In “Undergraduate Studies in Art”
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Yale College, the undergraduate division of Yale University, offers a Bachelor of Arts degree program with a major in art. Undergraduate applicants wishing to major in art at Yale must apply to Yale College directly.
Please contact the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, PO Box 208234, 38 Hillhouse Avenue, New Haven CT 06520-8234, 203.432.9300 (www.yalecollege.yale.edu).
The program in art offers courses that, through work in a variety of media, provide an experience in the visual arts as part of a liberal education as well as preparation for graduate study and professional work. Courses at the 100 level stress the fundamental aspects of visual formulation and articulation. Courses numbered 200 through 499 offer increasingly intensive study leading to greater specialization in one or more of the visual disciplines such as graphic design, painting/printmaking, photography, and sculpture.
The prerequisites for acceptance into the major are a Sophomore Review, which is an evaluation of work from studio courses taken at Yale School of Art, and five terms of introductory (100-level) courses. Four must be completed at the time of the Sophomore Review. Visual Thinking (Art 111a or b) and Basic Drawing (Art 114a or b) are mandatory.
In exceptional cases, arrangements for a special review during the junior year may be made with the director of undergraduate studies in art.
A student may repeat an art course for credit with the permission of the director of undergraduate studies.
Graduate courses may be elected by advanced undergraduate art majors who have completed all undergraduate courses in a particular area of study and who have permission of the director of undergraduate studies as well as the course instructor. 0, .5 or 1 credit may be awarded by Yale College for grad courses; please see your Residential Dean for petition.
Undergraduates are normally limited to credit for four terms of graduate- or
professional-level courses (courses numbered 500 and above). Please refer to the section on Academic Regulations in Yale College Programs of Study for further pertinent details.
Director of Undergraduate Studies: Lisa Kereszi. For all inquiries or to schedule an office hours advising appointment: art.dus [at] yale.edu
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Required courses
For graduation as an art major, a total of fourteen (14) course credits in the major field
is required.
These fourteen course credits must include the following: (1) five prerequisite courses at the 100 level (including Visual Thinking and Basic Drawing); (2) four 200-level
and above courses; (3) the Junior Major Seminar (Art 395a) or Critical Theory in the Studio (Art 201b); (4) the Senior Project (Art 495 and 496); and (5) two courses in the History of Art.
Suggested program guidelines and specific requirements for the various areas of concentration are available from the director of undergraduate studies.
A suggested program guideline is as follows:
• Freshman year — Studio courses, two terms
• Sophomore year — Studio courses, three terms; Art history, one term
• Junior year — Studio courses, three terms including the Junior Major Seminar and/or Critical Theory; Art history, one term
• Senior year — Studio courses, four terms including the Senior Project
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Introductory-level courses offered as a gateway to the Art major
Art 004a, Words and Pictures
Art 006a, Art of Printed Word
Art 007b, Art of the Game
Art 014a, Research in the Making
Art 110a, Sculpture Basics
Art 111a or b, Visual Thinking
Art 114a or b, Basic Drawing
Art 116a, Color
Art 120b, Introduction to Sculpture: Wood
Art 121b, Introduction to Sculpture: Metal
Art 130a or b, Painting Basics
Art 132a or b, Introduction to Graphic Design
Art 136a or b, Capturing Light with Black-and-White Photography
Art 138a or b, Digital Photography
Art 142a, Introductory Documentary Filmmaking
Art 145a or b, Digital Video
Art 184a, 3-D Modeling for Creative Practice
Art 185a, Principles of Animation
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GOALS OF THE MAJOR
Students in this major will:
· Develop an understanding of the visual arts through a studio-based curriculum
· Apply fundamentals of art across a variety of media and disciplines
· Relate the practice of making art to the fields of art history and theory
· Gain a high level of mastery of at least one artistic discipline
COURSES
Undergraduate studio courses are numbered 100 - 499 and can be found at http://art.yale.edu/Courses.
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Applying to Yale College With Supplementary Materials in Art
Yale College, the undergraduate division of Yale University, offers a Bachelor of Arts degree program with a major in art. Undergraduate applicants wishing to major in art at Yale must apply to Yale College directly. Please contact the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, PO Box 208234, 38 Hillhouse Avenue, New Haven CT 06520-8234, 203.432.9300 (www.yale.edu). Please direct all inquiries and questions to the Admissions office directly, not to the School of Art.
Whether or not you wish to major in art as an undergraduate, if you are an advanced visual artist you may consider submitting an art portfolio as part of your application to Yale. In deciding whether or not to do this, please bear in mind that it is Yale School of Art faculty members who will review selected portfolios, not admissions officers. You should only consider submitting work if your artwork is a strong and important part of your application and demonstrates a high level of ability for a high school artist. You should limit the work submitted to between 5 and 8 pieces, which should include at least one drawing.
If you wish to submit images of your artwork as a supplement to your application, you must do so online through the Common Application by the appropriate application deadline (November 1 for Single-Choice Early Action candidates; December 31 for Regular Decision candidates; March 1 for transfer candidates). Please do not contact faculty or art department directly to request portfolio reviews. You should submit a supplement through the Common Application SlideRoom program.
How to Submit Supplementary Materials
If you are going to submit supplementary materials, please check the appropriate box on the Yale Supplement to the Common Application, Section VI, titled “Supplementary Materials.”
Supplementary materials other than art or music or film may be attached to the Common Application as Additional Information or mailed to our office, clearly labeled with your full legal name as it appears on your admissions application, your date of birth, the name and state or country of your high school, and the subject of the materials. Please see the sections below for more specific information about submitting art, music, academic work, and web supplements.
While we cannot accept videotapes or DVDs of performances, applicants may include a link to a website or brief YouTube video in the space indicated on the Yale Supplement to the Common Application. In all cases, applicants should review the specific instructions below to ensure that materials submitted are appropriate.
If you wish to submit images of your artwork as a supplement to your application, you must do so online by the appropriate application deadline (November 1 for Single-Choice Early Action candidates; December 31 for Regular Decision candidates; March 1 for transfer candidates).
For complete information, please visit:
http://admissions.yale.edu/supplementary#art
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Prospective Students/Visitors: Student-led Tours
Please contact the Office of Undergraduate Studies in Art at art.dus@yale.edu or (203) 432-2600 to arrange in advance for an informative student-led one-on-one Zoom meeting about the art school at regular business hours during the school year. In-person tours and class visitations are currently suspended due to Covid safety regulations. We will not be able to accommodate every request, but will make every effort to do so with ample notice. We apologize, but faculty will not necessarily be able to meet with prospective students. Catalog available upon request, or downloadable as a PDF above.
More questions? Visit: http://admissions.yale.edu/supplementary#art
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Current Undergraduate studio courses open to students in Yale College
Art 004a, Words and Pictures
Art 006a, Art of Printed Word
Art 007b, Art of the Game
Art 014a, Research in the Making
Art 110a, Sculpture Basics
Art 111a or b, Visual Thinking
Art 114a or b, Basic Drawing
Art 116a, Color
Art 120b, Introduction to Sculpture: Wood
Art 121b, Introduction to Sculpture: Metal
Art 130a or b, Painting Basics
Art 132a or b, Introduction to Graphic Design
Art 136a or b, Capturing Light with Black-and-White Photography
Art 138a or b, Digital Photography
Art 142a, Introductory Documentary Filmmaking
Art 145a or b, Digital Video
Art 184a, 3-D Modeling for Creative Practice
Art 185a, Principles of Animation
Art 223a and 224b, Figure Drawing
Art 225a, Adventures in Self-Publishing
Art 237b, Visual Voice in Analog Photography
Art 241b, Introductory Film Writing and Directing
Art 264a-1, Typography!
Art 264a-2, Typography 1 (Prelims)
Art 265b, Typography: Expression, Structure, and Sequence
Art 266, History of Graphic Design
Art 285b/925b, Digital Animation
Art 294a, Technology and the Promise of Transformation
Art 324b, Painting Materials and Methods
Art 331b, Intermediate Painting
Art 332a, Painting Time
Art 338b, Intermediate Digital Photo
Art 341b, Intermediate Film Writing and Directing
Art 342a, Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking
Art 346a, Dematerial/Material
Art 356a, Printmaking I
Art 368a or b, Graphic Design Methodologies
Art 369b, Interactive Design and the Internet
Art 370a, Communicating with Time, Motion, and Sound
Art 379b, Form for Content with the View Camera
Art 395a, Junior Major Seminar
Art 401a, Advanced Photography Project Seminar
Art 432a, Painting Studio: The Narrative Figure
Art 433b, Painting Studio: Space & Abstraction
Art 442a and 443b, Advanced Film Writing & Directing
Art 446a, Advanced Sculpture
Art 457b, Interdisciplinary Printmaking
Art 468a, Advanced Graphic Design: Series and Systems
Art 469b, Advanced Graphic Design: History, Editing, and Interpretation
Art 495a and 496b, Senior Project Seminar
**Permission of instructor is required in all art courses.*
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APPLYING TO STUDIO ART COURSES
In order to register for studio art courses, all of which are limited enrollment and require the permission of the instructor, students MUST register online in advance, in most cases, to be considered for admission to a given class. Art courses are often over-subscribed with wait lists, especially at the introductory level. Space is limited, and faculty make selections based on individual criteria, giving priority to MFA students, art majors, CPAR majors and intended art and CPAR majors. There may still be room during the drop/add period, but it is unlikely in Introductory classes, so please be sure to apply in advance in the Online Course Search system by clicking to apply for Permission of Instructor.Editor details
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Managing Course Costs, CPA grants and Intro-level Camera Loans
Art courses no longer carry a course fee separate from the materials listed to buy on a class supply list. Although faculty make every effort to keep these costs down, some expenditure may be necessary to make your classwork. Below, please find some helpful resources to ease the financial burden.
General Many students on financial aid have available funds at the beginning of the year, but they must take initiative to access these funds. Students may email katie.brett@yale.edu in Financial Aid for advice on what funds they may have which could be applied toward these costs.
Art Course Fees I am delighted to report that courses in the Art major no longer carry fees. Hooray!
Art Course materials For some courses, there are materials costs, which the university considers comparable to textbook costs.
Students who are interested in exhibiting their course work at the end of the semester in a college gallery may apply for Creative and Performing Arts Awards (CPA) to cover materials costs associated with an art course. CPA awards are only available to support work to be exhibited. Most CPA application requests are granted. These are excellent local resources for affordable art supplies: https://www.artistcraftsman.com/stores-art-supplies-new-haven-ct https://ecoworksct.org/
Cameras for Photography Courses Students may consider borrowing a family member’s or friend’s camera for the semester. Students sometimes have luck finding used cameras to purchase 2nd hand for a fraction of the cost of a new camera.
Yale College Arts maintains digital and analog camera packages to be checked out on semester-long loan for students on financial aid enrolled in photography courses who are not able to secure a camera through other channels. Students should contact their faculty member, who will in turn, contact Ross Wightman at CCAM to access these cameras.
Intermediate and Advanced photography courses also carry camera requirements, and, for this smaller group of more advanced photographers, a limited number of cameras are available for loan from CCAM or the School of Art.
Creative and Performing Arts Awards and Safety Net funds are NOT available to support camera purchases.
The Creative and Performing Arts Award (CPA) is designed to support free on-campus performances by undergraduates. Administered by the Council of Heads of College, this award supports on-campus dramatic, musical, dance, video or film productions, literary publications, and exhibitions in each residential college. Students apply for funding by submitting performance proposals through their residential college head’s office, which may provide up to $1000 to cover accepted performance costs of a dance recital (CPA funding will not pay for wages, food, travel, guest artists, or equipment). CPA funded shows may not charge for tickets. Please review the complete award guidelines prior to submitting a funding request.
https://creativeandperformingarts.yale.edu/cpa-guidelines
Digital File Storage All Yale community members have access to 50GB of cloud storage via Box @ Yale, which can be used in lieu of external hard drives or thumb drives. https://yale.account.box.com/login
Safety Net for Emergency Academic and Art Supplies
The Yale College Safety Net is designed for currently enrolled undergraduate students who experience emergency and unexpected financial hardship. It can help with, among other things, paying for books and materials for art and other classes. Visit the link below, and select “Academic Supplies” if making a request for help with your materials for an art course. It is not guaranteed that it will be accepted, however. Deadline: ongoing
Information available here: https://finlit.yale.edu/safetynet
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Independent Project Guidelines
The project should be designed by the student in conjunction with the participation of a School of Art faculty member. The student is responsible for approaching faculty with ample notice, writing the proposal, and securing the permission from both the instructor and the DUS. Please note that not all faculty will be able to agree to this extra advising outside of their regular responsibilities, especially in the Spring semester, when many of them are advising seniors on their thesis projects. Art majors are preferred for these types of projects.
A course proposal must be submitted via email for approval by the Director of Undergraduate Studies only after the faculty advisor has already agreed and signed off. Only afterwards, the student should register for the course (471/472) online with his/her/their regular schedule. Expectations of the course include regular meetings, end-of-term critique, and a written evaluation. A reading list and written assignments may be necessary, depending on the nature of the research.
The course counts towards the major, and may be re-taken for credit at the discretion of the DUS. Since the course is P/F, it does not count in the calculation for Distinction in the Major.
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Class of 2014
c Lisa Kereszi
SENIOR ART MAJORS - Class of 2023
- Alara Degirmenci
- Anasthasia Shilov
- Avery Mitchell
- Catherine Webb
- Diego Miró-Rivera
- Dora Pang
- Doruk Eliacik
- Flores Espinosa Fraga
- Emme Zhou
- Eric Doddy
- Ethan Shim
- Hannah Chaves
- Raman Neves
- Jake Jorgl
- Leo Lee
- Linna Yao
- Marshall Barg
- Maya Boateng
- Rudd Fawcett
- Serena Cheng
- Computing and the Arts Majors
- Maya Boateng
- Rosa Chang
- Raime Jones
- Jack Li
- Michelle Li
- Alana Liu
- Josephine Shin
- Lauren Song
- Alex Taranto
- Samantha Trimboli
- Matthew Walak
- Joyce Wu
- Anna Zhang
- Kelly Zhou
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JUNIOR Art Majors - Class of 2024
- Joji Baratelli
- Lily Campbell
- Ellika Edelman
- Hannah Foley
- Chiara Hardy
- Winnie Jiang
- Seyma Kaya
- Eunice Kiang
- Bella Lake
- Alexander Laurent Rubucalva
- Jacob Feit Mann
- Olivia Marwell
- Kaia Mladenova
- Mikiala Ng
- Basak Ozsarac
- Nathan Puletasi
- Nate Reid
- Thais Shepard
- Stephanie Wang
- Jocelyn Zhou
- Megan Graham
- Michael Wang
- Victoria Lu
- Elizabeth Olshanetsky
- Angelique de Rouen
- Computing and the Arts
- Victor Del Carpio Gomez
- Alejandro Gonzalez
- Tilman Phleger
- Talia Tax
- Sianna Xiao
- Kaci Xie
- Malia Kuo
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