Undergraduate Programs
Degree Programs
Bachelor of Fine Arts
Photography
The B.F.A. in Photography is a professional undergraduate degree for students desiring extensive studio experience with an emphasis in Photography and associated media. Students in the program develop critical thinking skills, refine their intellectual and creative processes, and learn both traditional and contemporary aspects of the photographer's craft.
As digital technology effectively blurs the line between films, periodicals, television, and photographs, students of photography are constantly challenged to define and reexamine the photographer's role in contemporary art practices.
A photography student will approach the study of Photography beginning with traditional black and white materials and progress to color processes with a concentrated examination of contemporary still and moving digital medias. By examining the history of photography, students will understand the roles photography played in culture throughout the past and its current position as an art form and cultural phenomena. Technical proficiency, personal growth, as well as conceptual and aesthetic development are emphasized equally.
Herron's photography facilities are among the best in the nation. With our new facilities on the campus of IUPUI, the department has multiple black and white labs, individual color and advanced darkrooms, a computer lab, shooting studio, a dedicated finishing area, and gallery. This permits students to work in a variety of formats and media, including basic black and white printing, Type color and Ilfochrome color printing, advanced black and white printing and developing, mixed and alternative processes, digital media, and video. Students will have access to professional equipment, including medium format, 4x5, Polaroid, and video cameras, studio lighting kits, light meters, tripods, and state of the art digital equipment.
Mastering technical processes and developing your own artistic vision prepares you for a choice of multiple careers in photography and related fields. Employment opportunities include working perhaps as a studio artist and exhibiting work in fine art galleries and museums; being employed as a documentarian, publishing work in newspaper and other print venues or working in museum documenting works of art; as a commercial photographer; or as a portraitist. Many of our graduates work in emerging digital media, still, moving, and the worldwide web.
Prior to being admitted into the major in photography, students must successfully pass sophomore advancement review.
Photography Suggested Plan of Study
Sophomore Year
Fall
- HER-D 201 Drawing III (3 cr.)
- HER-H 103 Introduction to Contemporary Art (3 cr.)
- HER-K 201 Photography I (3 cr.)
- Herron studio elective (3 cr.)
- Humanities elective (3 cr.)
Total: 15 credit hours
Spring
- HER-D 202 or HER-D 211 or HER-K 211 Drawing IV or Communicative Drawing or Intro to Electronic Media* (3 cr.)
- HER-K 202 Photography II (3 cr.)
- Herron studio elective (3 cr.)
- Art History elective (3 cr.)
- Social/Behavioral Science elective (3 cr.)
- Humanities selective (3 cr.)
Total: 18 credit hours
*Students should take K211 or D202 or D211. If students choose to take D202 or D211, they should take those courses in the spring, after they have completed D201.
Junior Year
Fall
- HER-K 301 Photography III (3 cr.)
- HER-K 303 Color Photography I (3 cr.)
- Herron studio elective (3 cr.)
- Art History elective (3 cr.)
- Life and Physical Science elective (3 cr.)
- Social/Behavioral Science elective (3 cr.)
Total: 18 credit hours
Spring
- HER-K 302 Photography IV (3 cr.)
- HER-K 304 or HER-K 300 Advanced Color Photography or Advanced Digital Imaging (3 cr.)
- Herron studio electives (6 cr.)
- Life and Physical Science elective (3 cr.)
Total: 15 credit hours
Senior Year
Fall
- HER-K 401 Advanced Photography (6 cr.)
- Herron studio elective (3 cr.)
- HER-J 410 A Critical Approach to Art (3 cr.)
- Academic elective (3 cr.)
Total: 15 credit hours
Spring
- HER-K 402 Advanced Photography (6 cr.)
- HER-K 311/HERK411/HER-K 412 Individual Research in Photography (3 cr.)
- Herron studio elective (3 cr.)
- Academic elective (3 cr.)
Total: 15 credit hours
Last updated: April 2012