Main Office
Art Building, Room 107

Mailing address:
1155 Union Circle #305100
Denton, TX 76203-5017
940-565-2855
Fax: 940-565-4717

Web site:www.art.unt.edu

Student Services Office
Art Building, Room 111
940-565-2216

Eric Ligon, Interim Dean
Denise Baxter, Interim Associate Dean for Academic and Administrative Affairs

The College of Visual Arts and Design is a faculty of artists, designers and scholars engaged in the integrated activities of teaching and research. Faculty in the college believe a high level of professional activity not only enhances teaching, but also provides students with models upon which to pattern their own careers. Building on a traditional arts foundation, the faculty prize innovation in their work and in that of their students. The college’s size, numerous programs and location in the Dallas–Fort Worth region create multiple opportunities for students to grow in their own disciplines. Because the students have varied socioeconomic backgrounds, their interactions create an atmosphere of heightened artistic initiative and independence.

Instruction is offered for students seeking a cultural foundation in art, but the curriculum focuses primarily on professional programs for those majoring and minoring in various art fields.

The College of Visual Arts and Design is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (11250 Roger Bacon Drive, Suite 21, Reston, VA, 20190; 703-437-0700).

Mission

To engage our diverse student population with issues of artistic heritage, to stimulate their imagination and involvement with the world, to foster their critical and analytical thinking, and to inspire their creativity through educational opportunities in art education, art history, design, and studio arts, supported by a vital program of creative research.

Goals

Access: To provide undergraduate and graduate students, many of whom are first generation college students, access to outstanding programs.

Pursuit of excellence: To recruit and retain highly qualified students, to develop student potential, and to manage selective degree programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels, providing a high quality environment that prepares students to become leading professionals in their fields.

Service to the region and the world: To provide programming and access to resources in collaboration with educational, governmental, and cultural agencies, reflecting our role as part of a multi-campus university system integrated into the Dallas–Fort Worth–Denton region and networked world-wide.

Prominence: To ensure the prominence of our students, faculty, programs, and institutes regionally, nationally and internationally, and continue our role as leaders in visual arts education.

Entering students

Entering students interested in majoring in the College of Visual Arts and Design will initially be advised by the office of Student Services. Admission to the university does not guarantee admission to the major. All students will be classified as pre-majors until they meet the criteria for their chosen major. For full details see an academic advisor in the Art building, Room 111.

Admission requirements

Admission to the College of Visual Arts and Design  

Academic advising

Academic advisors are available to assist continuing, freshman and transfer students in the College of Visual Arts and Design Student Services Office, Art Building, Room 111. Advisors assist students in the selection of courses and answer questions about selecting a major, degree audits, application of transfer credit, and general academic requirements, policies and procedures. New students and continuing art majors who are on probation must consult an advisor prior to registration.

Transfer credits

A transferred course must be reviewed for approval in order to be substituted for a required art course. Transfer credits in art from other schools can be substituted for UNT degree requirements only when content of the two courses is the same. Art core courses (Art Appreciation, Design I, Design II, Drawing I, Drawing II, Art History Survey I and Art History Survey II) are transferable from most schools. The student should provide a transcript of all college work so the advisor may better assist the student with course selection. Transfer students’ transcript evaluations are tentative, pending successful completion of a term/semester of work in art at UNT.

Transfer courses in the major area of art are evaluated by program faculty to be sure that students have acquired necessary competencies. It is the student’s responsibility to provide the faculty advisor with a copy of the catalog that describes the content of any course to be transferred. Examples of work created in the class may also be required for evaluation of skill level. Faculty advisors are available by appointment when school is in session.

Students who transfer to UNT as art majors generally need at least three years at the university to complete degree requirements in sequence, regardless of the number of credit hours previously completed.

Academic requirements

Art majors and art minors must take courses on the four class levels in sequence and must maintain at least a 2.5 grade point average in all art courses. Only grades of C (2.0) or better in art courses will count toward a student’s degree requirements. A grade of C or better is required in any art course to count as a prerequisite. The teacher certification program for visual arts studies majors requires a 2.75 cumulative GPA on all UNT and transfer work.

Advanced Placement

Students who have completed Advanced Placement art courses in high school, earning scores of 4 or 5, may receive the following credit toward UNT degrees in art:

International Baccalaureate

Students who have completed the International Baccalaureate ART/DESIGN higher level examinations with a score of 5 or higher should consult the College of Visual Arts and Design Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs, Art Building, Room 111, regarding the application of IB credit toward degree programs in the College of Visual Arts and Design. Students who wish to petition to substitute IB work for credit other than an art elective should be prepared to show a portfolio of work. Students should contact the department of their major.

Degree requirements and the University Core Curriculum

Occasionally a course required for a degree may also satisfy a requirement of the University Core Curriculum. In addition to taking the required course, a student may elect to take a different course from among those available to fulfill that core requirement; doing so, however, may add to the total number of hours required for the degree. Students who have questions regarding degree and core requirements should consult a college degree program advisor.

Programs of study

The college offers programs leading to the Bachelor of Arts (BA) and Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA). BA and BFA degree programs are offered through the following departments:

Department of Art Education and Art History

• BA—Interdisciplinary Art and Design Studies
• BA—Art History
• BFA—Visual Art Studies

Department of Design

• BFA—Communication Design
• BFA—Fashion Design
• BFA—Interior Design

Department of Studio Art

BFA—Studio Art, with concentrations in ceramics, drawing and painting, fibers, metalsmithing and jewelry, new media art, photography, printmaking, and sculpture.

Four-year plans

Suggested four-year plans that detail all requirements for each undergraduate degree offered by the College of Visual Arts and Design are available on request from the Student Services Office. These suggested plans may also be accessed through the College of Visual Arts and Design web site (www.art.unt.edu).

Degree audit

A degree audit is an official document of the university that lists all the courses needed to complete a chosen degree and shows how all of the courses completed are applied toward the degree. Students should file a degree audit when they reach the sophomore level of their chosen major. Some majors do their audits in classroom groups (defer to department chair for more specific information). Once the department submits the degree audit to the Student Services Office (Art Building, Room 111), the form will be processed, and the student will be notified via e-mail when it is available for pick up. Students may obtain an updated copy each term/semester from Student Services, Art Building, Room 111. Academic advisors are available by appointment to assist students with questions that may arise as they chart their progress.

Major and minor

For requirements in the major and minor, students should consult “University Core Curriculum ” in the Academics section and the appropriate department section of this catalog.

College of Visual Arts and Design galleries

The University of North Texas Art Gallery, located in the Art Building, presents a broadly based exhibition program with emphasis on contemporary art. It functions as the communications intersection and training ground for future artists, designers and educators, and stimulates lively discourse on current issues in art.

The Cora Stafford Gallery, a 900-square-foot space located in Oak Street Hall, provides an experimental laboratory for student- and faculty-generated exhibitions as well as an alternative forum for installation work, small shows and other spontaneous programming.

Scholarships

Art scholarships have been established through gifts from faculty, students, alumni and friends of the College of Visual Arts and Design. In addition to endowed scholarships, occasional annual scholarships are awarded. More than 70 art scholarships are awarded annually for a total of more than $80,000.

Applicants for all scholarships in art must be enrolled as full-time undergraduate or graduate students in an art major at UNT. Additional criteria for each scholarship, application materials and deadlines are available through the Student Services Office, College of Visual Arts and Design, Art Building, Room 111.