2026-2027 Undergraduate Catalog

(Bachelor of Arts)

The visual arts provide multiple ways of articulating and understanding our human experience through processes of seeing, making, and thinking by combining studio art, art history, global cultures, professional practices and contemporary art courses. Students work closely in studio environments with their instructors and develop ongoing comradery and support from peers. 

Art Majors/minors have opportunities to participate in art activities on campus and in the region, in addition to national and international opportunities such as study abroad courses, juried exhibitions, art conferences, etc. All Art Majors/Minors are presented with multiple opportunities to show and even sell their work in public exhibitions every year. The Senior Show option is a popular capstone experience among Studio Art Majors, wherein students in good standing and appropriate permissions may work with their studio faculty mentors to create a body of work reflecting their own vision, and concurrently take a course to learn the basics of art exhibition in a classroom setting, working with additional faculty and the professional curator of the Lawton Gallery. 

Students can major in one of our emphases within Art: Studio Art, Pre-Art Therapy, and Art Education. Art majors often combine their studies with a minor. Typical minors include Graphic Design, Art History, Psychology, Business/Entrepreneurship, Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, and Writing and Applied Arts. The Art advisor can help select an appropriate minor depending upon students’ individual goals.

The Art discipline has three areas of emphasis:

·       Studio Art equips students with conceptual and technical skills that can lead to a professional practice as an artist, entrepreneur, gallerist, exhibition coordinator, educator in addition to other visual communication careers.

·       Pre-Art Therapy is designed to prepare students for entry into graduate programs in professional mental health counseling, with specialization in Art Therapy.

·       Art Education leads to credentials for  teaching licensure from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.

All areas prepare students for viable careers or entry into graduate school programs. 

Our Art facilities include well-equipped studios in painting, drawing, sculpture, ceramics, photography (traditional and digital), fibers/textiles, and printmaking. All Art students who complete ART 101 (Tools, Safety, and Materials) have access to a professional wood and metal-working laboratory managed by a staff person who provides training and technical assistance.

Studio art courses:

·       present art making as a problem-solving process using creative methods combining intuition and imagination with critical analysis;

·       provide knowledge necessary to master materials and techniques;

·       provide a foundation for and continuing reference to the principles of visual organization and structure essential to works of art;

·       foster a receptive attitude toward diverse forms of artistic production including fine art, applied art, and art produced outside the artistic mainstream.

Art history, global cultures, and contemporary art courses:

·       Critically engage with the visual arts using a variety of tools including careful visual analysis, scholarly research, and theoretical lenses

·        Understand the complexity and diversity of global artistic traditions and their historical contexts and gain insight into your own preconceptions of the world

·       Acquire the tools and vocabulary needed for interpreting visual culture and for decoding and analyzing the visual world around you

Students should seek advising no later than the sophomore year in order to complete an Art major in a timely manner. Students seeking information on teacher certification should contact the Education Office. Students selecting the Pre-Art Therapy emphasis must complete a significant number of credits of Psychology and a Statistics course; we strongly recommend that those interested in this emphasis seek advising very early in their academic career.

Students in many fields find an Art minor an excellent supplement to their academic programs in the context of today’s visually oriented, media-driven culture.

The Art minor may serve:

·       individuals fulfilling a personal interest in art

·       those seeking to add visual skills to career preparations in such interdisciplinary fields as arts management, design arts, publishing, game design, museum collection management, or environmental planning

·       students who intend it as a component of professional studies in fields such as education and marketing/advertising.

Active student organizations provide additional opportunities for art-related activities, as does a program of national and international visiting artists.

The Art program at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay holds HLC accreditation.