Many prominent Northwest artists, designers, and art historians began their professional careers by studying art at Portland State University. An even greater number of successful and productive people have used their training in the School of Art+Design as the basis for careers in commerce, industry, education, and a variety of fields limited only by imagination. Offering a broad curriculum, including undergraduate degrees in Art History, Art Practices, and Graphic Design, as well as MFA and BFA degrees in Art Practices, the school seeks a diverse student population and takes advantage of its geographical location in the heart of Portland, extending our classroom activities into the city’s vibrant cultural community.
With a dedicated faculty actively engaged in their own creative and scholarly research, our student body of aspiring artists, designers and art historians explores new avenues of expression, prepares for professional and academic careers, and builds theoretical and practical foundations for future artistic and intellectual discovery. As a general rule, the major in art requires a minimum of 88 credits in art courses. Included are extensive experiences in studio work and a comprehensive study of the history of art. Majors in art history require a minimum of 68 credits.
Art Major and Minor Degree Requirements
In addition to general University requirements for a degree, majors and minors in art must meet departmental requirements. Please visit the the school web site, http://www.pdx.edu/art-design/ or office to obtain a “Program Major Course Distribution Sheet” that describes the program in detail. All students must obtain an adviser for academic planning of their program by the second year.
All art and art history courses used to satisfy departmental major or minor requirements, whether taken in the department or elsewhere, must be assigned a grade of C- or better.
For students transferring from other colleges and universities, a maximum of 12 credits may be graded P (pass) and may be accepted in fulfilling art department requirements with approval from an art adviser. In addition, any upper-division transfer credits being applied to major requirements must meet departmental standards. In these cases, a portfolio of work is required and the work contained in it must be approved by the concentration’s coordinator to receive transfer credit.
To satisfy the school major requirements students must complete at least 24 credits of their upper-division (300/400) art/art history courses in residency at PSU. These 24 credits must be primarily within the student’s focus of study in art.
To satisfy school minor requirements students must complete at least 24 credits of their work within the subject area in residency at PSU. These 24 credits must primarily be in 200/300 level courses within the student’s focus area.
The School of Art and Design reserves the right to cancel any course that does not have sufficient enrollments, in accordance with University policy.