• Welcome
• Studio Art
  • Major Requirements
  • Course Descriptions
  • Current Courses
• Art History
  • Major Requirements
  • Course Descriptions
  • Current Courses
• Faculty/Staff
  • Andries Fourie
  • Heidi Preuss Grew
  • Roger Hull
  • Ann Nicgorski
  • Alexandra Opie
  • James B. Thompson
  • Visiting Faculty
  • Department Staff
• Studio Spaces
• Opportunities
  • Scholarships
  • Careers
• Hallie Ford Museum of Art
• Student Work
• Hogue-Sponenburgh Lecture Series
• Related Links
  • Museums & Galleries [local]
  • Museums [United States]
  • Museums [International]

Welcome to the Studio Art program! The following information describes expectations for the Studio Art major at Willamette University. Further questions may be referred to faculty advisors and the Department Chair.

1. The Studio Art program is designed to provide both breadth and depth in your development as an artist. The program places emphasis on an understanding of general art concepts through a variety of courses including foundation studies, drawing, and two- and three-dimensional studies. In addition, students are required to take art history courses. Later in the program, students focus their development in an area of specialty. The program prepares students for their final thesis project created in Senior Seminar, the apex course for the Art Major. See the course catalog for the specific requirements of the major and variety of subjects and media available for exploration.
2. Students who declare a Studio Art major are asked to take a foundation course their first semester, Advanced Media and Design in the spring of their junior year, Writing for Artists and Senior Seminar their senior year, and balance the remaining program requirements with guidance from their advisors. It is highly encouraged that students declare their major by the beginning of their sophomore year and have at least three studio courses taken by the start of their junior year.
3. All declared Art and Art History majors meet as a group with the Art and Art History faculty at the annual Art Major Dinner in September. The dinner is an occasion for faculty and students to become acquainted or re-acquainted, to announce special upcoming events in the department, for the faculty and advanced majors to provide information about the program to newcomers, and for students to share additional thoughts concerning the Major and art community.
4. Course projects are regularly displayed in the Art Building and elsewhere on campus. In addition, the Student Art Coordinator facilitates special group exhibitions each semester. Art Majors are encouraged to regularly exhibit their work on campus and beyond.
5. In conjunction with Student Scholarship Recognition Day and the Senior Art Majors exhibit, all junior Art Majors participate in the Spring Review Exhibition in the Student Gallery in the Art Building in April. Students formally present their works for review by their peers and the studio faculty.
6. Studio Art Majors enroll in Senior Seminar in the fall and spring of their senior year. Students and faculty members meet as a group in weekly classroom sessions to develop senior thesis projects and discuss current issues in the arts. The thesis project builds upon art skills and strategies developed during the years in the program. Regular meetings with advisors encourage students to move beyond ordinary coursework to a new level of commitment and originality for the thesis project. Senior Art Majors present their final thesis project in the Senior Exhibition at the Hallie Ford Museum of Art each April. This is one of the most popular and heavily attended museum exhibitions of the year. A final group critique session is scheduled in which students present their work to faculty and peers.
7. The Department strives to maintain contact with alumni in an effort to track our graduates' on-going work in the arts or other fields. Please keep us informed of your experiences beyond Willamette.