Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Arts

Art Education

Education majors may choose a concentration in Art Education. Students improve artistic techniques in studio electives, gain an understanding of art criticism and aesthetics, and acquire methods to teach appropriate concepts and processes to K-12 art students. Future art educators learn to design unit plans and lesson plans that use a wide range of media to cultivate creativity. Valuable work experience is gained through classroom observation and student internships. Delta State University art education majors boast a 100% job placement rate upon graduation. Our university is the only public university in Mississippi to offer an art education major.

Curriculum

Bachelor of Arts Degree – Major in Art Education

Students entering the Art Department will be required to pass a portfolio review before advancing into upper level courses.

Faculty

Phyllis Hill, Ph.D. – Assistant Professor of Art
phill@deltastate.edu

Art History Minor

The Art History courses offered at DSU provide students with the historical background and the critical ability to become members of an actively engaged art public. These courses examine works of art in the broader context of artistic, cultural, intellectual, social, political, economic and historic circumstance. Studying art history encourages students to develop visual literacy, critical thinking, oral and written communication. These courses not only prepare students for careers in art related fields or for graduate studies, but the interdisciplinary nature of art history makes them a valuable complement to majors in many other fields of study as well. Students interested in a career in an art related field, such as museum or gallery work, arts administration, arts librarian, antiquarian, auctioneer, or in pursuing graduate studies in art history or museum studies might consider a minor in art history.

Curriculum

Faculty

Michaela Merryday, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Art History
mmerryday@deltastate.edu

Crafts Concentration with Ceramics or Fibers Emphasis

The Crafts program provides a creative studio environment for students interested in working with ceramics and fiber design. Each student is exposed to concepts and techniques ranging from the traditional to the contemporary. Special focus on the development of a personal creative voice and sound work habits create students capable of sustaining themselves in this creative field. Technical skills taught in ceramics include hand-forming techniques, mold making, glaze making, and kiln firing. Employment opportunities include teaching, freelance, production-design, product design in addition to preparation for continued studies in graduate school. All students have access to well-equipped studios that includes 15 potters wheels, a clay mixer, a slab roller, a ball-mill, 3 electric kilns and one gas kiln, various looms, paper-making equipment, as well as everything needed for batik and dying.

Curriculum

Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree – Major in Crafts

Art Minor – offered to non-art majors requires Art 158 2-D Design I and Art 159 2-D Design II, and 15 elective hours in one of the following area: Art History, Graphic Design, Crafts, Drawing, Painting, Printmaking, Sculpture and Photography.

Faculty

Ky Johnston – Associate Professor of Art
bjohnstn@deltastate.edu

Students entering the Art Department will be required to pass a portfolio review before advancing into upper level courses.

Graphic Design

A concentration in Graphic Design prepares a student for a career as a design professional. Our program encompasses the development of computer skills and fluency in the language of visual design through problem solving, presentation, critique, and self-promotion skills that are invaluable to anyone working in a creative industry. Focus is spent on web design, print design, ad design, and package design using industry standard software–culminating in a professional portfolio and digital presence. Additionally, our majors obtain real world experience through a 240-hour internship with an approved advertising agency, printer, in house art department, or other appropriate business. Our graduates currently occupy positions throughout the country working as print and web designers, art directors, illustrators, digital content creators, and creative professionals.

Painting

In all our Painting and Drawing courses, you will find a balance of skill building and concept development from the very beginning. We offer an atmosphere which is open to ideas and inclusive of styles and techniques. Skills in the use of materials, mark making, color and form are stressed as they apply to the individual student’s interests and direction. Students acquire the communication and language skills need for discourse on art, in addition to developing a conceptual framework and process for self-expression. The painting concentration prepares students for further study in a graduate program or K-12 teaching. Graduates work as studio artists and art areas such as museums, galleries, and other related entities.

Curriculum

Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree – Major in Painting

Faculty

Cetin ‘Chet’ Oguz – Associate Professor of Art
coguz@deltastate.edu

Student Work

Photography

The Photography concentration at Delta State offers a diverse curriculum that prepares students to be working artists. Students complete coursework in darkroom silver-based photography, digital photography, digital video, animation, and motion graphics. Our courses emphasize mastery of craft and technique in service to the creation of work that is insightful and probing. The curriculum helps students to develop the historical, conceptual, and technical foundation necessary to use the medium with the control needed for creative expression. Professors work one-on-one with students and in group critiques.

Faculty

Kim Rushing – Professor of Art
krushing@deltastate.edu

Sculpture

A BFA with a concentration in Sculpture prepares a student with the necessary skills to work in creative career fields that include professional artist, stone carver for architectural firms, cabinet maker, metal fabricator, mold maker, foundry operator, production companies, and construction. Sculpture majors work with an array of media and develop the ability to work representationally as well as abstract. Students acquire technical skills in stone carving, wood working, welding/fabrication, pattern making, mold making, foundry work/casting, various finishing techniques, and clay modeling. Graduate opportunities include a MFA in Sculpture, Masters of Art in Industrial Design and Master of Art in Architecture.

Currriculum

Bachelor of Fine Arts – Major in Sculpture

Art Minor – offered to non-art majors requires Art 158 2-D Design I and Art 159 2-D Design II, and 15 elective hours in one of the following area: Art History, Graphic Design, Crafts, Drawing, Painting, Printmaking, Sculpture and Photography.

Students entering the Art Department will be required to pass a portfolio review before advancing into upper level courses.

Faculty

Michael Stanley – Assistant Professor of Art
mstanley@deltastate.edu