The course prepares students for participating in the Senior BFA Exhibition. Students will complete proposal work and prepare artworks for the exhibition. Students will learn techniques for researching, preparing, creating for their exhibition. They will also edit existing artworks to complete a professional portfolio. Students will participate in a public portfolio review or presentation.

NONE

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

1. Students will create a capstone project. A body of art or design work targeted toward a their final portfolio and disseminated in the Senior BFA Exhibition.

2. Students will learn and be able to execute the following, but not limited to, career readiness skills:

• Networking.
• Interviewing.
• Portfolio.
• Taxes.
• Owning Your Own Business.
• How to get that "first step" as a professional creative.

Professional behaviors:

• Participate in activities.
• Meet assigned deadlines
• Accept and apply feedback
• Interact professionally with their professor and peers
• Prepare for and contribute to class discussions and critiques

Assignments:

This will NOT be an assignment-heavy course. We will have four moments to submit work. It is crucial that you meet these deadlines. This is THE senior level course of your major, work that is not executed well, turned in late, or submitted in an unfinished manner will be critiqued harshly.

Critiques:

We will have four major critiques this semester and also smaller critiques that may count for points. It is important that you prepare and present work during these times. Since this is about work you will be both exhibiting and using to enter the professional world, critiques will be more direct and unfiltered.

Course Evaluation

Students evaluations by the faculty and by their peers occur multiple times during the semester. These evaluations determine areas for potential improvement, or highlight topics needing additional emphasis. All students will periodically receive feedback concerning their performance. Students should perform at the highest possible level of expertise for their respective team position. Students not meeting faculty and peer expectations will receive additional input and advising.

Grading

Grading is based on individual work, projects, discussions, tests and attendance.

Each design project is worth 10 Points:

• A = 10 Points
• A- = 9 Points
• B = 8 Points
• C+ = 7 Points
• C - = 6 Points
• D = 5 Points
• F = 1-4

Learner Responsibilities

• To get the most out of this course you must do the following:
  
  • Completion of all assignments as specified and within given time frames is strictly required.
  • Regular studio work habits, and personal discipline relative to assigned problems are essential - in other words YOU MUST PUT IN THE TIME.
  • Generally during a normal semester you should build into your weekly schedule 6 hours for "class time", plus another 6 hours for "outside class" work. You will need to double the time for as Summer term. This kind of scheduling will give you the time you really need to excel. There is no substitute to regular hard work, and solving the complex design problems of this class requires the time to be successful.
  • I am committed to being accessible every day to help in this process via Office Hours, Canvas Email to help you solve the problems in your project.
  • Individual work reflected in thumbnails or preliminary sketching
  • Final solutions to visual problems assigned.
  • Participation in online discussions and critiques as assigned.
• Evaluation process: Course objectives are evaluated with regards to the student's work.
  
  • Did you put in the time? I can quickly tell if your work didn't have the time put into it!
  • What were your working methods and procedures during design stages and then the finished project?
  • How did you apply specific concepts presented (for each problem) leading to a final solution?
  • What was your solution to the problem within specific limitations?
  • What was the overall solution in terms of sensitivity to design principles, use of art elements, sophistication of presentation, and craftsmanship?

As the semester continues, evidence of progressive integration and understanding of concepts introduced sequentially throughout the course becomes more critical in evaluating finished work. In other words... show that you understand all previous projects in your current project. Verbal/Digital critiques of assignments by the instructor and other students in crits will add to this total process. Keep an active sketchbook. Use it faithfully to record both in image and word what and how you are doing, both in this class and in others. Use this as a valuable tool in helping you work out the visual problems you are facing. Keep it with you everywhere you go. It will become a valuable partner in your quest to become a visual thinker.

Note Taking Policy:

Students are responsible for all materials covered in class and note taking is highly encouraged. The professor is not responsible to re-teach missed or neglected material (see attendance policy), but rather will review the student’s notes with the student to clarify misconceptions.

Written Document Policy:

All written documents due for credit must be printed and turned in at the beginning of the class on the assigned due date. It is the student’s responsibility to have their written documents printed before class and turned in on time. No written document will be accepted late or electronically!

Points Breakdown:

e-folio/Website 15% of final grade

Projects: 85% of final grade

Proj 1-Portfolio: -20% of final grade

Proj 2: Industry research -20% of final grade

Proj 3: Capstone Proj/Exhibition -30% of final grade

Proj 4: Promo materials -15% of final grade

Course Summary

• Commenced Attendance Quiz — Wed Sep 3, 2025 due by 11:59pm
• SUMA Final Draft Proposal — Fri Sep 19, 2025 due by 11:59pm
• Artist Statement — due by 11:59pm
• Fall 2025 BFA Drop-off Signup — Fri Oct 31, 2025 due by 11:59pm
• Fall 2025 BFA Exhibition Agreement — due by 11:59pm
• Roll Call Attendance

“REDO’s” are accepted for ON TIME projects only. No redos are allowed for late work unless ill or major conflicts like a death in the family. The project will be considered late after roll is called. You will have ONE week to redo the work, not the whole semester.

Make Up Work/Extra Credit

There is no make up work or extra credit. Finishing the projects on time are the key.

All assignments are due on the date as stated on each assignment sheet. Late work will NOT be accepted.

• Studio courses are experiential in nature and rely heavily on in-class instruction, collaboration, and critique. As such, attendance is mandatory.
• A student who misses more than 25% of scheduled class time (including unexcused absences and tardiness) will receive a final grade no higher than a “C–”, and may fail the course, regardless of performance on assignments.
• Excused absences—such as those due to documented illness, university-sponsored activities, or other legitimate circumstances—may be made up with appropriate documentation (e.g., a doctor's note or official university communication). It is the student's responsibility to inform the instructor before the absence when possible and to make arrangements to complete missed work promptly.

• If you test positive for Covid please provide the test results. Any other illness that occurs you are still responsible for completing assignments. "A student is responsible for attending the courses for which they are enrolled, and may only attend courses in which they are enrolled. Students are also responsible for making up any work missed by failing to attend class, even if the absence was approved by the University (see SUU Policy 6.30 Excused Absence), necessitated by illness, or personal emergency. In this sense, then, there are no “excused” absences". If you have a serious illness or other reason for repeated absences, please communicate with me regularly so that we can work together to help make sure you complete your projects.

  Given the nature of this course, attendance is required and adjustments cannot be granted to allow non-attendance. However, if you need to seek an ADA accommodation to request an exception to this attendance policy due to a disability, please contact the Disability Resource Center. DRC will work with us to determine what, if any, ADA accommodations are reasonable and appropriate.

Program and Course Fees (Links to an external site.)

COURSE FEE:
ART Courses carry a $19 per credit fee.

• Lectures /demonstrations
• Visual problem solving ­studio time
• Discussions/critiques