Academic Programs

Studio Arts:

The Studio Arts curriculum offers students a comprehensive arts program, designed to provide experience in the traditional and contemporary arts disciplines and to make available opportunities to develop individual critical skills. The program of study is based on a combination of broadly based university studies and experiential work in the studio arts disciplines.
After completion of the Foundation year, students will enroll in a series of beginning courses in the disciplines of Ceramics, Drawing, Painting, Printmaking and Sculpture. In the spring semester of the sophomore year students will participate in a comprehensive portfolio review conducted by the studio program faculty. Students who successfully pass the sophomore review will move ahead to the upper division of the Studio Arts program towards completion of the BFA degree.

In the junior year, BFA Studio Art majors will be asked to focus their studies on at least 2 areas of studio concentration. Upper division students are required to earn 3000 & 4000 level credit in a major studio emphasis (12 hrs. minimum) and a secondary studio emphasis (9 hrs. minimum). Studio majors may also choose to minor in Art History. The final year of study culminates in the Capstone experience and participation in the Senior Show (required of all BFA Studio Art majors).

For Additional Information

Degree Checksheet
go2.ou.edu

Ceramics:

The Ceramics Program at OU provides a comprehensive approach to the development of the skills and techniques necessary for successful work in clay. Over the course of several years, through a series of progressively more complex assignments and self directed projects, students learn the medium specific skills necessary for successful completion of projects and for the continued development of the student’s personal artistic and creative expression. Students are encouraged to integrate concepts and experiences from their work in other mediums and disciplines into their explorations in clay. The ceramics facility provides ample work space and separate areas for handbuilding, throwing, glazing, glaze mixing, firing and materials storage. The organization of the ceramics studio is modeled on the workshop construct: that is, students are responsible for both their individual work and for group participation. During term time, the studio is accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Painting:

The University of Oklahoma's painting program is recognized both regionally and nationally, as an environment that promotes curiosity, exploration, and independent thinking. Through conventional and contemporary investigations, students expand their creative capacities while developing personal ideas of value. Not limited to a visual experience, painting students practice traditional skills including writing, verbalization, and research as they engage in cultural issues concerning art and design. In a continuously evolving and interdisciplinary field, our graduates enter the world as competent, confident, complete individuals that possess unique problem solving capabilities.

Printmaking:

The Printmaking Department at the University of Oklahoma offers emphases in Screenprinting, Lithography, and Etching. The curriculum also includes courses involving Relief Printing, Letterpress, Digital Output, and Book Arts. The spacious studios have 24 hour a day access and students are given freedom to explore their ideas beyond the confines of traditional printmaking. An emphasis is given to interdisciplinary work, especially work containing aspects of community practice and installation. The facilities include two etching and three lithography presses as well as an oversized one-arm screenprinting press, capable of printing images up to 48 x 72 inches. The influence of emerging digital technology is constantly addressed and creatively
inserted into the curriculum. For more information about printmaking at OU please contact Curtis Jones: chivo@ou.edu

Sculpture

Offering thorough instruction in both representational and contemporary methods, the sculpture curriculum incorporates traditional and experimental approaches within three-dimensional expression. The program is a unique hybrid in this regard and offers a specialized sculpture education for both undergraduate and graduate students not found at many higher education institutions in the U.S. Students are encouraged to explore and integrate both disciplines as they construct their understanding of sculptural language. Emphasis is placed on techniques, craft, production, creative development, experimentation and scholarship.

The representational concentration, under the direction of Artist-in- Residence Paul Moore and instructor Sohail Shehada, provides complete instruction of observational form and modeling processes using oil based clay, plaster, polymer clay and stone. Oriented towards the human figure, students may also investigate various representational possibilities and formats ranging from the small-scale to public & monumental works. Practical considerations, aesthetics, problem solving and craft concerns are integrated throughout the program.

The contemporary concentration, under the direction of Associate Professor Jonathan Hils, encourages experimentation within a structure of developing effective technical, theoretical, and critical skills. Students utilize a wide variety of materials and practices in regards to form development and content within a contemporary context. The program promotes practices using wood, metal, stone, fabric, organic materials, rubber, mold-making, iron casting, plastics, kinetics, light, glass fusing/slumping and sound. Approaches to producing discreet sculptural objects, installations, site specific sculpture and works that engage non-traditional media are encouraged. Students are oriented towards professional advancement, with significant attention towards building a portfolio, exhibiting, and practical knowledge design to achieve success in the field of sculpture.