Art and Design

Chairperson: Kira Enriquez Loya
Department Office: Fine Arts Building, Room 108
Web site: https://indianastate.edu/academics/colleges/arts-sciences/art-design
E-mail: ISU-Art.Design@indstate.edu

The undergraduate programs offered by the Department of Art and Design encourage students to think and work creatively, and to become engaged members of a variety of artistic and scholarly communities. The programs are designed to develop broad and versatile creative abilities while providing a highly professional education that prepares students for careers as studio artists, graphic designers, educators, multimedia practitioners, art educators and art historians, as well as for future graduate study. The University, including the programs offered by the Department of Art and Design are accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD).

ACADEMIC PROGRAMS

Degrees Offered

The Department of Art and Design offers the Bachelor of Fine Arts, the Bachelor of Arts in Art, and the Bachelor of Science in Art Education All Grade. Candidates for any of these degrees must successfully complete the University requirement of a minimum of 120 credits, including Foundational Studies course work and the requirements for the departmental major.

The Bachelor of Fine Arts program is a profession-oriented degree in studio art, designed to develop high levels of competency in Design or one studio area.

The Bachelor of Fine Arts graduates are prepared to enter the work market or to pursue a Master of Fine Arts, or related graduate degree. Studio requirements, beyond the highly structured core curriculum, allow students to acquire advanced levels of technical expertise and proficiency. This program allows students to produce a cohesive body of work for their final senior exhibition or design portfolio. Through their individual upper-level design courses, students gain familiarity with and expertise in standard industry technology and software. Students within this concentration develop the ability to work comprehensively and secure competitive jobs in their chosen field.

Students are required to declare a concentration in Graphic Design or one of the following studio areas: ceramics, digital art, drawing, design studies, painting, photography, printmaking, and sculpture.

The Bachelor of Science in Art Education All Grade prepares students to become licensed as teachers of the visual arts. The program provides for licensure to teach kindergarten-12 and to supervise art programs at these levels. Students are expected to become thoroughly familiar with the teaching curriculum and the requirements for admission to the Teacher Education Program, which are detailed in the Bayh College of Education and the Department of Teaching and Learning sections in this Catalog. Specific courses are also listed below the Art Education Program requirements. All art education majors must obtain a grade of C or better in the core classes to advance in the teacher licensure program.

The Bachelor of Arts is designed for students who desire a more general education, coursework includes art history, theory, and criticism. The Art major offers concentrations in Studio Art, Design Studies and Art History. Studio requirements, beyond the highly structured core curriculum, allow students to acquire exposure to a range of disciplines. Through introductory- and intermediate-level requirements in three broad areas of study (visual communication and design, 2-dimensional studio, and 3-dimensional studio) students gain familiarity with a range of processes, techniques, and materials. The program of study challenges students with projects that afford them increasing amounts of independence. Students in the Bachelor of Arts concentration in Design Studies and Studio Arts are prepared for entry-level positions within arts/design-related fields as well as advanced study in particular studio areas.

Departmental Opportunities

The department considers advising to be an important part of a student’s academic journey. Recognizing that each student has unique career goals, and every student in the Department of Art and Design receives professional guidance to determine an appropriate and specialized program to meet their needs. Students who work closely with their academic and area advisors are more likely to be successful. All students are required to meet with their academic advisor prior to registration each semester.
Each student in the department’s programs must complete the fourth-semester (or incoming-transfer) portfolio review with an overall acceptance. The portfolio will include work from core studio courses and may include work from other courses.

The programs of the Department of Art and Design are located in several campus facilities. The Fine Arts Building, which underwent a $15M renovation in 2019, houses graphic design and digital art computer labs and collaboration spaces, the Media Realization Center, serigraphy studio, art education facility, classrooms, faculty offices and the department office. Studios for painting, photography, printmaking, and drawing are located in historic Fairbanks Hall. The Dick Hay Memorial Art Annex, a vast factory-like space, houses the ceramics, sculpture-metal and wood/furniture studios. Offices of 2D and 3D faculty are located in Fairbanks Hall and the Dick Hay Memorial Art Annex. Offices of 2D and 3D faculty are located in Fairbanks Hall and the Dick Hay Memorial Art Annex.

Our department is proud to host three distinguished art galleries, offering students valuable exposure to national and international artists through scheduled exhibitions and lectures. The Yang Family University Art Gallery, located in the Landini Center for Performing and Fine Arts, features exhibitions and lectures by prominent artists, curators, and scholars, providing a dynamic learning experience for students. The Bare-Montgomery Gallery, located in Fairbanks Hall, provides students with the opportunity to exhibit their own work or to curate exhibitions of student work. The Turman Art Gallery, located in the Fine Arts Building, serves as an excellent space for both professional artists and students to display their work.

These galleries showcase a diverse range of artistic mediums, styles, and themes, offering programming designed for educational purposes while serving the broader Terre Haute community and beyond.

In addition, the Indiana State University Permanent Art Collection, administered by the Cunningham Memorial Library, houses an impressive inventory of twentieth-century artwork that is exhibited throughout the University.