Nov 07, 2024  
2024-2025 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2024-2025 Undergraduate Catalog

Fine Arts BFA - Photography Concentration


Art and design are all around us. As an artist or designer, you can impact every level of society-from culture, communication and commerce to sustainability, equity and basic problem solving. So if you want to make your mark on the world-and make anything you can imagine-then art might be the perfect program for you. You’ll get to use your creativity and explore how art helps you better understand yourself, your community, and the larger social, cultural and political contexts in which you exist.

Visit the Art academic program page for more information about the academic experience, who you will learn from, opportunities outside of class and what you can do with this degree.

Visit the Art department page  for contact information, a brief overview of the department and the curricular options.

Admission Criteria


Current UB students seeking admission to the Fine Arts BFA - Photography concentration will be added to the major upon request by completing the College of Arts and Sciences Major/Minor Change Request Form.

Course Requirements


Photography Core (62 credits)


Total Credits Required for Major: 74


Additional Degree Requirements Include:


  • Additional coursework to fulfill UB Curriculum requirements
  • Elective courses as needed to complete the 120 credit hour total

Total Credits Required for Graduation: 120


Total Credit Hours Required represents the minimum credits needed to complete this program, and may vary based on a number of circumstances. This should not be used for financial aid purposes.

Academic Requirements


Minimum GPA of 2.000 overall. Students must also maintain a minimum GPA of 2.500 in art courses to remain in good standing in the Art BFA program. If students drop below this GPA, they will be placed on department probation and given a semester to improve their standing. Students who do not improve will be dismissed from the Art Program. To graduate, a minimum GPA of 2.500 is compulsory in all courses required for the BFA degree, including art history and studio art courses.

Transfer Credit Policy

Students may transfer art courses taken elsewhere; however, the department accepts no more than 18 credit hours of appropriate art courses toward the major requirements.

Program Distinction


A student in this major is eligible for Program Distinction upon degree conferral if the criteria are met. Criteria are found under Academic Honors in the Policy and Procedure section of this Catalog. Program Distinction is noted on the official transcript.

Curricular Plan


A Curricular Plan provides a roadmap for completing this academic program and the UB Curriculum on time. Your actual plan may vary depending on point of entry to the university, course placement and/or waivers based on standardized test scores, earned alternative credit and/or college transfer credit.

First Year Fall


Total Credits: 15 or 16


First Year Spring


Total Credits: 16 or 17


Second Year Fall


Total Credits: 15


Second Year Spring


Total Credits: 16


Third Year Fall


Total Credits: 16


Third Year Spring


  • ART Course at 300/400 level Credits: 3
  • Art History Course:    Credits: 3
  • 300/400-level Art History, ART LEC or ART SEM Course Credits: 3
  • Art Photo Elective Credits: 3

Total Credits: 12


Total Credits: 14


Fourth Year Spring


  • Credits: 3
  • ART Course at 300/400 level Credits: 3
  • ART Course at 300/400 level Credits: 3
  • Art Photo Elective Credits: 3
  • Art Photo Elective Credits: 3

Total Credits: 15


Total Credits Required: 120


Note: Some classes may count toward both a major and UB Curriculum requirement.

Learning Outcomes


Upon successful completion of all requirements, the student will have knowledge of:

  • Students demonstrate visual literacy through the acquisition of analytical skills to identify and create meanings in visual culture.
  • Students will acquire a broad, applied knowledge of fundamental strategies and methods of contemporary art-making, and creative problem solving to be used as a framework for future investigations.
  • Students will develop and refine a set of technical tools and/or techniques that apply to their concentration of study.
  • Students will acquire experience to equip them for professionally and publicly presenting a cohesive body of their own creative artworks in their chosen field.
  • Students will create a professional, self-directed creative research project that reflects their own voice, and gain explicative skills to assess the work of others.
  • Students will acquire a foundational understanding of the roles of art history in visual culture.
  • Students gain exposure to contemporary art and design practices through experiential learning.

 

(HEGIS: 10.01 FINE ARTS-GENERAL, CIP50.0702 Fine/Studio Arts, General)