Department of Art and Design

Department Chair Jeffrey W. Hanson – EVT 233B – (435) 586-7842	Faculty & Staff
Associate Department Chair Rheana Reeves – EVT 209G – (435) 586-1967	Student Success Advisor(s)
Administrative Assistant Sunni Jackson – EVT 233A – (435) 586-7962	Website

Overview of Programs

SUU is among the small group of institutions that are accredited in art and design by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD). Two types of degrees are offered: liberal arts degrees, i.e., the B.A. and B.S. degrees, which require fewer credits and allow a broad base of general studies; and professional degrees, i.e., the B.F.A. degrees, which offer intensive studies in a narrower field.

Mission

The mission of the Department of Art and Design is to provide aspiring artists, designers, and art historians with professional training and to provide a critical fine arts component of a university liberal arts education. In fulfilling this mission we will:

Foster appreciation and critical awareness of the visual arts.
Prepare students for further study and careers in art history, graphic design, art education, ceramics/sculpture, illustration, painting/drawing/printmaking, photography, museum studies, and related fields.
Educate students, faculty, administration, and community that the visual arts are intrinsically valuable to all engaged learners; that they inherently embody diverse individual, cultural, and philosophical expression; that they have the power to change the way in which we perceive things; and that they are the most direct way to vicariously transfer meaning and experience.

Goal Statement

The department of Art and Design at Southern Utah University will:

Infuse student artists with philosophies and skills that enable them to pursue professional work, teaching opportunities, and further education.
Enrich SUU and environs with opportunities to experience creative achievement in the visual arts and inculcate in students an enthusiasm for creative expression.
Provide models for success and examples of the diverse opportunities that are available in visual arts disciplines.

Objectives

Design and provide vibrant degree programs.
Facilitate student involvement in clubs, internships, competitions and exhibitions.
Prepare students to publicly present their work and intellectual achievements.
Prepare students for related employment and advanced schooling.
Share a broad range of visual arts with students, faculty and the community
Provide General Education in art and design.
Establish meaningful connections with disciplines other than the visual arts.
Administer a program of visiting artists, designers, and other relevant presenters.
Encourage professional work by faculty members and provide exhibition opportunities for students and others to experience it.

Department/Program Learning Outcomes

Gain functional competence with principles of visual organization (two-dimensional design), including the ability to work with visual elements in two and three dimensions; color theory and its applications; and drawing.
Present work that demonstrates perceptual acuity, conceptual understanding, and technical facility at a professional entry level in their chosen field(s).
Become familiar with the historical achievements, current major issues, processes, and directions of their field(s).
Be afforded opportunities to exhibit their work and to experience and participate in critiques and discussions of their work and the work of others.
Learn to analyze works of art/design perceptively and to evaluate them critically.
Develop an understanding of the common elements and vocabulary of art/design and of the interaction of these elements, and be able to employ this knowledge in analysis.
Acquire the ability to place works of art/design in historical, cultural, and stylistic contexts. In certain areas of specialization, it is advisable to require that students study the historical development of works within the specialization.
Students must acquire a working knowledge of technologies and equipment applicable to their area(s) of specialization.
While synthesis is a lifetime process, by the end of undergraduate studies students should be able to work independently on a variety of art and/or design problems by combining, as appropriate to the issue, their capabilities in studio, analysis, history, and technology.

Other Information

Program Selection

The various Art and Design degree programs have been crafted to meet national and state standards of excellence in order to offer students the greatest opportunity for success after graduation. Consult the college advisor and the instructor that defines your discipline area for guidance in meeting your career objectives.

A B.A. or a B.F.A. may be preferable depending on your career goals. In general, the B.A. is a liberal arts degree focusing on art and design and its history, in the context of a broad program of general studies. The B.F.A. is a professional practicing artist/designer degree focusing on intensive studio work in art and design.

Policies

Studio courses are experiential. Consequently, attendance is mandatory. A student who misses more than 1/4 of the class time will receive a grade of “C-“ to “F” regardless of other considerations.
In lecture courses, one hour of credit represents one hour each week of the term in class, and two hours of work outside class. In studio courses, one hour of credit represents three hours of studio time each week of the term: typically, two hours in class with the instructor and one hour with studio access for studio class preparation.
A grade of “C” or better is required for all courses applying to major or minor requirements.
Applying credit as specific studio courses for Advanced Placement classes must be determined by scheduling a review of the work with the department Administrative Assistant. Otherwise these credits are elective credits.
TRANSFER STUDENTS: Transfer students in Art & Design are subject to a portfolio review to determine transferability of art courses taken at other schools. The student should arrange this with the Art and Design Department Administrative Assistant in their first semester at SUU. This could coincide with their Foundation Review if they have already completed 24 credits in art and art history at other institutions
Transfer students, both majors and minors, must earn 50% of their art credits from SUU.
FOUNDATION REVIEW: Successful Foundation Review constitutes admittance into a degree program in the Art and Design Department. All Art and Design majors are required to schedule a Foundation Review with the department Administrative Assistant during the semester that the ART and ARTH course credits they have taken, or in which they are currently enrolled, total 24. Two (2) of these courses should be in the student’s major, or emphasis, area. This review may require repetition of courses, deny entrance, or grant acceptance into the applicable degree program. The student must bring to the review three examples of actual work from each ART studio class that they have taken, or, in the case of the Art History degree, examples of their writing about art. The student will be notified, in writing, of the action of the review committee.
Students may not enroll in ART 4790 Senior Portfolio or nine specific graphic design courses unless they have been accepted into a B.F.A. program through the Foundation Review.
ART 4990 course (Senior Seminar) may be taken with permission of the instructor only.
Graduation requires a total of 40 upper-division credits (courses numbered 3000 or higher). These may include college credit taken outside the Department of Art and Design.
B.F.A. PORTFOLIO REVIEW: All B.F.A. students must produce a body of work, of sufficient quality, during or prior to their senior portfolio class to pass a faculty review of that body of work.

Programs

Bachelor’s Degree

Minor