General Information

Students must be admitted to Brigham Young University to apply to the Department of Visual Arts.

To apply to the Department, students must declare themselves as Visual Arts Pre-Majors and take the required prerequisites courses. After completing the prerequisite courses, students are to complete an application. There are two application periods during the year. For information about the application, click on the 'Applications' link to the left.

For information about each program within the Visual Arts Department, click on the link below to access the Major Academic Plan (MAP) sheets or click on the 'New Applicants' link to the left. The MAPs provide you with information on required and suggested classes for all of the Visual Arts Areas. The 'New Applicants' page provides you with additional information about each area as well as application portfolio requirements.

MAPs Home Page

[ NEW APPLICANT ]

According to the Department of Visual Arts, a "New Applicant" is defined as:

Students who are applying as new students to the program, who have declared themsevles as Pre-Visual Arts Majors, and who have completed the required prerequisite classes.

[ TRANSFER STUDENTS ]

The Department classifies transfer students as those who meet either of the following requirements:

1. Received formal training after high school (completion of ALL equivalent VA 100-level courses at the college/university level)
2. Received an associate's degree in Art or Design from a junior college

[ ACCEPTANCE ]

The Department generally receives between 350 and 400 applications. Approximately 140-165 students are admitted each academic year. 20-25 students are admitted to each area of study, depending on the area. The program areas are competitive, generally receiving between 60-80 applicants each.

Notifications regarding acceptance are sent out by e-mail and letters, generally within four weeks after the application deadline. Please do not call our office to inquire about your acceptance status. In the event that you do not receive notification by the end of the four weeks, please call 801.422.8773.

[ ENROLLMENT ]

All disciplines within the Department of Visual Arts are limited-enrollment programs requiring Departmental admissions approval.†

Individuals receiving notice of acceptance are expected to follow the Major Academic Plan for the area in which they were accepted.

If you are not accepted into the Department of Visual Arts, you may only enroll in non-major courses within the Department from the VASTU or ARTHC areas.

Students may apply a total of twice to the Department. Should students not be admitted at this point, they are free to declare a Visual Arts Minor and enroll in the minor classes.

[ TRANSFER CREDIT ]

Students who would like credit for art/design courses completed at other institutions must meet with the Foundations Coordinator and/or their Area Head as appropriate, once they have been admitted. Contact the Department of Visual Arts for further details.

For questions regarding transfer of other college or university general education course work please contact the Transfer Evaluation Office at 801.422.3641.

†Art History classes are open-enrollment and do not require departmental admissions approval.

[ TECHNOLOGY ]

There are open Mac labs for students to use in the F-Wing of the HFAC, complete with Adobe Creative Suite software and other programs.

It is highly recommended that if students are going to purchase a computer, they purchase an Apple laptop. A desktop Mac is certainly acceptable, but not as convenient as a laptop, which students can bring to class.

There are a few reasons a Mac is recommended, as opposed to a cheaper Windows machine:

1. Viruses and Malware on Windows.
2. Fonts. Students have access to a large library of fonts in the labs that will only work on Macs (they are older Postscript fonts, not Opentype)
3. CS5 Keyboard shortcuts vary from Mac to PC, and in class only Mac shortcuts are taught.
4. 99% of Visual Arts students will have a Mac, and the student will be able to get help, and have a tech support network built-in.
5. Printing. It's going to be easier to print to the lab printers from a Mac.