New art degree creates opportunity

University of Houston-Clear Lake students graduating in December 2008 from the School of Human Sciences and Humanities’ applied design and visual arts program will be the first in the university’s history to be awarded a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. In July, the university received approval from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to change the Bachelor of Arts degree in applied design and visual arts to a Bachelor of Fine Arts in the program.
 
“Late last year, we were conducting some comparative research of our applied design and visual arts program to other universities and realized we had a more stringent program than the standard Bachelor of Arts in this field,” explained Stuart Larson, UH-Clear Lake associate professor and chair of applied design and visual arts. “A Bachelor of Fine Arts degree is the higher level baccalaureate degree that indicates a student has taken more discipline-specific courses. As our program already was on this track, there only were minimal changes that we had to make in terms of accreditation for this degree.”

 Students who graduate from this program often go on to graduate programs in art history and studio art, or careers in a variety of fields serving as graphic designers, computer artists and art teachers. Specialty study areas within the applied design and visual arts program include graphic design; art education; art history; ceramic arts; crafts; drawing, painting and printmaking; and sculpture.
 
Larson added that having a Bachelor of Fine Arts offers the UH-Clear Lake applied design and visual arts graduate a distinct advantage.
 
“For students going on to graduate school, a Bachelor of Fine Arts will give them an advantage on their transcripts,” said Larson. “For our students who are ready to begin their professional careers after graduation, they will be much more competitive in the workplace, particularly for those with goals of working in the visual design field. The Bachelor of Fine Arts degree is a tangible benefit for both our current and future applied design and visual arts students.”