The bachelor of fine arts degree (BFA) is a professional degree with about seventy percent of the course work for the degree (eighty nine credit hours) taken in the Department of Art and Art History. With this degree, students may choose to emphasize in one of the major studio areas.
Those seeking a bachelor of arts (BA) in Studio Art devote a total of twenty nine credit hours to the study of visual art, and eighteen credit hours to the study of Art History. Students pursuing a BA are required fulfill a foreign language requirement, and have at least one minor.
The bachelor of arts (BA) in Art History provides a humanistic foundation for understanding the visual arts, emphasizing the social, political, historical and religious contexts for studying art. Courses are offered in Western art from ancient to modern and majors must take the two introductory surveys. Students pursuing a BA are required to fulfill a foreign language requirement and have at least one minor.
The Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree at UNL is offered with an emphasis in one the following areas: ceramics, painting, drawing, photography, printmaking, sculpture, new genres or a combination of two of these areas. Sixty credits are required for graduation, including a minimum of twenty-six hours in the student’s major area, nine hours of art history, sixteen hours of studio electives and nine hours of general electives. Students normally spend three years earning the degree and full time enrollment is required. Applicants must have a baccalaureate degree and substantial previous study in studio art. The faculty also recommends at least 15 undergraduate credits in art history and an undergraduate GPA of at least 2.5. Applicants whose native language is not English must score at least 550 on the TOEFL exam.
The M.A. in Art History is designed as a two-year program of study offering a broad range of courses in Western art history, opportunities for advanced study and experience with independent research. The M.A. program requires a minimum of 30 credit hours, balanced between coursework designed to promote coverage of the field, cross-disciplinary explorations, focused research, and a written thesis. The M.A. is a necessary preliminary degree for the Ph.D in art history, but it is also increasingly a requirement for entry-level employment in such arts-related fields as museums, galleries, auction houses, arts administration, community colleges and information technology. This M.A. program will develop skills in critical thinking and visual analysis applicable to a wide range of professional and civic pursuits and will prepare the student for further study in the field or for an arts-related career.
