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Fine Arts Majors
To meet your individual interests and goals, we offer four majors in Fine Arts and two distinct degrees: the Bachelor of Arts and the Bachelor of Fine Arts.
About the Majors
OWU has a long and rich history in Fine Arts, with graduates who exhibit in galleries and museums around the world, work in a wide range of professions, and teach at all levels from grade school through college. Studio facilities rival those of many large universities, and students work in virtually every medium.
Students in Fine Arts select from four majors:
- Bachelor of Fine Arts: B.F.A. students are those who are planning to be professional artists, art teachers, or graphic designers. Most students combine various media concentrations (ceramics, computer imaging, drawing, graphic design, metals, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture) to reflect their own interests. At the advanced levels, students work on their own independent projects.
- Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art: B.A. students take a lower concentration of courses in the arts and often combine their art studies with a second major. They choose from among the same curricular concentrations and meet the same standards of artistic and academic excellence as those who select the B.F.A. route.
- Art History: For the B.A. degree in Fine Arts with a concentration in art history, students explore the art of the past in the context of its historical and cultural setting. Art history courses cover many different periods and cultures such as Classical, medieval, Italian Renaissance, Baroque, American, Islamic, Asian, modern, and contemporary art. All art history majors are required to complete a capstone project working one-on-one with a faculty member on an independent study project of their own choosing.
- Art Education (B.F.A.): The Art Education program is for students pursuing K-12 certification. Students enroll as B.F.A. majors with additional coursework in the education department and supervision for student teaching coordinated with both art and education professors. The combination of the B.F.A.’s extensive and thorough grounding in studio art and art history mixed with the curriculum and supervision in the education department makes our graduates unusually qualified and very competitive for teaching positions.
OWU’s partnership with Carnegie Mellon University gives students the opportunity to pursue a Master of Arts Management degree.
Related Minors
Think Big
At Ohio Wesleyan, students are given the opportunity to broaden their learning across academic disciplines and outside of the classroom.
Fine Arts students can bring together four years of work in art and other disciplines into special artistic and research projects.
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Senior Art Show
Every year, OWU showcases the work of senior art students in an exhibition of juried works at the Richard M. Ross Art Museum. The art is a culmination of four years' work by the students.
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24/7 Studios
Students have access to our studios 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This free access to studio facilities is crucial in helping the students meet the high expectations of each course and rise to high levels of achievement.
Go Global
We believe every Ohio Wesleyan student should be immersed in new cultures and new environments - it's an essential part of a 21st-century college education.
We also encourage any opportunity to travel or study abroad during your four years. Numerous Travel-Learning Courses and other travel programs are available, many in a student’s first year, to broaden global perspective.
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Renaissance Art & Thought
The "Renaissance Art & Thought" Travel-Learning Course traveled to Siena and Florence, Italy, to bring classroom learning to life.
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Exploring Art in Italy
Caroline Shaffer '19 studied art in Italy during the summer of 2017 along with three other students, Ross Art Museum Director Erin Fletcher, and Politics & Government Professor Ashley Biser.
Get Real
Gain real experience through internships and signature projects. In the New York Arts Program, you can spend an exciting semester in the art capital of the world. You'll have an on-the-job experience with NYC professionals in various artistic fields.
You also can participate in Theory-to-Practice Grant trips as early as your first year. A Theory-to-Practice Grant could fund your original research, internship, or creative project anywhere in the world.
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Service Learning to Senior Project
Inspired by a Spring Break Interfaith Service trip to New Orleans, Wyatt Hall '17 created a book of photographs from around the city to display at his senior art show.
Inspired Teaching
OWU faculty are outstanding scholars and researchers—and passionate teachers. They will push you, challenge you, inspire you, and work with you on your own research and creative projects.
They can even pack a 3-minute lecture with ideas, insight, and imagination. Check out our unique i³ lectures.
Highlights
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Jewelry/Metals Facilities
Jannuzi Painting Studio
The 3,500-square-foot Jannuzi Painting Studio includes 24 easels and appropriate storage, there is room to spread out and create ambitious large-format work. Intermediate and advanced painting students have semiprivate areas in which to work. There are a variety of color-corrected overhead lighting systems as well as north-facing overhead skylights.
Photography Facilities
The photography facilities include a light studio, a lecture classroom, a beginning-level gang darkroom that houses 11 enlarger stations, three advanced-level semiprivate darkrooms, one large format/non silver darkroom, several development and film loading rooms, and a print mounting and matting room. All of the darkrooms are equipped with Hiretech custom gel coat sinks and case work and the latest Saunders enlargers.
A Look at Fine Arts
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Iron Pour
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Interactive Exhibits
As part of the Fall 2016 "A Show of Horses" opening, a horse was brought outside the museum for visitors to pet.
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Kristina Bogdanov
Professor Bogdanov at the 2018 Faculty Art Show.
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Cynthia Cetlin
Professor Cetlin at the 2018 Faculty Art Show.
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Ross Museum of Art
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Jeff Nilan
Professor Nilan at the 2018 Faculty Art Show.
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Creative Exhibits
In Fall 2017, the Ross Art Museum itself was an exhibit. Every night, historic documents from the town of Delaware were projected on the building's facade until midnight.
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Visiting Artists
Los Angeles artist and writer Robbie Herbst exhibited his work at the Ross Art Museum and led a workshop with 20 OWU students.
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Jonathan Quick
Professor Quick at the 2018 Faculty Art Show.
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Frank Hobbs
Professor Hobbs at the 2018 Faculty Art Show.
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Lancaster Festival Artist
The same month Kristen Canda graduated from OWU in May 2017, the fine arts major was selected as the 2017-2018 artist-in-residence for the Lancaster Festival in central Ohio’s Fairfield County.
Department Contact Info
Location
Ohio Wesleyan University
Delaware, OH 43015