BA in Studio Art
Undergraduate students Esrat Hossain and Vivien Ngo presented "Heart Stained Noire" in the Project Space, reception October 30, 2025 during Art in the Open.
The BA in Studio Art at UB is a liberal arts degree with a focus on studio art. This allows a student to pursue a minor or double major in another program.
Our students come from diverse backgrounds, but they share a passion for art. The first years of study primarily focus on developing a student's existing knowledge of art history and foundation fundamentals. These courses will provide the bedrock for all 300- and 400-level courses. Many of our undergraduate majors go on to graduate school at other prestigious universities, building careers as leading artists, designers, artistic directors, researchers, scholars, and educators in their disciplines.
Our studio art labs are spacious, well equipped and organized. Specialized studios support traditional, digital, and experimental processes in art and design. Highlights include Coalesce Center for Biological Art, an electronics art lab, galleries for exhibition and experimentation, digital and multimedia labs, digital and analog photography labs, extensive printmaking labs, an audio lab, and a large sculpture facility that includes a laser cutter, a large scale CNC router, and one of largest university foundries in the Eastern United States.
Our highly ranked Department of Art faculty and staff consist of professionally and internationally active artists, scholars and technicians who make available a diverse range of discourse and expertise. Faculty honors and distinctions include fellowships and awards from the Rockefeller Foundation, the Warhol Foundation, the Fulbright Fellowship, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Creative Capital Foundation, the Pollock Krasner, the MacDowell Colony, the Corporation of Yaddo, the Chalmers Arts Fellowship, the Aperture Foundation, the Zentrum Moderner Orient of Berlin, the New York Foundation for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, the National Science Foundation, the Prix Ars Electronica, the FILE Prix Lux Art, the Vilcek Foundation, the MIT Council for the Arts, the Canada Council for the Arts and the TED Conferences LLC.
Upon successful completion of all requirements, the student will have knowledge of:
- Students demonstrate visual literacy through the acquisition of analytical skills to identify and create meanings in visual culture.
- Students will acquire a broad, applied knowledge of fundamental strategies and methods of contemporary art-making, and creative problem solving to be used as a framework for future investigations.
- Students will acquire a foundational understanding of the roles of art in history and visual culture.
- Students will identify their strengths, interests and passion to develop their artistic voice.
- Students will develop and refine a set of technical tools and/or techniques that apply to their concentration of study.
See the Undergraduate Catalog for program requirements, lists of all courses, and schedules of offerings by term.
There are three pathways for the BA in Studio Art:
- General Studio
- Graphic Design
- Photography
Total Credits Required for Major: 53
Additional Degree Requirements Include:
- Additional coursework to fulfill UB Curriculum requirements
- Elective courses as needed to complete the 120 credit hour total
See the Overview of Art degree programs green button above for details on each pathway.
