Tulane's Studio Art program is open to all university students with an interest in visual arts. Our program enables students to explore the visual arts through direct experience in a variety of media: ceramics, digital arts, drawing, hot glass sculpting, painting, photography, printmaking, and sculpture. Lectures, discussion, critiques, and extensive studio work are directed toward the development of design principles and an understanding and appreciation of the visual arts and their role in the expression of personal and cultural values.

Interested in a Studio Art major or minor? Send your Major/Minor Declaration Form to artdept@tulane.edu to have our chair sign off on it, and we will send it back to you.

The Bachelor of Fine Arts, abbreviated BFA, is the standard undergraduate degree for students seeking a professional education in the visual or performing arts. A Bachelor of Arts, BA degree, is also available.

BFA in Studio Art

The Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Studio Art provides a unique and tailored education that trains creative individuals to be resilient problem solvers and critical thinkers, as well as preparing them for a career in the arts. Balancing academic rigor with experimental play, the program empowers students to approach their artistic practice with a deep understanding of its interconnectedness with society and the environment. Our undergraduate experience is characterized by small class sizes, a commitment to individual mentorship, and support for distinctive expression across diverse forms and techniques. Students are encouraged to take courses in any medium or field of study relevant to their evolving practice utilizing state-of-the-art facilities in ceramics, digital art, glass, painting & drawing, photography, printmaking, and sculpture. Through creative project development, interdisciplinary research, and exposure to a wide range of artistic traditions, students emerge equipped with the skills to produce art that shapes and reflects the world around us.

Note: For the BFA in Studio Art, students must fulfill all general requirements as described in the Liberal Arts curriculum including those of the Newcomb-Tulane College core with the following exception: one science with laboratory course is required in the Math and Natural Science distribution requirement of the core curriculum for B.F.A. degree-seeking students instead of one science with laboratory course plus an additional Math and Natural Science course.

Transfer students wishing advanced standing in studio courses toward the BFA are required to submit representative examples of the work done for which credit has been received at another institution. Incoming first-year students who expect to be art majors are advised to take Art Studio 1050 and three foundations courses during their first year. At the end of the sophomore year, the art department studio faculty will assign an adviser. Candidates for the BFA. are allowed to take only one level of a studio course sequence in summer school.

Declaration of the BFA major is contingent on the acceptance by the faculty and must be done at least one year before graduation. Review of applications will take place once at the end of each semester. Applications must include: (1) major declaration form; (2) current degree audit sheet; (3) portfolio of 5-10 pieces of artwork in any medium. The faculty strongly suggests that the student meet with his/her major studio professor before initiating this process. Accepted candidates will then be reviewed and evaluated during the spring semester of their junior year and late in the fall semester of their senior year.

BA in Studio Art

The Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Studio Art provides a comprehensive education in artistic production that trains creative individuals to be resilient problem solvers and critical thinkers, as well as preparing them for a career in the arts. Balancing academic rigor with experimental play in a program designed to allow for additional majors, the BA in Studio Art empowers students to approach their artistic practice with a deep understanding of its interconnectedness with society and the environment. Our undergraduate experience is characterized by small class sizes, a commitment to individual mentorship, and support for distinctive expression across diverse forms and techniques. Students are encouraged to take courses in any medium or field of study relevant to their evolving practice utilizing state-of-the-art facilities in ceramics, digital art, glass, painting & drawing, photography, printmaking, and sculpture. Through creative project development, interdisciplinary research, and exposure to a wide range of artistic traditions, students emerge equipped with the skills to produce art that that shapes and reflects the world around us.

Minor in Studio Art

A minor in Studio Art allows for the pursuit of artistic making and thinking in a way that compliments and informs the student’s primary fields of study.

Note: No more than half of the required courses can be transferred into the program.