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128 Total Credits Required

Liberal Arts Requirements, 42 Credits. Program Requirements, 86 Credits.

The first-year Foundation Program, a focused progression of studio and critical art theory courses, enables students to explore many forms and philosophies of art making, giving them an unusually wide array of skills and visual languages with which to express their ideas. Students develop technical and analytical skills, as well as creative discipline, and a clearer understanding of the relationship between art and society.

Beginning as early as second semester Freshman year and beyond, students begin to take Liberal Arts Core classes and choose studio courses in consultation with an adviser. Students also complete upper level interdisciplinary studio projects and departmental studio and theory based electives. Praxis courses combine critical theory with innovative artistic practices, and classes in experimental forms, such as Autobiography, Art and Activism, Sex and Contemporary Art, and The Artist as Visionary and Saboteur, expand the definitions of art and its audiences. Students may also select a minor from among many of the undergraduate programs at NYU.

Senior Studio is a year-long course that provides a concentrated, non-media-specific forum for students to receive rigorous feedback from faculty, peers, and visiting critics as they develop one or more bodies of work towards a spring semester exhibition. Every senior will receive their own private studio, write their senior thesis, engage in weekly individual and group critiques, and curate a group senior thesis exhibition. Throughout the semester, students are expected to be working extensively in their studios, in conversation and collaboration with their peers and faculty.

Liberal Arts Courses: BFA students are required to complete a significant number of courses in the liberal arts, totaling 40 credits. According to New York State regulations, liberal arts courses “comprise the disciplines of the humanities, natural sciences and mathematics, and social sciences,” and are to be distinguished from courses that emphasize applied knowledge, and/or practical, occupational or professional training.  

Internships provide a valuable opportunity for students to network and gain professional experience within the professional art world. Students may receive a maximum of 6 credits toward graduation in exchange for internship hours as early as Spring Sophomore year. To seek credit for an experience, students must register their internship prior to their start date. 

College Core Curriculum (CORE)

28 Credits

Foreign Language - 4 Credits
Expository Writing - 8 Credits
EXPOS-UA 1
Writing the Essay
4 Credits
Foundations of Contemporary Culture - 8 Credits
CORE-UA 04xx/ST-CORE-UE
Texts and Ideas
4 Credits
CORE-UA 05xx/ST-CORE-UE
Cultures and Contexts
4 Credits
Foundations of Scientific Inquiry - 8 Credits
CORE-UA xxxx/ST-CORE-UE
Quantitative Reasoning
4 Credits
Or
CORE-UE xxxx
Mathematics Course (by advisement)
4 Credits
CORE-UA 2xx/CORE-UA 3xx/ST-CORE-UE
Physical Science/Life Science
4 Credits
Or
PSYCH-UA xxxx
CAS Psychology Elective
4 Credits

Other Liberal Arts Requirements

14 Credits

ARTCR-UE 58
ARTCR-UE 52
ARTCR-UE 51
ARTCR-UE 37
Choose one of the following courses for 4 credits:
ARTCR-UE 55
4 Credits
ARTCR-UE 10
ARTH-UA xxxx
Art History Restricted Elective
4 Credits

Additional Requirements

SAHS-UE 1
SAHS-UE WPE
Writing Proficiency Examination
0 Credits

Foundation Studios

20 Credits

ART-UE 107
ART-UE 211
ART-UE 212
ART-UE 314

Upper Level Studios, Projects, Praxis and Department Electives

46 Credits

Intermediate Studios - 12 Credits
Choose any 2 (Fall Sophomore Year) and any 2 (Spring Sophomore Year) from the following courses: "
ART-UE 1114
3 Credits
ART-UE 1116
3 Credits
ART-UE 1221
3 Credits
ART-UE 1314
3 Credits
ART-UE 1315
ART-UE 1316
3 Credits
ART-UE 1318
3 Credits
ART-UE 1420
3 Credits
ART-UE 1514
3 Credits
ART-UE 1517
3 Credits
Studio Projects - 12 Credits
Select 4 ART-UE courses for a total of 12 Credits
ART-UE xxxx
Undergraduate Art Course (by advisement)
3 Credits
Praxis - 3 Credits
ART-UE 900
Senior Studios - 7-11 Credits
ART-UE 1905 is taken twice (a corequisite for each Senior Studio).
ART-UE 1901
1 - 4 Credits
ART-UE 1902
1 - 4 Credits
ARTCR-UE 1095
Art Department Electives - 8-12 Credits
ART-UE xxxx course by advisement
ART-UE xxxx
Undergraduate Art Course (by advisement)
3 Credits

Unrestricted Electives

20 Credits

Continued Study, MA Art Education

Students interested in continuing on for the MA in Teaching Art may take a graduate-level art education course in the spring or fall term of their senior year and reduce the credits required for the MA.

Course options include:

  • Contemporary Art and Critical Pedagogy: Identity, Representation & Multiculturalism
  • Special Education, Disabilities Studies and Contemporary Art
  • Media Literacy and Art in the Classroom

Financial aid in the MA program is different than it is in the undergraduate program.  All potential graduate candidates must submit a FAFSA by the February 1 deadline. Learn more about graduate financial aid.

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