Our programs take you on an exploration of the visual arts, with a special emphasis on contemporary creation. Both programs include compulsory practical and theoretical courses that encourage both creation and reflection. The Department provides photography and media art labs as well as painting, drawing and sculpture studios. In the heart of Ottawa, you also have access to a wealth of artistic venues such as the National Gallery and the Ottawa Art Gallery. In addition, you train under the guidance of nationally and internationally recognized artists, curators, art historians and theorists. While maintaining its focus on traditional disciplines (drawing, painting, sculpture and photography), the Department also helps you discover the use of new media and technologies in the visual arts.
The Department of Visual Arts also offers a Major and a Minor in Art History.
This program is offered in English and in French.
Requirements for this program have been modified. Please consult the 2023-2024 calendars for the previous requirements.
This program cannot be combined with the Major in Visual Arts nor the Major or Minor in Art History.
This program leads to the Master of Fine Arts program (MFA).
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Basic Skills | ||
| ENG 1100 | Workshop in Essay Writing | 3 Units |
| 3 course units from: | 3 Units | |
| Reasoning and Critical Thinking | ||
| Philosophy: Ideas and Arguments | ||
| 3 course units from: | 3 Units | |
| Introduction to Interdisciplinary Study in the Arts 1 | ||
| Introduction to Interdisciplinary Study in the Arts 1 | ||
| Selected Topics in Literature and Composition | ||
| 3 course units from: | 3 Units | |
| Introduction to Interdisciplinary Study in the Arts 1 | ||
| Introduction to Interdisciplinary Study in the Arts 1 | ||
| Moral Reasoning | ||
| Fundamental Philosophical Questions | ||
| Great Philosophers | ||
| Philosophy: Themes and Texts | ||
| Total: | 12 Units | |
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Compulsory courses at the 1000 level | ||
| ART 1311 | Introduction to Painting | 3 Units |
| ART 1321 | Introduction to Sculpture | 3 Units |
| ART 1331 | Introduction to Photography | 3 Units |
| ART 1341 | Art, Time and the Technological Imagination | 3 Units |
| ART 1360 | Histories of Art I 2 | 3 Units |
| ART 1361 | Histories of Art II 2 | 3 Units |
| Compulsory courses at the 2000 level | ||
| ART 2170 | 19th Century Art: 1789-1900 | 3 Units |
| ART 2171 | Modern Art: 1900-1945 | 3 Units |
| Compulsory courses at the 3000 level | ||
| ART 3180 | Art After Modernism: 1945-1978 | 3 Units |
| ART 3181 | Postmodernism and Art: 1978-2000 | 3 Units |
| Compulsory courses at the 4000 level | ||
| ART 4986 | Intensive Studio Practice | 6 Units |
| ART 4987 | Professional Practices in Art | 3 Units |
| ART 4989 | From Studio to Exhibition | 3 Units |
| Optional courses | ||
| 18 optional studio course units in visual arts (ART) | 18 Units | |
| 6 optional studio course units in visual arts (ART) at the 3000 level | 6 Units | |
| 6 optional course units in art history (ART) 3, 4 | 6 Units | |
| Elective courses | ||
| 36 elective course units | 36 Units | |
| Total: | 108 Units | |
The electives may be replaced by a combination of a Minor, Option(s), and/or elective units.
Note(s)
- 1
This course has variable topics. Students may take this course twice.
- 2
The introductory survey courses, ART 1360 and ART 1361, are required for all undergraduates in the Department of Visual Arts (Bachelor of Fine Arts; Major in Visual Arts; Major and Minor in Art History), and are prerequisites for all compulsory 3000-level courses, so should therefore be taken in first year to ensure graduation on time.
- 3
Other courses may be selected in consultation with the Department.
- 4
The course AMT 3105 can count towards this requirement.
List of Optional Courses - Studio
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| ART 1900 | Drawing from Life: Fundamentals | 3 Units |
| ART 2191 | Special Topics | 3 Units |
| ART 2913 | Painting and Image I: Materiality and Process | 3 Units |
| ART 2914 | Painting and Image II: Motif and Metaphor | 3 Units |
| ART 2915 | Painting and Context I: Observation and Process | 3 Units |
| ART 2916 | Painting and Context II: Space and Site | 3 Units |
| ART 2923 | Sculpture in Transformation: Materiality and Process | 3 Units |
| ART 2925 | Elements of Contemporary Sculpture | 3 Units |
| ART 2926 | Sculpture and Concept | 3 Units |
| ART 2928 | Sculpture and the Body | 3 Units |
| ART 2932 | Digital Photography Workshop I | 3 Units |
| ART 2934 | Large Format Photography | 3 Units |
| ART 2935 | Mise en scène: Lighting on Location and in the Studio | 3 Units |
| ART 2940 | Play: Art and Making Games | 3 Units |
| ART 2941 | Non-Standard: Creative Uses of Light and Sound | 3 Units |
| ART 2942 | Lively Spaces and Objects: Fundamentals of Interactivity | 3 Units |
| ART 2943 | Synthetic Art: Computer Generated Sound and Image | 3 Units |
| ART 2951 | Drawing I: Materiality and Process | 3 Units |
| ART 2952 | Drawing: Animals, Humans and other living forms | 3 Units |
| ART 3916 | Painting and Source I: Issues of Representation | 3 Units |
| ART 3917 | Painting and Source II: Narrative and Series | 3 Units |
| ART 3926 | Sculpture and Installation | 3 Units |
| ART 3927 | Relational Sculpture | 3 Units |
| ART 3933 | Photography and Contemporary Context | 3 Units |
| ART 3934 | Hybrid Photographic Methods | 3 Units |
| ART 3935 | Special Topics in Photography | 3 Units |
| ART 3944 | The New Commons: Art Outside the Gallery | 3 Units |
| ART 3945 | Frames-Per-Second: Art and the Moving Image | 3 Units |
| ART 3952 | Analytical Drawing and Graphic Design | 3 Units |
| ART 3953 | Drawing IV: Expressivity | 3 Units |
List of optional courses - History of Art
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| ART 1360 | Histories of Art I | 3 Units |
| ART 1361 | Histories of Art II | 3 Units |
| ART 2170 | 19th Century Art: 1789-1900 | 3 Units |
| ART 2171 | Modern Art: 1900-1945 | 3 Units |
| ART 3116 | Art and New Technologies | 3 Units |
| ART 3117 | Art and Gender | 3 Units |
| ART 3118 | Art, Globalization and Cultural Hybridities | 3 Units |
| ART 3180 | Art After Modernism: 1945-1978 | 3 Units |
| ART 3181 | Postmodernism and Art: 1978-2000 | 3 Units |
| ART 3334 | Canadian Art and Cultural Identities | 3 Units |
| ART 3344 | Museum Studies and Artistic Practices | 3 Units |
| ART 3354 | Indigenous Arts | 3 Units |
| ART 3364 | Histories and Theories of Photography | 3 Units |
| ART 4115 | Special Topics in Art History | 3 Units |
| ART 4118 | Special Topics in Contemporary Art | 3 Units |
| ART 4119 | Curating for Contemporary Art | 3 Units |
| ART 4161 | Special Topics in Arts, Heritage and Policy | 3 Units |
| ART 4355 | Research Seminar in Art History | 3 Units |
| ART 4900 | Apprenticeship | 3 Units |
| ART 4910 | Venice: Intensive Field Course on Global Contemporary Art | 3 Units |
| ART 4915 | Special Topics in Art History | 3 Units |
| ART 4955 | Research Seminar in Art History | 3 Units |
| ART 4956 | Directed Research I | 3 Units |
| ART 4957 | Directed Research II | 3 Units |
| ART 4961 | Special Topics in Arts, Heritage and Policy | 3 Units |