Art
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Overview
The UC Berkeley Art Practice Department offers undergraduate and graduate programs in studio art, which provide firm grounding in basic techniques and principles while encouraging guided experimentation. Our curriculum is designed to expand students' creative, technical, and critical abilities across a range of artistic media and disciplines, and with the guidance of accomplished faculty.
We provide technical and conceptual training, with a primary focus on painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, digital photography, installation, performance, social practice, video, and selected courses offered in sound, animation, and game design. Art Practice majors are expected to round out the required studio courses with Art History and seminar classes. The department encourages an ethical, global scope, with a necessary emphasis on diversity of viewpoints and modes of practice.
Art Practice seeks to graduate students with the necessary skills to have significant artistic and cultural impact, whether within the professional art world or through a range of other. creative fields, including as art directors, arts educators, and arts-related jobs with museums, galleries, arts management, design firms, publishing, and artists’ organizations.
Course of Study Overview
Art Practice majors need to complete thirteen courses (five lower division and eight upper division). These include ten studio courses and three courses in art history. For more details, visit the undergraduate webpage: art.berkeley.edu/major.
Advanced Studio and Critique Program
Each semester the Advanced Studio and Critique Program admits nine senior Art Practice majors who show exceptional commitment and promise.
Senior Capstone Project
During senior year students take the required course ART 185 Senior Projects/Professional Practices and work toward a thesis exhibition in the Department’s Worth Ryder Art Gallery.
Applying to the Art Practice Major
The Art Practice Department is a high demand major(link is external) which means that not all students who apply to the major will be accepted. Applications are competitive and include a portfolio review. Applicants are encouraged to apply as early as possible as long as they have completed the prerequisites. The last chance to apply is the beginning of your first semester of junior year.
Please remember that the Art Practice Department is a fine arts program and we do not focus on character animation, design, illustration, fashion, and other commercial art fields.
Beginning with the first-year student entering class of Fall 2023, there are two pathways to declare a high demand major:
Admission into L&S (Intended Art Practice): Students who selected Art Practice on their UC Berkeley admissions application are guaranteed a spot in the major subject to completing the prerequisites, maintaining good academic standing in L&S, and submitting a Major Declaration Form by the deadline.
Changing to a high demand major (Discoverer path): For students who did not select Art Practice on their UC Berkeley admissions application, the process for declaring a high-demand major will be through a comprehensive review, rather than a minimum GPA requirement only. Students will have one opportunity to apply to Art Practice and will be required to have an alternate plan to declare a non-high-demand major as a back-up.
While we do our best to accept all qualified students, there is no guarantee that any one particular student will be admitted into the major. Discoverer students may apply to the Art Practice major once and all admissions decisions are final. When completing the prerequisites required for the Art Practice major, students should take the necessary steps to prepare for an alternative major in order to ensure a timely graduation.
Intended double majors: Prioritize the Art Practice major FIRST, as the required courses are difficult to get into and you should focus on Art Practice if you want it as one of your majors. For more information on double majoring, consult the L&S page(link is external).
Pathways to the Major
For first year students admitted Fall 2023 or later who applied to Berkeley with Art Practice as an Intended Major: you will need to meet the following criteria and deadlines. Do not declare another major prior to declaring Art Practice as this will remove “Applied HD Art Practice” from your Cal Central.
Earn a 2.0 GPA in major prerequisite courses with at least a letter grade of C- or better
Have a 2.0 GPA for the semester in which you are declaring the major with letter grades of a C- or better
Have a 2.0 cumulative GPA
Submit the Major Declaration Form provided by the Student Services Advisor by the start of the first semester of your junior year. You do not need to submit a portfolio review or formal application.
For students applying through the Discoverer Path: students admitted into UC Berkeley in Fall 2023 and onward who did not select Art Practice as a major when applying to UC Berkeley, you will need to meet the following criteria and deadlines.
Earn a 2.0 GPA in major prerequisite courses with at least a letter grade of C- or better
Have a 2.0 GPA for the semester in which you are declaring the major with letter grades of a C- or better
Have a 2.0 cumulative GPA
Submit a portfolio review and formal application by the first semester of your junior year. Applications are open at the start of the Fall and Spring semester.
Freshman and sophomores are encouraged to apply as early as possible as long as they are enrolled in or have completed the three course requirements (ART 8, one lower division studio course, and an Art History course).
Second semester sophomores should attempt to get all the prerequisites completed, or ensure being enrolled in them next semester. Summer Sessions also offers ART 8 and lower division courses that will count toward the major.
First semester juniors: it is the last semester you can apply to the major. If you are not currently enrolled in or have not completed the three course requirements, you cannot apply to the major.
Second semester juniors and all seniors: it is too late to apply to the major.
For Junior Transfer Students, there are two pathways:
Transfer students can be directly admitted to the major upon acceptance into UC Berkeley, but must formally indicate the Art Practice major on their university application.
Undeclared (Discovery) transfer students can apply during their first semester at UC Berkeley but must already have:
At least one undergraduate fine art studio class taken at community college
One Art History class taken at community college
Must be enrolled in ART 8 at UC Berkeley during their first semester (contact Student Services Advisor to confirm this)
Note that the first semester of your junior year is the very last semester you can apply to the Art Practice Major.
Prerequisite Courses to Apply to the Major
Completed R&C (Reading & Comprehension) requirements
Completed or be enrolled in two lower division studio courses:
ART 8: Introduction to Visual Thinking (required)
an Art Practice studio class (or its equivalent at junior college)
Completed or be enrolled in one lower division History of Art course (any)
For Continuing Undergraduate Students:
Apply as early as possible after completing the prerequisites. Starting in Fall 2023, students are not allowed to apply to the major past the beginning of their junior year (i.e., Seniors are not allowed to apply). The portfolio submission is a competitive one and plays a significant role in the review process. Students are encouraged to submit their strongest work along with thoughtful written responses. Faculty review applications once per semester. Application deadlines can be found on the Art Practice website.