Studio Art Track Major Requirements

Visual & Dramatic Arts
School of Humanities
Degree Requirements for BA in Visual & Dramatic Arts, Studio Track

Department of Visual and Dramatic Arts majors are students who concentrate their focus of study in the visual and dramatic arts, with emphasis in the studio arts, film, or theatre tracks. Each student should discuss with their faculty advisor the selection of courses and any other matters of concern in the student's academic life such as study and travel abroad, scholarships and internships, career goals or options, etc.

Single Major, Studio Track (13 courses required)

Freshman and Sophomore Years

ARTS 225, Basic Drawing (ARTS 101 accepted as equivalent)
ARTS 325, Life Drawing
ARTS 388, Critical Studies for Studio Practice
One HART (History of Art) elective
Two ARTS, FILM, or THEA electives
One ARTS Special Problems (may be taken any year of undergraduate study)

Junior Year

Four ARTS electives in painting, printmaking, sculpture, and photography (two fall; two spring)
Junior Field Trip (spring semester)

Senior Year

ARTS 499, Senior Studio (6 credit hours fall; 4 credit hours spring.) Students must enroll in ARTS 499 in both the fall and spring semesters of their senior year. A portfolio review is required prior to enrolling.

Double Major, Studio Track (11 courses required)

 Freshman and Sophomore Year

ARTS 225, Basic Drawing (ARTS 101 accepted as equivalent)
ARTS 325, Life Drawing
ARTS 388, Critical Studies for Studio Practice
One ARTS, FILM, HART, or THEA elective
One ARTS Special Problems (may be taken any year of undergraduate study)

Junior Year

Four ARTS electives (two fall; two spring) in painting, printmaking, sculpture, and photography
Junior Field Trip (spring semester)

Senior Year

ARTS 499, Senior Studio (6 credit hours fall; 4 credit hours spring.) Students must enroll in ARTS 499 in both the fall and spring semesters of their senior year. A portfolio review is required prior to enrolling.

Visual arts majors are strongly encouraged to explore arts-related courses offered in other departments that may enrich the studio major, such as: philosophy, anthropology, science, history, cultural studies, language, writing, comparative studies, etc. Students should speak with their Visual and Dramatic Arts faculty advisor prior to enrolling.

The junior year field trip will be designed to help visual arts majors focus on the upcoming senior year of intensive studio work.  Trips may include local Houston alternative art, theatre, and film venues, museums, artist studios, and exhibitions as well as travel to destinations within the United States to visit significant arts sites and works.

Transfer Credit

No more than two courses may be transferred for the single or double major to satisfy degree requirements for BA in Visual and Dramatic Arts degree. The two transfer credit courses must be studio, film, or theatre practice courses required for all majors. Advanced placement credit may not be used by visual arts majors to fulfill department degree requirements.

Entering transfer students who are transferring coursework from another accredited college or university will be allowed to transfer their undergraduate art courses. Students must speak with the department chairman immediately upon transferring to Rice.

The Department of Visual and Dramatic Arts will accept academic work completed in the Spring at NYU program and the National Theater Institute, Eugene O'Neill Theater Center program as transfer credit to fulfill major requirements (following university transfer credit guidelines).

See also Transfer Credit in the Information for Undergraduate Students section of the Rice University General Announcements.

Exhibitions, Lectures, and Arts Programs at Rice

The Department of Visual and Dramatic Arts mounts several art and photography exhibitions and stage productions each year. In addition, exhibitions and related activities organized by the Rice University Art Gallery enrich the teaching program of the Department of Visual Arts as well as the larger university and Houston communities.

The department enjoys an ongoing close relationship with local theatres, museums, and galleries. The department offers opportunities for students to work and study with local art venues and alternative art spaces by way collaborative events and programs. The collections and exhibitions of local museums are often the subject of course lectures.

Lectures, symposia, and talks are sponsored by the department and are designed to bring local, national, and international scholars, actors, directors, critics, and studio artists to campus to speak on a broad range of topics and current interests.

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Glassell School of Art Core Fellows

The Department of Visual and Dramatic Arts, in partnership with the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Glassell School of Art, supports up to six Glassell Core Fellowship recipients each year to teach studio practice and critical theory courses. These Core Fellowship recipients, selected by the MFAH from the highly competitive and prestigious Glassell School of Art Core Fellowship Residency Program, are post-graduate artists and art educators.