BA in Studio Art - Painting and Drawing in College Park United States | University of Maryland, College Park

Our department offers a Bachelor of Arts degree with courses in the areas of painting, sculpture, digital media, printmaking, art theory, and graphic design. . Students enter the program with an intensive foundations program that focuses on the fundamentals of composition in both two- and three-dimensional applications. Upon completing the foundations courses, students are encouraged to experiment and expose themselves to all of the various media offered by the department. Students are expected to develop a strong artistic voice based upon an understanding of contemporary art-critical practices as well as an in-depth understanding of the technical skills needed to create compelling contemporary art.. Additionally, students in the program have numerous opportunities to extend their involvement in the major and in the arts, such as through internship programs and opportunities to work in the Herman Maril Gallery, the department's student-run gallery. Students also have the opportunity to organize and curate exhibitions featuring the work of other students in the department.

The painting and drawing area of study provides a foundation in the methods and materials of traditional media and supports advanced work that reflects the vitality and breadth of contemporary practice. The painting area of focus in the Department of Art at UMD provides a foundation in the methods and materials of traditional media and supports advanced work that reflects the vitality and breadth of contemporary practice. The two undergraduate painting studios are 2,500 square foot spaces with 20-foot ceilings and large skylights. The professionally accomplished faculty brings real-world experience and a broad knowledge of historical and contemporary art to their classes. Students are encouraged to develop individual expressive and conceptual points of view and to find the technical means to convey them. The open, creative environment in painting provides a fertile ground for all modes of painting, from representational and abstract works to those that offer a critique of the medium itself. Painting at UMCP takes place in small classes where daily individual contact with the professors and frequent group critiques form the basis of instruction.