Art BFA, Art & Art History BA & Minors

Art BFA, Art & Art History BA & Minors

About this Program

Create your artistic voice through the Art BFA, Art & Art History BA, Art Minor or Art History Minor while exploring diverse studio practices, global art histories and flexible pathways that prepare you for creative careers in the arts and beyond.

Whether you are seeking an immersive studio experience, a flexible interdisciplinary education or the opportunity to complement another major, you’ll find pathways that support your creative and academic goals. Across all programs, you’ll build technical skills in drawing, painting, photo media, printmaking, sculpture and new media while exploring how visual culture reflects and shapes society through global art histories. Hands-on learning extends beyond the classroom through professional studio facilities, museum and gallery visits, exhibitions and engagement with Seattle’s vibrant arts community.

As your interests evolve, these programs provide the flexibility to shape an education that fits your ambitions. You can deepen your expertise in a chosen medium, explore interdisciplinary approaches, add a minor or double major, or pursue creative interests alongside another field of study. Guided by practicing artists and scholars, you’ll graduate with the creative confidence, critical thinking and professional skills to make an impact across a wide range of artistic and creative careers.

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Quick Facts

Program Type

Major or Minor

Degree

  • Bachelor of Fine Arts
  • Bachelor of Arts
  • Minor

School

Cornish College of the Arts

Campus

South Lake Union

Learning Format

In-Person

Duration

4 years

Start Date

August, January

Credits

120 semester credits

At a Glance

Choosing a college is about finding the program that best supports your goals. At Cornish, we look for students who are passionate about their area of study and eager to grow.

Art BFA

The Art BFA embraces an experimental approach to technical development and contextual awareness. The flexible format allows you to go deep within a chosen medium or experiment across varied artistic approaches. BFA students can also add a minor in another field within the college or across the university to enhance their visual art studies.

Interdisciplinary year-level studio classes give you the opportunity to develop a supportive cohort of peers while determining your own artistic vision. All BFA students have access to our innovative labs and studios, with 3rd and 4th year students receiving their own dedicated spaces.

The BFA in Art prepares you for creative careers through in-depth exploration of techniques, concepts, and art histories, along with guided experience in mounting professional exhibitions, culminating in our highly respected capstone Thesis Exhibition.

Along the way, you can chart your own path by focusing on a specific medium or combining media in new ways. Our Media Concentrations include:

  • Interdisciplinary Art
  • New Media (video and digital art)
  • Painting
  • Photo-media
  • Printmaking
  • Sculpture

Art & Art History BA

The Art & Art History BA integrates the pursuit of essential artmaking skills with an exploration of art history, developing your artistic vision and scholarly voice. Two concentrations let you emphasize the study of artmaking techniques or the study of art history, with both options providing a blend of creative and art historical practices.

Like the BFA, the BA in Art & Art History allows you to hone your artistic skills across a range of mediums, including drawing, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, and new media (video/digital art). You will also choose from global art history courses that center critical topics, research skills, and innovative educational approaches.

In distinction from the BFA, the BA in Art & Art History is more flexible, giving you the opportunity to take additional courses in either concentration or outside of the department, or to double-major. It also offers clear and accessible entry for transfer students.

Art Minor

Minoring in art encourages both focused and exploratory interests in forms such as drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, sculpture and new media; you can also combine media according to your interests. A minor in Art provides unique skill building with access to Cornish’s innovative studios and tools, as well as contextual thinking through art history courses, easily becoming a valuable complement to another major or field of study.  Creative problem-solving and critical thinking are some of the most sought-after skills in today’s job market.

Art History Minor

The Art History Minor engages you in the study of art history through a variety of critical and topical lenses. Art History builds strong analytical and writing skills, along with the crucial ability to understand artistic practice within cultural and historical contexts. This training complements study in a wide variety of fields from the sciences to the humanities and develops abilities in communication and interpretation that are so necessary for many careers.

Core Skills & Techniques

  • Deeply pursue individual mediums – such as Drawing, Painting, Printmaking, Photography, Sculpture and New Media.
  • Collaborate with artists and discover practices across the college and university. Explore a variety of digital and traditional media to create a solid foundation for further exploration
  • Flexible course requirements allow students to explore classes in other majors to build upon their artistic practice
  • The program emphasizes critical thinking, creative experimentation, and professional development.
  • Develop professional and applicable skills to support a life-long creative practice and a variety of careers in the arts

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the Art BFA, you will be able to:

  • Demonstrate proficiency with the tools, techniques, and methods in one or more artistic disciplines
  • Produce and install an individual, research-based body of work in a public exhibition
  • Contextualize art practices (including your own) within cultural, historical, and socio-political frameworks
  • Communicate complex ideas about the relationship between form and content verbally, visually, and in writing
  • Develop professional practices needed for graduate studies or a sustainable career

Upon successful completion of the Art & Art History BA, you will be able to:

  • Demonstrate a facility with the tools, techniques, and methods of your concentration (art or art history)
  • Produce an individual, research-based project or exhibition suitable for a chosen career path
  • Contextualize art practices (including your own) within cultural, historical, and socio-political frameworks
  • Communicate complex ideas verbally, visually, and in writing.
  • Identify professional practices needed for graduate studies or a sustainable career
Degree Combinations

Connect Your Passion to New Possibilities

Explore purposeful academic combinations while pursuing a rigorous arts education to enhance your career preparation. At Seattle University, you can combine an Art & Art History BA with a wide variety of other majors or add any minor while staying on track to graduate in four years. You can also customize an Art BFA by pursuing any minor offered across Seattle University without extending your time to degree.

While this is not an exhaustive list, explore some of the many ways Art can be paired with other disciplines to enhance your academic journey and strengthen your professional preparation:

Around Campus

Explore Facilities

Create with confidence in professional spaces that encourage experimentation, collaboration and artistic exploration.

Visual Art Spaces

Build your creative practice in professional studios, shops and galleries equipped with the tools and spaces you need to experiment, collaborate and bring your artistic ideas to life.

Jon and Mary Shirley Fabrication Studio

Create across disciplines in a fabrication studio equipped for wood, metal, ceramics, casting, laser cutting, 3D printing, CNC milling and collaborative art-making.

Fabrication Studio

Multimedia Checkout Center

Borrow professional-quality cameras, lighting, audio, film and photography equipment through MCC², giving you access to the tools you need to bring your creative projects to life.

List of Faculty Members

Art Faculty + Staff

Dedicated to mentoring the next generation of creatives, Cornish faculty combine extensive professional expertise with a passion for teaching students how to develop the skills, confidence and vision to succeed in the arts.

Art
Academic Venue Supervisor
Hyuk Chang
Administration
Academic Advisor
Music | Musical Theater
Adjunct
Art | Design
Academic Program Coordinator – Art & Design Departments
Art
Adjunct Faculty
Art
Instructor, Fabrication Studio Technician
Game Art | Film
Adjunct Faculty
Art
Adjunct Faculty
Humanities + Sciences | Art
Adjunct Faculty
Core staff
Multimedia Checkout Technician, Adjunct Faculty
Art
Adjunct Faculty
Art
Instructor
Art
Teaching Professor
Art
Associate Teaching Professor
Art
Teaching Professor
Art
Teaching Professor
Art
Associate Teaching Professor
Art
Department Chair, Associate Teaching Professor
Art
Instructor