The Fine Arts major at UNH provides a strong foundation in art history and studio art, preparing you for a career as an artist or for your graduate studies. Students in the studio arts program can submit portfolios for B.F.A. consideration. The program explores a broad array of media with access to several on-campus studios, helping students develop and refine their creative vision. You'll find inspiration through the on-campus Paul Creative Arts Center, the nearby arts-rich communities of Portsmouth and Boston and through our Visiting Artists & Art Historians program.
What is fine arts?
Whether you plan to work as an artist or pursue graduate studies, our fine arts degree will prepare you with a solid foundation in art history and studio art. Students admitted to the studio arts program may submit a portfolio of work to be considered for the B.F.A. Through your studies, you’ll have the opportunity to work with a broad array of media, with access to facilities including our sculpture, ceramics, and woodworking and furniture design studios.
Why study fine arts at UNH?
You’ll develop and refine your creative vision while in the fine arts degree program at UNH, also gaining a practical understanding of what it takes to survive as a working artist. You’ll find inspiration through the Museum of Art and Paul Creative Arts Center on campus, and within the arts-rich community of Portsmouth just minutes away. The fine art museums of Boston are within an hour’s drive. You’ll also meet and learn from artists and historians from around the world through our Visiting Artists & Art Historians program.
Potential careers
- Commercial artist
- Fine furniture maker
- Professional artist
- Professor
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Fine Arts Major (Sculpture)How did you choose your major and why? As an undeclared student my first semester as a freshman, I explored a variety of classes and enrolled in a biology class which I immediately dropped after the first meeting. With a gap that needed to be filled, I registered for Professor Ben Cariens evening drawing class and was instantly sucked back into the magical world of creating…Learn More -
Fine Arts MajorA native of Dublin, N.H., Tejas Moses came to UNH because he wanted to maintain his relationships to people and places he had before college, while feeding his desire “for challenge and adventure and bliss.” Those and “a really good financial aid package” that included a prestigious Hamel Scholarship, landed Tejas in Durham and UNH, where he majored in fine arts with a concentration…Learn More
Curriculum & Requirements
Incoming first-year and transfer applicants wishing to enter the bachelor of fine arts (B.F.A.) degree program must first apply for, and be admitted to, the bachelor of arts (B.A.) in the Arts: Studio Art option. Students may submit a B.F.A. portfolio after they begin their studies at UNH, as early as the spring semester of their first year. A full faculty review is held each spring semester.
The B.F.A. curriculum provides advanced training for students who plan to enter professional graduate school or pursue careers as professional artists.
Degree Requirements
All Major, Option and Elective Requirements as indicated.
*Major GPA requirements as indicated.
Major Requirements
Students selecting to work toward a B.F.A. degree must complete a minimum of 17 courses and 72 credits, with a minimum grade of C in each course. Transfer of 3-credit courses from other institutions will require additional course(s) to fulfill the major requirement of 72 credits. Transfer courses can fulfill only 8 requirements. The following courses are required:
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Core Foundation (3 courses) | ||
| ARTS 510 | Principles of Design | 4 |
| ARTS 532 | Introductory Drawing | 4 |
| ARTS 567 | Introductory Sculpture | 4 |
| Core Supplemental (3 courses) | ||
| Select one 500/600 level 2D course from the following: | 4 | |
ARTS 536 | Introduction Printmaking: Intaglio | |
ARTS 546 | Painting Design I: Perceptual Painting and Color Theory | |
ARTS 640 | Drawing Workshop | |
| Select one 500-level 3D course from the following: | 4 | |
ARTS 501 | Introductory Ceramics | |
ARTS 525 | Introductory Woodworking | |
| Select one Photography course from the following: | 4 | |
ARTS 551 | Introduction to Darkroom Photography | |
ARTS 552 | Introductory Digital Photography | |
| Core Seminars | ||
| ARTS 598 | An Artist's Life | 4 |
| ARTS 798 | Seminar/Senior Thesis (two-semester course) | 8 |
| Concentration Courses | ||
| Select 5 Studio courses in a concentration (see concentration courses below) | 20 | |
| Advanced Studio Seminar | ||
| ARTS 780 | Advanced Studio Seminar | 4 |
| Core Art History (3 courses) | ||
| Select one course from the following: | 4 | |
ARTH 474 | Introduction to Architectural History | |
ARTH 480 | Introduction to Art History | |
ARTH 485 | Introduction to Global Art History | |
| Select two 600-level or above art history courses from the following: | 8 | |
ARTH #654 | 17th and 18th Century American Architecture | |
ARTH #655 | Nineteenth-Century Architecture: The Architecture of Empire | |
ARTH #656 | Twentieth-Century Architecture: Modern and Contemporary | |
ARTH 674 | Greek Art and Architecture | |
ARTH #675 | Roman Art and Architecture | |
ARTH #677 | Early Medieval Art | |
ARTH 678 | Romanesque and Gothic Art | |
ARTH #679 | Northern Renaissance Art I | |
ARTH #680 | Iconoclasm and Collecting: The Art of Early Modern Northern Europe | |
ARTH 681 | Early Renaissance Art | |
ARTH 682 | The High Renaissance | |
ARTH #684 | Baroque Art in Northern Europe | |
ARTH #685 | Graphic Art of the Renaissance and Baroque Periods | |
ARTH 686 | Sex and Sensuality in 18th-Century Art | |
ARTH 688 | Histories of Late 19th & 20th Century European Modernism | |
ARTH #689 | Contemporary Art and Theory: 1945-2000 | |
ARTH #693 | American Art | |
ARTH 694 | Vision and Modernity: From Panorama to Early Film | |
ARTH 695 | Topics in Art History | |
ARTH #697 | Topics in Asian Art | |
ARTH 795 | Understanding Art History: An In-Depth Overview | |
| Total Credits | 72 | |
Concentration Courses (5 courses)
Minimum of four 600-700 level studio courses and no more than one of the following: ARTS 600 Internship in Studio Art (with approval), a 600-700 level art history (see selection of courses in art history requirement above), or a 500-level studio course (select from ARTS 501, ARTS 525, ARTS 536, ARTS 546, ARTS 551, ARTS 552, ARTS 596). Jterm and summer courses cannot be used.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
ARTS 601 | Ceramics Workshop (may be repeated) | |
ARTS 610 | Principles of Typography | |
ARTS 611 | Animation and Motion Design | |
ARTS 612 | Interaction & Game Design | |
ARTS 613 | Design and Place | |
ARTS 614 | Design and People | |
ARTS 625 | Wood/Furniture Design Workshop (may be repeated) | |
ARTS 636 | Printmaking Workshop (may be repeated) | |
ARTS 651 | Photography Workshop (may be repeated) | |
ARTS 667 | Sculpture Workshop (may be repeated) | |
ARTS 796 | Independent Study: Studio Art (K: Wood Design, may be repeated) |
The possible areas of concentration within the department are painting, sculpture, ceramics, design, drawing, printmaking, photography, and furniture design. Proposals for individualized programs are accepted only by permission of the departmental chairperson, the major adviser, and the departmental bachelor of fine arts committee. Candidates applying for the bachelor of fine arts program are required to submit a portfolio to the B.F.A. committee, which meets each spring semester.
The Discovery Program capstone requirement may be fulfilled by completing .
The required minimum overall GPA in major coursework is 2.0.
Candidates for a degree must satisfy all of the University Discovery Program requirements in addition to satisfying the requirements of each individual major program.
Fine arts majors may use two major-required courses to satisfy two Discovery category requirements.
Introductory (500) Level:
- Basic skillset in a particular arts discipline
- Working knowledge of the tools and materials used in a particular arts discipline
- Basic understanding of analytical thinking when making and talking about art
- Demonstrate development of artistry
Intermediate (500/600) Level:
- Demonstrate development of artistry and skill set in a range of artistic disciplines
- Demonstrate knowledge of tools and materials beyond the basics
- Deeper ability to discuss and analyze works of art
- Ability to verbalize intent in a particular work of art
- Ability to research particular artists
- Ability to declare an area of concentration for advanced in a particular arts discipline
Advanced (600/700) Level:
- Demonstrate a high level of artistry
- Ability to work independently
- Develop and Demonstrate an individual sensibility
- Ability to understand and verbalize intent in a work of art
- Ability to construct a professional capstone portfolio or thesis
- Demonstrate in-depth familiarity with a range of artistic movements both historical and contemporary
