Requirements
Required for the Major
(12 courses)
- ART 0155, ART 0156, ART 0157, ART 0159, ART 1034, or another introductory level drawing course in consultation with your advisor.
- Five studio art courses, three of which must be at the 0300 level or higher.*
- Studio Art offering of contemporary critical issues ART seminar (CW optional during semesters when it’s offered).
- Three additional courses in either studio art practice or any cross-disciplinary electives chosen in consultation with your advisors from the elective categories below.
- ART 0700 (CW optional)
- One survey HARC 0100 or HARC 0268
*The 0300 level classes integrate to give students well-rounded experience in major approaches to the practice of visual art. Classes in sculpture, photography, printmaking and painting focus on unique properties of each medium, yet highlight technical and expressive connections with each other and other areas of the curriculum (see elective categories). Instruction is highly individualized in order to help students develop their own artistic voice.
Joint Major Requirements
(8 courses)
- ART 0155, ART 0156, ART 0157, ART 0159, ART 1034, or another introductory level drawing course in consultation with your advisor.
- Studio Art offering of contemporary critical issues ART seminar (CW optional during semesters when it’s offered).
- Four classes in studio art, three of which must be at the 0300 level or higher.
- ART 0700 (CW optional)
- One survey HARC 0100 or HARC 0268
Minor in Studio Art
(6 courses)
- ART 0155, ART 0156, ART 0157, ART 0159, ART 1034, or another introductory level drawing course in consultation with your advisor.
- Studio Art offering of contemporary critical issues ART seminar (CW optional during semesters when it’s offered).
- Three studio art courses, two of which must be at the 0300 level or higher.
- Minors are eligible to apply to enroll in ART 0700 (CW optional) in place of one of the four Studio Art courses.
- One survey HARC 0100 or HARC 0268
Foundation Classes
These courses teach essential visual ideas common to all visual art and design languages. They prepare a student to clearly communicate their creative expression in upper-level classes. Each category is unique yet designed to overlap fundamental concepts with other categories. Please see specific upper (300) level class descriptions for which type of Foundations class is required as a pre-requisite.
Drawing Foundations (art and design principles of line, shape, value, light, abstracted scale, perspective, structural anatomy, symbolic communication)
Please note: We do not recommend taking more than one intro level drawing course as they cover very similar content, with the exception of ART 0155 Cartoon, Caricature, Animation.
- ART 0155 Cartoon, Caricature, Animation (incorporation of animation)
- ART 0156 Unlearning What You See
- ART 0157 Foundation Drawing
- ART 0159 Studio Art 1
2/Dimensional Foundations: (2-D art and design principles of shape, mass, sequencing, digital imaging methodologies, color theory, pattern, symbolic communication)
- ART 0163 Visual Storytelling
- ART 0195 The Digital studio
- ART 0154 Color Theory and Practice
3/Dimensional Foundations: (3-D art and design principles of site, shape, materiality, physical scale, texture, spatial movement, symbolic communication)
- ART 0174 Spacing
- ART 0179 Ruins and Rituals
- ART 0180 Sculptural Architecture
Contemporary critical issues ART seminar courses (Contemporary art criticism teaches general audiences how the practice of art can be accessed, reflected upon, and understood. It also teaches how art is made and the relationships integral to making art, theories of aesthetics, and applied critical writing.) - ART 0187 Making Art in the 21st Century
- ART 0202 Art, Aesthetics, and Climate Change
Elective Categories
History of Visual Art Practice
Any history course in the history of human visual culture. For examples, please refer to the course descriptions of AMST 0225, FMMC 0267, HARC 0204, IGST 0420, and PHIL 0233.
Visual Imaging
Any course that seeks to understand and process knowledge through cognitive visual imaging. For examples, please refer to the course descriptions of CSCI 0461, DANC 0361, GEOG 0325, GEOL 0211, and PHYS 0221.
Metaphorical Thinking
Any course that teaches how to process knowledge through mapping experience between two realms, linguistic or non-linguistic. For examples, please refer to the course descriptions of CRWR 0170, ENVS/DANC 0277, FMMC 0106, MATH 0121, PHYS 0101, PHYS 0201, THEA 0218, and SPAN 0320.
Creative Practice
Any creative practicum course. For examples, please refer to the course descriptions of DANC 0160, FMMC 0348, HARC 0330, and MUSC 0221.
Honors
Categories of honors are based upon cumulative departmental averages as follows:
- Honors, 3.7
- High honors, 3.8
- Highest honors, 3.9 or higher
Teacher Training
Students interested in teacher training in art should consult with the chairs of the Education Studies program and the Studio Art program.
Study Abroad
Many students in Studio Art wish to pursue visual art-practice in depth during junior year away from Middlebury. The program has long experience with many institutions abroad (as well in the U.S.) that offer excellent studio art programs. Students should consult with their advisors to develop a plan for which schools and programs of study are most suitable for their goals. More about Middlebury’s Study Abroad opportunities.