Art Degrees Online

This concentration allows students to work with film, digital and alternative photography. Independent study and studio projects give students a sound foundation.

Required course for concentration (15 semester hours):MCOM 122 Film Photography 3
MCOM 222 Digital Photography 3
VART 318 Portrait Photography 3
VART 319 Color Photography 3
VART 360 Film and Photo Visual Culture 3

Select 6 hours from the following:VART 202 Art and Culture Travel Studies 3
MCOM 237 Intro to Video Production 3
VART 250 Screen Printing 3
VART 311 Digital Art 3
VART 316 Studio Lighting 3
VART 317 Documentary Photography 3
VART 320 Alternative Photo Practices 3
MCOM 325 2-D Animation 3
VART 413 The Photobook 3
VART 492 Topic in Photography 1-6
VART 495 Directed Study 3
VART 496 Independent Study 3
VART 497 Individual Studio - Design

This concentration develops fundamental design, drawing and contemporary art practices. Students integrate skills and technology and exhibit their work.

Required course for concentration (12 semester hours):VART 251 Intermediate Drawing 3
VART 252 Intermediate Painting 3
VART 497 Individual Studio Projects 6

Select 9 hours from the following:VART 199 Topic in Art 3
VART 202 Art and Culture Travel Studies 1-3
VART 253 Ceramics 3
VART 254 Figure Drawing 3
VART 301 Advanced Drawing 3
VART 302 Advanced Painting 3
VART 311 Digital Art 3
VART 318 Portrait Photography 3
VART 319 Color Photography 3
VART 320 Alternative Photo Practices 3
VART 322 Sculpture 3
VART 323 Installation Art 3
VART 324 Performance Art 3
VART 360 Film and Photo Visual Culture 3
VART 412 Contemporary Art Practices 2 3
VART 492 Topics in Photography 3
VART 494 Topics in Art 3
VART 495 Directed Study 3
VART 496 Independent Study

This concentration addresses a traditional design core coupled with digital, portfolio and seminar courses. It prepares students for work as a design professional.

Required course for concentration (15 hours):

MCOM 122 Film Photography 3
MCOM 251 Intro to Graphic Communication 3
VART 310 Typography 1 3
VART 311 Digital Art 3
MCOM 351 Digital Imaging and Illustration 3

Select 6 hours from the following:

VART 199 Topic in Art 3
VART 202 Art and Culture Travel Studies 1-3
MCOM 222 Digital Photography 3
VART 319 Color Photography 3
VART 320 Alternative Photo Practices 3
VART 360 Film and Photo Visual Culture 3
VART 410 Typography 2 3
VART 411 Digital Studio 3
MCOM 445 Digital Illustration 3
MCOM 451 Graphic Communication Seminar 3
VART 492 Topic in Photography 3
VART 494 Topic in Art 3
VART 497 Individual Studio - Design 1-6

Courses required for the minor (12 hours):MCOM 122 Film Photography 3
MCOM 222 Digital Photography 3
VART 319 Color Photography 3
VART 360 Film and Photo Visual Culture 3

Select 6 hours from the following:

VART 202 Art and Culture Travel Studies 1-3
VART 311 Digital Art 3
VART 318 Portrait Photography 3
VART 320 Alternative Photo Practices 3
VART 359 20th Century Art 3
VART 492 Topic in Photography 1-6
VART 495 Directed Study 3
VART 496 Independent Study 3
VART 497 Individual Studio Projects 1-6

Course Structure

The first year provides a thorough grounding in both technical and critical skills. Students will be introduced to historical, theoretical, cultural and political debates surrounding lens-based media. This study is directly linked to the use of all camera formats as well as the specific qualities of analogue and digital photography. The traditional genres and their convergence are explored in the studio and on location.

In the second year students continue to develop technical and contextual skills at a higher level. Risk taking, collaborative and interdisciplinary methods of working are introduced. Specific contact points are developed with industry through placements, visiting lecturers, field trips and exhibition visits.

The third year enables students to establish their own direction and to place themselves within a contemporary context. Critical professional debate about visual culture is encouraged. Ways of distribution within the creative, media and arts industries and entrepreneurship are investigated and applied. By the end of the final year students will be independent and confident practitioners who will hit the ground running.

Course Summary

This course equips students with transferable skills, and explores the use of photography in modern society, through the use of a hybrid of old and new media. The course team places a great emphasis on integrating critical theory and practice in all years and modules. The course is taught by practising photographers and experienced lecturers who provide a supportive framework to encourage self-motivated research and experimentation.
Course Structure

The first year provides a thorough grounding in both technical and critical skills. Students will be introduced to historical, theoretical, cultural and political debates surrounding lens-based media. This study is directly linked to the use of all camera formats as well as the specific qualities of analogue and digital photography. The traditional genres and their convergence are explored in the studio and on location.

In the second year students continue to develop technical and contextual skills at a higher level. Risk taking, collaborative and interdisciplinary methods of working are introduced. Specific contact points are developed with industry through placements, visiting lecturers, field trips and exhibition visits.

The third year enables students to establish their own direction and to place themselves within a contemporary context. Critical professional debate about visual culture is encouraged. Ways of distribution within the creative, media and arts industries and entrepreneurship are investigated and applied. By the end of the final year students will be independent and confident practitioners who will hit the ground running.
Assessment

The course is assessed through a variety of methods including practical projects, essays, seminar presentations, exhibitions and portfolios.
After the Course
Career opportunities in photography include editorial, documentary, portraiture, advertising, fashion, music, architecture, newspaper, medical, wildlife, police photography, reality based visualisation or computer generated imaging and publishing. Other areas graduates can move into are fine art practice, picture research, editing and curatorial posts, gallery or project management, technical support and PR.

Specialization in Visual Prodution Design
Specialization in Industrial Prodution Design
Specialization in Environment Production Design
Specialization in Theory of Visual Culture

Accreditation Information :
Pre Requisite Courses :
Qualifying Exams :

Tution Fees :
Financial Aid / Scholarship Offered :
Courses :

1st Year | 1st SemesterCURRICULAR UNITS SCIENTIFIC AREA TYPE WORKING TIME
(hours) ECTS NOTE*
TOTAL CONTACT

Studio of Graphic Representation RC ST 320 180 12

Life Drawing RC TP 160 120 6

Science Applied to Photography TC TP 80 60 3

Sound and Image TC TP 80 60 3 Optional

History and Visual Memory HH T 80 40 3 Optional

Space and Imagery PP T 80 40 3

Total: 800 500 30

1st Year | 2nd SemesterCURRICULAR UNITS SCIENTIFIC AREA TYPE WORKING TIME
(hours) ECTS NOTE*
TOTAL CONTACT

Studio of Advanced Representation RC ST 320 180 12

Digital Photography TC TP 160 120 6

Philosophy of Art and Image PP TP 80 60 3

Modernism and Vanguard HH TP 80 60 3 Optional

Anthropology of Image PP T 80 40 3 Optional

Visual Semiotics PP T 80 40 3

Total: 800 500 30

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2nd Year | 3rd Semester
CURRICULAR UNITS SCIENTIFIC AREA TYPE WORKING TIME
(hours) ECTS NOTE*
TOTAL CONTACT

Digital Laboratory TC ST 320 180 12

Digital Studio TC TP 160 120 6

Methods and Theory of Research PP TP 80 60 3

Project Methodology PP TP 80 60 3 Optional

Visual Culture PP T 80 40 3 Optional

History of Photography and Techniques HH T 80 40 3

Total: 800 500 30

2nd Year | 4th Semester
CURRICULAR UNITS SCIENTIFIC AREA TYPE WORKING TIME
(hours) ECTS NOTE*
TOTAL CONTACT

Photography and Advertising PR ST 320 180 12

Photography and Media PR TP 160 120 6

Methodology of the Photographic Project TC TP 80 60 3

Art Direction PP TP 80 60 3 Optional

Advertising PP T 80 40 3 Optional

History of Portuguese Photography HH T 80 40 3

Total: 800 500 30

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3rd Year | 5th Semester
CURRICULAR UNITS SCIENTIFIC AREA TYPE WORKING TIME
(hours) ECTS NOTE*
TOTAL CONTACT

Artistic Project of Photography PR ST 320 180 12

Photography, Fashion and Trends PR TP 160 120 6

Fashion Photography and Production PP TP 80 60 3

Curatorship PP TP 80 60 3 Optional

Sociology of Photography and Art PP T 80 40 3 Optional

Photography and Contemporaneousness HH T 80 40 3

Total: 800 500 30

3rd Year | 6thSemester
CURRICULAR UNITS SCIENTIFIC AREA TYPE WORKING TIME
(hours) ECTS NOTE*
TOTAL CONTACT

Film and Audio-Visual Production PR ST 320 180 12

Photography and Plasticity PR TP 160 120 6

Image and Performing Arts PP TP 80 60 3

Illustration RC TP 80 60 3 Optional

Conservation Methodologies TC T 80 40 3 Optional

Contemporary Portuguese Photography HH T 80 40 3

Total: 800 500 30

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ST - Studio; TP - Theory-Practice; T - Theory.

* This or any other curricular unit of a BA course lectured in IADE with the same credits, type and scientific area.

The BFA in Photography & Digital Arts prepares students to pursue a variety of career paths in the fields of photography and time- and web-based media, giving them the flexibility to enter many industries, both existing and evolving, that are based in information technology and new digital media.

The Photography & Digital Arts major is a distinctive course of study designed to foster artists who work across multiple disciplines including traditional darkroom photography, digital photography, HD digital video, web/interactive media and 2D/3D animation. Opportunities to learn using both sequential and non-linear narrative strategies in interactive and hierarchical environments allow students to produce work that is critically engaged with the combined phenomena of digital technologies and the photographic image in today’s visual culture.

Intensive studio work allows students to develop a solid foundation of the concepts, tools and techniques associated with photographic, digital and emerging media. Seminars covering the history, theory and criticism of photography and digital arts informs students’ principles and practices. The balance of practice and aesthetic consideration encourages students to combine and even challenge the boundaries of photographic and digital technologies. Through classroom instruction and a required internship, students master the essential conceptual, technical and production skills, that are central to an artist’s ability to create meaningful work that reflects and responds to contemporary life.

The role of the illustrator has expanded beyond its once narrowly proscribed function into a profession that influences contemporary culture in profound and exciting ways. Today’s illustrators are crossover artists and entrepreneurs who leverage their technical and conceptual expertise in the increasingly global visual marketplace. Art Center’s Illustration Department prepares students to combine their talents with creative thinking in order to generate meaningful visual solutions across all media—including print, fashion, entertainment, music, motion graphics, gallery installations and toy design.

The Department’s “New Illustration” curriculum begins with a foundation in traditional figure drawing and painting, compositional structure and perspective, and continues with courses that introduce concept and problem-solving skills while challenging students to develop their personal voice. In the fourth term, students choose one of four tracks of study:
Entertainment Illustration emphasizes visual storytelling and prepares students for a career in feature animation, design characters, background painting and matte painting;
Fine Art Painting further develops traditional drawing and painting skills in conjunction with the study of fine art conceptual principles;
Illustration Design applies illustration and graphic concepts to fashion, publishing, children’s books, graphic novels, advertising and surface design;
Motion Illustration integrates storyboarding and production skills with illustrated key frames for motion and digital animation.

Classes are taught by an award-winning faculty of working professionals, as well as notable guest artists. Students have access to a wide range of artists and illustrators who provide practical and up-to-date insights into the art, craft and business of illustration. Mindful that today’s illustrator is connected to the world and actively involved in redefining visual culture, Art Center offers the unique opportunity to study with working illustrators in London. Students can experience a week-long immersion into both the traditional and modern aspects of the field through studio meetings with illustrators and designers, lectures with curators at the National Portrait Gallery, and drawing with faculty from the renown Prince’s Drawing School.

Students also have numerous opportunities to collaborate with students from other Art Center disciplines—whether it is through Transdisciplinary Studios, Designmatters projects, or by contributing to our award-winning magazine, Wrap.