BA in Visual Arts in La Jolla United States | University of California, San Diego

The Visual Arts Department provides instruction across various disciplines including painting, drawing, sculpture, performance art, digital arts, filmmaking, video production, photography, and art history/criticism (encompassing film and video studies). Earning a bachelor's degree here equips students with a comprehensive liberal arts foundation while preparing them for professional paths as artists, art historians, filmmakers, photographers, digital media creators, critics, or for advanced studies in art history and fine arts. The program also develops foundational skills applicable to teaching, museum work, television production, and commercial sectors involving film, photography, and digital media. Our faculty consists of practicing artists and scholars who actively research and reinterpret artistic works, their informational frameworks, and cultural meanings. The department has designed adaptable introductory courses that expose students to diverse aesthetic approaches and communication methods. A foundational studio course integrates time-based media with traditional practices like drawing, painting, and sculpture, enabling students to engage directly with evolving artistic perspectives. With its innovative approach, the department particularly focuses on emerging media and cross-disciplinary practices that expand conventional visual arts boundaries, offering courses in speculative design, social practice, digital technologies, performance, and theoretical studies. Our art history curriculum examines contemporary art through a global lens, featuring courses on Chinese art, Latin American traditions (including Pre-Columbian), Native American art, Oceanic art, and European art spanning ancient to modern periods.