B.A. in Art at UCLA
Working with a faculty of internationally recognized artists and distinguished visiting lecturers, students are exposed to a broad range of approaches to making and interpreting art, as well as perspectives on the role of art and artists in society. The rigorous studio courses at the program’s core provide students with the tools, facilities, and curriculum to develop skills in the areas of ceramics, painting and drawing, photography, sculpture, and the wide range of innovative mediums and methods covered by interdisciplinary studio and new genres.
Students are encouraged to work intensively within and across these areas of study to find their own voices and craft their own practices. Intensive making is augmented by courses in art history and critical theory, as well as liberal arts studies in other academic fields across the UCLA campus. Beyond the UCLA campus, supervised independent research and internships in the greater Los Angeles area provide opportunities for students to develop as artists in one of the world's leading art centers.
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The Art major usually has around 215 undergraduate students enrolled in the program at any given time.
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We do not, we only have the major. The only minor we have in the School of the Arts and Architecture is the Visual and Performing Arts Education minor.
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Our studio classes are capped at ~8-16 students, and this is across all four years of the undergraduate experience.
Our classes are intentionally small to ensure quality interactions between students, faculty, graduate teaching assistants, and lab/studio staff.
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No, you do not. The curriculum is designed so that you can define your own focus. If you want to specialize in, say, photography, you can take the photo studios multiple times, arrange independent study with faculty, etc. If you would rather take classes based on instructor and work broadly across multiple studio areas, you can do that too.
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We would like to see your best, finished, fully realized work, please. We do not ask for sketchbooks or process work.
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It’s absolutely fine if your portfolio shows one medium. It’s absolutely fine if you don’t have drawings or paintings. If your portfolio is all photography, all sculpture, all new genres work, etc., this works for the faculty because they are looking for your skills, investment, concepts, and creativity relative to your fine arts medium.
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When documenting (photographing) your artwork, your artwork should fill the frame in the camera's viewfinder. Images should be of artwork only.
Images submitted in presentation format (i.e. images which include captioning, split screens, montages, etc.) will not be reviewed.
Here is an FAQ of how to approach presentation formats and showing off different angles of work.
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We have dedicated studio spaces for Painting and Drawing, Sculpture, New Genres, Photography, and Ceramics.
Here are some short videos featuring all of the studio areas, so you can have a look around!
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If you go to this link and scroll all the way down to the bottom, there are videos that the department has prepared. They cover:
What are you looking for in applicant portfolios and supplemental statements?
Is it better to include work all in one medium, or do you want to see a range of work?
I want to be an Art major, but I haven’t taken many, or any, classes in Art. How do you suggest I build my portfolio?
Are there any tips you can offer for choosing pieces for my portfolio? Any common mistakes I should avoid in putting together my portfolio?