Welcome to the School of Art!

Intro: Hi my name is Rachel Blumer and I am the Admissions Coordinator for BGSU’s School of Art. Today we’re going to be talking about the difference between a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. If you have any questions at the end of this presentation, please feel free to contact me. My contact information will be on the final slide. I’d love to chat whether that’s over the phone or via video call; I’m here to answer your questions.

Slides

1. Ok, let’s begin.

2. The School of Art has five divisions: Digital Arts, Art History, Graphic Design, Art Education, and Studio Art.

3. Of those divisions only Digital Arts and Studio Art offer the choice between a BA or a BFA degree.

a. Digital Arts offers areas of emphasis in

            i. Computer Animation and Video

            ii. Imaging

            iii. Interactive Art & Gaming

            iv. Virtual Reality

b. Studio includes the following media areas

            i. Drawing & Painting

            ii. Photography

            iii. Printmaking

            iv. Ceramics

            v. Glass

            vi. Jewelry & Metals

            vii. Sculpture

4.     Let’s compare the two degrees.

a. The Bachelor of Arts is a normal degree length,

i. but compared to a BFA it requires a lot fewer major classes: usually 42-45 credit hours which translates into 14 or 15 courses for your major. Now that includes your 3 foundation classes and your 4 required Art History classes.

ii. Fewer major classes means you have time for a minor or a double major. A minor usually requires 15-21 credit hours or 5-7 courses.

iii. Finally, BGSU’s College of Arts & Sciences requires that BA students have 4 years of the same foreign language. The good news is that if you studied a foreign language in high school those classes can count towards this requirement.

b. The Bachelor of Fine Arts has

i. a lot more major classes – usually between 73-75 credit hours which translates to 25 or 26 major classes. Again, this includes 3 foundation classes and 4 Art History classes.

ii. Now if you’re a Digital Arts BFA, that also includes studio art support classes. So you can take ceramics or printmaking or sculpture and those classes are built in to your major.

iii. BFA majors must pass a portfolio review which I will talk about in the next slide.

iv. They also complete a senior thesis project.

v. Because BFA majors have to take so many other classes, they are only required to take 2 years of the same foreign language and, again, if you’ve already done those two years in high school then you’re all set.

5. Ok, let’s talk Portfolio Review.

a. First of all, you are NOT required to submit a portfolio to be admitted to BGSU or the BGSU School of Art.

b. It is ONLY required for BFA majors and even then,

c. it is not submitted until the spring semester of your first year. So you’ll come to BGSU, complete your first two foundation courses and THEN submit your portfolio during your second semester.

d. You have two chances to pass the portfolio review so don’t worry. If you don’t pass the first time, you can always take it the next year and in the meantime, you can continue taking your coursework.

e. Also we offer faculty and staff support so you can ask your instructors to help you decide which pieces to put in your portfolio, how to photograph them,

f. and then you can use the production studio and media center to help you get the correct camera and other equipment and the space to take those photographs so that your artwork can really shine.

6. So if you want to do Digital Arts and you’re still trying to decide between a BA and a BFA, think about these two questions.

a. If you would like to combine your degree with another area of study like, say, Media Production, or maybe you would like to be a digital illustrator and you want to do the Word and Image minor, or maybe you just really want to minor in Japanese then a BA is a better fit for you because it allows you time to do an additional area of study.

b. But if you would prefer to have more experience through coursework in animation or imaging and you want to experience doing a big project like the BFA senior thesis project so that you can put it in your professional portfolio, then a BFA degree is probably a better fit for you.

7. If you’re going into studio you’ll want to ask yourself similar questions.

a. Would you like to combine with another area of study? For example; if you’re thinking about going into art therapy, doing a BA in studio with a minor in Psychology will prepare you for a master’s program in art therapy. Maybe you want to draw comic books or graphic novels. You can combine your BA with the Word and Image minor. Or maybe you want to pick something that will inform your artwork. Any of those things could be combined with a BA degree.

b. But if you would prefer to have more time in the studio to develop your style and concepts and you want to gain exhibition experience through a BFA senior thesis project to prepare you for a professional art career, then a BFA is probably a better fit for you.

8. Here is my contact information. If you have any further questions regarding the program, I would be happy to answer them. Thank you for watching.

Intro: Hi my name is Rachel Blumer and I am the Admissions Coordinator for BGSU’s School of Art. Today we’re going to be talking about the difference between a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. If you have any questions at the end of this presentation, please feel free to contact me. My contact information will be on the final slide. I’d love to chat whether that’s over the phone or via video call; I’m here to answer your questions.

Slides

1. Ok, let’s begin.

2. The School of Art has five divisions: Digital Arts, Art History, Graphic Design, Art Education, and Studio Art.

3. Of those divisions only Digital Arts and Studio Art offer the choice between a BA or a BFA degree.

a. Digital Arts offers areas of emphasis in

            i. Computer Animation and Video

            ii. Imaging

            iii. Interactive Art & Gaming

            iv. Virtual Reality

b. Studio includes the following media areas

            i. Drawing & Painting

            ii. Photography

            iii. Printmaking

            iv. Ceramics

            v. Glass

            vi. Jewelry & Metals

            vii. Sculpture

4.     Let’s compare the two degrees.

a. The Bachelor of Arts is a normal degree length,

i. but compared to a BFA it requires a lot fewer major classes: usually 42-45 credit hours which translates into 14 or 15 courses for your major. Now that includes your 3 foundation classes and your 4 required Art History classes.

ii. Fewer major classes means you have time for a minor or a double major. A minor usually requires 15-21 credit hours or 5-7 courses.

iii. Finally, BGSU’s College of Arts & Sciences requires that BA students have 4 years of the same foreign language. The good news is that if you studied a foreign language in high school those classes can count towards this requirement.

b. The Bachelor of Fine Arts has

i. a lot more major classes – usually between 73-75 credit hours which translates to 25 or 26 major classes. Again, this includes 3 foundation classes and 4 Art History classes.

ii. Now if you’re a Digital Arts BFA, that also includes studio art support classes. So you can take ceramics or printmaking or sculpture and those classes are built in to your major.

iii. BFA majors must pass a portfolio review which I will talk about in the next slide.

iv. They also complete a senior thesis project.

v. Because BFA majors have to take so many other classes, they are only required to take 2 years of the same foreign language and, again, if you’ve already done those two years in high school then you’re all set.

5. Ok, let’s talk Portfolio Review.

a. First of all, you are NOT required to submit a portfolio to be admitted to BGSU or the BGSU School of Art.

b. It is ONLY required for BFA majors and even then,

c. it is not submitted until the spring semester of your first year. So you’ll come to BGSU, complete your first two foundation courses and THEN submit your portfolio during your second semester.

d. You have two chances to pass the portfolio review so don’t worry. If you don’t pass the first time, you can always take it the next year and in the meantime, you can continue taking your coursework.

e. Also we offer faculty and staff support so you can ask your instructors to help you decide which pieces to put in your portfolio, how to photograph them,

f. and then you can use the production studio and media center to help you get the correct camera and other equipment and the space to take those photographs so that your artwork can really shine.

6. So if you want to do Digital Arts and you’re still trying to decide between a BA and a BFA, think about these two questions.

a. If you would like to combine your degree with another area of study like, say, Media Production, or maybe you would like to be a digital illustrator and you want to do the Word and Image minor, or maybe you just really want to minor in Japanese then a BA is a better fit for you because it allows you time to do an additional area of study.

b. But if you would prefer to have more experience through coursework in animation or imaging and you want to experience doing a big project like the BFA senior thesis project so that you can put it in your professional portfolio, then a BFA degree is probably a better fit for you.

7. If you’re going into studio you’ll want to ask yourself similar questions.

a. Would you like to combine with another area of study? For example; if you’re thinking about going into art therapy, doing a BA in studio with a minor in Psychology will prepare you for a master’s program in art therapy. Maybe you want to draw comic books or graphic novels. You can combine your BA with the Word and Image minor. Or maybe you want to pick something that will inform your artwork. Any of those things could be combined with a BA degree.

b. But if you would prefer to have more time in the studio to develop your style and concepts and you want to gain exhibition experience through a BFA senior thesis project to prepare you for a professional art career, then a BFA is probably a better fit for you.

8. Here is my contact information. If you have any further questions regarding the program, I would be happy to answer them. Thank you for watching.