Pictured | Ryan Solano | Photography | Michigan City, Indiana (hometown)
Awards and Club Involvement | Awarded 21st Century Scholar, J and FM Swain Scholarship, BFA Fine Arts Award, and the Titan Gold Scholarship | Active in Alpha Sigma Phi and 21st Century Scholar Corps.
Bachelor of Fine Arts with a Concentration in Photography
The Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a preprofessional degree focusing on high-level studio skills. It includes intensive portfolio development and prepares students for hands-on careers in the fine arts or for pursuit of a Master in Fine Arts degree. Concentrations available are drawing/painting, graphic design, photography, printmaking, and sculpture.
Based on the tradition of fine art photography, this program stresses the formal and conceptual aspects of the medium as well as an aesthetic and cultural understanding of photography in an historical and contemporary context. Students will utilize digital, black and white, and alternative processes in photography. Students interested in graduate study, professional employment, or exploring the use of photography in their personal expression benefit from this program.
Academic Advising
The Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts policy on advising requires that students meet with their academic advisors each semester prior to registration. Advising holds are placed on all Fine Arts students prior to advance registration and are released following advising appointments. Students with a declared major in Fine Arts are advised by Fine Art faculty. Additionally, students may have a secondary adviser if they have also declared a minor, although a minor is not required for a degree in the Fine Arts department. Students can verify their assigned advisor in the student center in One.IU.
Degree Requirements (125 cr.)
Degree Map >>
Students receiving the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree must complete 125 total credit hours including:
- IU South Bend Campuswide General Education Curriculum (33 cr.) to include
- FINA-A 109 Ways of Seeing: Visual Literacy (Visual Literacy)
- FINA-P 273 Computer Art and Design I (Computer Literacy)
- AHST-A 307 Introduction to Non-Western Art (Non-Western Culture)
- Major Requirements (77 cr.)
- Addtional Requirements (15 cr.)
- A minimum of 30 credit hours at the 300– or 400–level.
- Courses required for the major must be completed with a grade of C– or higher.
- A minimum CGPA of 2.0 is required.
- Photography students are required to take AHST-A 477 History of Photography as one of the upper-level art history courses.
- All BFA photography students are required to purchase a DSLR camera.
- All courses are 3 credit hours, unless otherwise stated.
Major Requirements (77 cr.)
Foundation Level (12 cr.)
- FINA-F 100 Fundamental Studio-Drawing
- FINA-F 101 Fundamental Studio-3D
- FINA-F 102 Fundamental Studio-2D
Also known as INMS-F 102 - FINA-P 273 Computer Art and Design I
Also known as INMS-P 273
Art History/Foundation Level (6 cr.)
- AHST-A 101 Ancient and Medieval Art
Also known as FINA-A 101 - AHST-A 102 Renaissance Through Modern Art
Also known as FINA-A 102
Survey Level (9 cr.)
- Three 200-level courses, outside area of concentration
Upper-Level Concentration (38 cr.)
- FINA-S 291 Fundamentals of Photography
- FINA-S 304 Digital Imaging
- FINA-S 392 Intermediate Photography
- FINA-S 406 Artificial Lighting
- FINA-S 407 Alternative Processes in Photography
- FINA-S 423 Large Format Photography
- FINA-S 492 Bachelor of Fine Arts Photography (3-5 cr.)
- FINA-S 495 Advanced Photo Systems
- INMS-S 300 Video Art
- INMS-S 323 Intermediate Photoshop
- Select up to two additional upper-level art classes
Art History/Upper Level (9 cr.)
- Three courses at the 300– or 400–level
Senior Level (3 cr.)
It is recommended that students complete the following courses during the final year of study.
- FINA-S 499 Bachelor of Fine Arts Final Review (0 cr.)
- FINA-A 409 Capstone Course
Additional Requirements (15 cr.)
- World Languages (6 cr.) | Select two courses in one world language (Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Spanish)
- Upper-Level Electives (9 cr.)
- Select three credits at the 100– or 200–level (3 cr.)
- Select six credits at the 300– or 400–level (6 cr.)
Fine Arts Upper-Divisional Review
Completion of the upper divisional review marks a student’s passage from pre-BFA/B.A. into the BFA/BA program. This review is an opportunity for every art student with 50 to 60 credits toward their degree to present their work to the faculty. This dedicated time is an opportunity to discuss the student’s unique interests and goals. Upon satisfaction of the Upper Divisional requirement, students have distinguished themselves as upper-level BFA/BA candidates, and have made considerable progress towards graduation.