fine Art

By the time they graduate, Fine Arts students will have developed an extensive portfolio of works and honed a breadth and depth of skill in fine arts practices, as well as developed sharp critical thinking and problem solving skills. As a graduate of the Fine Arts program, you will be able to apply your creativity to many different positions in a variety of career paths, including:

• Arts educator
• Art director
• Industrial designer
• Product designer
• Mural Artist Museum or Gallery Administrator
• Studio Artist
• Studio Manager/Artist assistant
• Special effects fabricator
• Business owners
• Art outreach program developer
• Textile designer
• Art therapist

Internships

As a student in the Fine Arts program, you will gain hands-on professional experience during your Professional Practices course and a required internship. Fine Arts students have the opportunity to exhibit work in numerous galleries and exhibition spaces, on campus and beyond. Such opportunities provide professional experiences and introduce your work to an audience that includes peers, faculty and the greater Philadelphia arts community.

Organizations that have hosted prior internships include

• Professional sculptor’s studios;
• Spiral Q Puppet Theater;
• industry fabrication studios, ceramic shops and foundries;
• The Fabric Workshop and Museum;
• public art fabrication projects, including Miguel Antonio Hornn’s “ContraFuerte” installation and fabrication;
• Philadelphia Museum of Art;
• The Center for Emerging Visual Artists;
• Vox Populi Gallery;
• and Philadelphia Mural Arts.

Alumni Spotlight

Our alumni work as artists and leaders across many creative industries. Their artwork has been exhibited nationally and internationally and featured at institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, Brookyln Museum, Philadelphia Museum of Art among others.

They’ve collaborated on projects like the Mars rover, exhibited their artwork in museums internationally, founded special effects companies, and worked in the biomedical field. They have created ecologically focused sustainable businesses, worked with theater set design, constructed large-scale commercial displays for companies such as Anthopologie and have been awarded prestigious fellowships like the Guggenheim Fellowship, and Pew Fellowship for the Arts.

Scholarships & Financial Aid

UArts recognizes the extraordinary talent of our students through a range of merit-based scholarships. All applicants are automatically considered for such scholarships—no special application is necessary.

Nearly 98 percent of UArts’ undergraduate students enrolled on a full-time basis are eligible for some type of need-based aid. Additionally, some scholarship opportunities take need-based criteria into account. All students who are U.S. citizens or eligible non-citizens and are enrolled in a degree program are encouraged to apply by completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

We encourage students to complete the FAFSA by March 15, if possible.

Many students and families have encountered technical challenges while trying to complete the FAFSA this year. If this is the case for you, continue to utilize the FAFSA support resources until your issue is resolved. UArts will ensure that all admitted students who file the FAFSA are eligible for the same institutional funding to support your costs.

Learn more

About the School of Art

The School of Art at University of the Arts deeply values and celebrates creative curiosity, interdisciplinary collaboration and exploration of numerous media and practices. The School of Art breaks with traditional, medium- and discipline-specific art education by making it possible for you to explore working and building skills in different media throughout the school.

You will be professionally prepared for a creative practice that emphasizes critical thinking and technical skill. You can create your own education through interdisciplinary learning and mixed media, or focus on a chosen discipline. No matter how you focus your exploration at the School of Art, you’ll learn to express your personal vision and innovate your chosen artforms.

Learn more about the School of Art.

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