|
Why
Study Art and Art History at Iowa?
Art and art history at Iowa have a reputation for excellence. U.S. News & World Report ranked three of the department’s programs in the top 10 public university graduate programs nationwide. Printmaking was ranked No. 2, with Master of Fine Arts in design following at No. 7, and painting and drawing also at No. 7.
Art is everywhere at The University of Iowa. The Iowa Memorial Union is filled with examples of work by renowned University artists, including some Iowa faculty members. You’ll encounter sculptures all over campus. Some University buildings are the work of well-known architects, present and past. You’ll find more inspiration in exhibitions of past and contemporary painting and sculpture in Museum of Art galleries and through visits to campus by artists and scholars of national and international status.
The School of Art and Art History is an intense, creative learning place with excellent facilities in the Iowa Center for the Arts, along the scenic Iowa River. Whether you’re interested in becoming a studio artist, in learning the history of art, or in art education, you’ll be able to do your best work here.
Faculty
Students of art and art history work with faculty members who have national and international reputations. Iowa pioneered the concept of the artist-as-teacher, which now has been adopted by art schools nationwide. Students may choose programs providing a breadth of knowledge in the field or a specialized concentration. But the history of art always is studied in its cultural context, and Iowa’s faculty members encourage dialogue among scholars of many areas.
Facilities
Due to flooding in 2008, the arts campus has been relocated to various locations. Many studio areas are located at the renovated Temporary Studio Arts Building. Intermedia, art history, and some painting and drawing courses and faculty are located throughout the main campus.
The school provides a variety of facilities to inspire and facilitate the creation of new works. For art history students, the Art Library offers 95,000 books, an outstanding periodical collection, and extensive microfilm and microfiche collections. The Office of Visual Materials manages the school's slides and digital collections, which include more than 400,000 images, used as teaching resources.
Art studio areas include ceramics, graphic design and 3-D design, intermedia, jewelry and metal arts, painting and drawing, photography, printmaking, and sculpture. Art education is also included in studio art. Facilities include:
- Wood and metal shops
- Steel sculpture welding and fabrication facilities
- Painting and drawing studios
- Digital photography lab
- Graphic and 3-D design computer labs
- Photography and silkscreen facilities
- Electroforming equipment
- Kilns
- Video equipment
In fall 2006, Art Building West opened and is home to a 225-seat auditorium and four other art history classrooms furnished with state-of-the-art multimedia equipment. The building, designed by acclaimed architect Steven Holl, houses the Art Library, faculty and administrative offices, and assorted studios—including digital arts, painting, and graphic design.
Photos of Art Building West (fyi, June 5, 2006)
Course
Work
The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences requires at least 70 semester hours (s.h.) of your required 120 s.h. in nonart fields, to bring a broad background of knowledge to your art endeavors. The University was among the first in the country to unite studio art, art history, and art education, and it remains among only a few university programs to offer art history and studio courses in the same college. The Iowa program reflects the concept that young artists benefit from formal study of the artistic traditions, and prospective historians gain from personal experience with the creative process.
BA in Art
During each of your first two semesters as an art major, you’ll take a basic studio art course and an art history course, as well as General Education Program courses. After the first year, you’ll take more art history courses and four beginning courses chosen from 3-D and graphic design, drawing, painting, photography, printmaking, ceramics, sculpture, metals, and intermedia, as well as elective courses in art.
BA in Art History
Art history stresses the development of critical thinking skills, preparing you for graduate work in the history of art or other professional fields. Art history courses compose 45 s.h. of your 120 s.h. total, and 6 s.h. of studio art courses also will be required.
Because the history of art is engaged in issues of historical analysis and the interpretation of culture, it provides you with a broad background in the humanities consistent with a liberal arts education. The undergraduate degree program is designed to prepare you for competitive placement in graduate schools across the country.
As you progress, you’ll become familiar with historical relationships between art objects and society, learn techniques of formal analysis, study patterns of patronage, and absorb methods for interpreting the meaning of paintings, sculptures, and buildings. You’ll also develop research abilities and writing skills.
BFA in Art
This program gives greater emphasis to studio work. Students begin in the BA program and may apply to enter the BFA program after completing at least one semester of work in a studio area of concentration. Of your 120 s.h. requirement, 58 s.h. will be nonart courses. As a BFA candidate, you’ll have a senior show of your work.
Art Education
Emphasis
With both the BA and the BFA in art, you may earn teacher licensure. You’ll complete the same degree requirements as nonteachers but will add additional studio hours as well as human relations, educational psychology, elementary and secondary education, special education, concepts and methods in art education, and student teaching experience. Teacher licensure will qualify you to teach at either the elementary or secondary level.
Because teaching, like art, is informed by experience, the art education area has established one of the nation’s most extensive preservice teaching programs. Students conduct case studies of individuals making and responding to art, observe in art classrooms, teach in a Saturday children’s workshop, and participate in artist-in-residence programs in secondary schools.
Careers
Many students pursue careers in areas that match their degree specialization: commercial or graphic design, conservation and museum curation/administration, art education, and community art center coordination/instruction. Others enter professional fields such as photography, photo illustration, theater design, or video production.
Scholarships
Consult multiple sources for scholarship information, including the Office of Admissions, the Office of Student Financial Aid, and departmental web sites.
|
 |
