Art is the universal language through which we express our common aspirations and experiences. As such, it has always been a channel for appreciating and understanding the diversity of humankind. In contemporary society the use of visual media has expanded rapidly. People who formerly typed documents now design web pages. More studies are indicating that children who experience the visual arts are more successful in their other studies. Attendance at art museums is at an all time high. The need to experience, understand and successfully create visual media is increasing. The Department of Visual Arts is prepared to meet these needs.

Faculty:

All of our faculty are practicing professionals. With current faculty holding advanced degrees from universities across the nation and around the world, WSU DOVA takes pride that its faculty demonstrate the level of excellence we expect of our students.

Curriculum:

The DOVA curriculum is designed to offer students specialized majors in a wide variety of emphases though not without first equipping them with a solid foundation in art history and aesthetics. The Department is devoted to preparing students to meet the demands of a challenging, diverse and rapidly changing world by offering art history courses with a global perspective as well as extensive and state-of-the-art instruction in digital media and photography. To address the diverse needs of students, Weber State University confers three degrees in the visual arts: B.A., B.S., B.F.A., and offers over seventy different courses. These courses include areas such as: art teaching, ceramics, digital media, drawing, metals/jewelry, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture,

visual communications (design or illustration), and weaving. The department offers courses to non-art majors as well. As part of the students general education they are required to take at least one course in the creative arts. All students benefit from studio activity and analysis which sharpens critical faculties, fosters creativity and encourages independent thinking.

Extended Curriculum:

In support of this curriculum, the Department offers a variety of programs. WSU's Art Gallery, for example, is conceived as a space set aside for the exhibition of works of art which exemplify those ideas and values that are taught as part of the University's curriculum in art. In this way the Gallery serves as a classroom and assumes a vital role in the curriculum.
The highly regarded DOVA Visiting Artist Lecture Series, now in its seventeenth consecutive year, also complements the curriculum as well as the Gallery program. As with the Gallery, the intention of this program is not only to enrich our own curriculum in the visual arts but also to contribute to a wider variety of programming within the Utah art community. Such programming is important for Utah artists as well as the many Utahns who cannot afford to travel to major cities. This project benefits the community at large by providing opportunities for Utahns to see and hear first hand nationally and internationally recognized artists.

WSU also offers:

• Opportunities to use art and design processes to foster critical thinking and creativity.
• Opportunities to be involved in communication design and public art projects for the Northern Utah community.
• A comprehensive curriculum in art and design that promotes a diversity of responses to the world around us.
• The Department of Visual Arts is housed in the Kimball Visual Arts Center, one of the most complete facilities in the Intermountain West. Interested students are welcome to tour the facility.
• Eleven full-time faculty lead studio activities in both traditional and experimental artistic media. Each instructor holds an advanced degree and is intensely involved with personal creative work in addition to teaching.

What will I learn in the program?

As an art major or minor, your powers of observation, your perception and your understanding of the visual environment will increase. Individuals with a disciplined work ethic will learn problem-solving methods using analytic and synthetic reasoning and to balance hard reasoning with fantasy and play. You'll learn to exercise judgment, to think creatively and independently, and to express yourself confidently using visual media. The nature of this personal growth in critical thinking, self-propulsion and individual awareness will prepare you for careers in the visual arts, fields related to the visual arts, and even professions outside the arts.

What are the employment opportunities?

Visual arts graduates may work as graphic designers, photographers, teachers, web and media designers, arts administrators and self-supporting artists. Some graduates choose to study at the graduate level and go on to become architects or professors.

What degrees/certificates are available?

• Bachelor of Science or Arts (BS or BA)
• General Art
• Art Teaching Composite
• Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) Art With emphasis in:
  • Two Dimensional
  • Three Dimensional
  • Photography
  • Visual Communication
• Departmental Honors: Art
• Minors: Art
• Art History
• Photography
• Teaching Minor: Art