Art & Art History Advising Guide
BA Studio Practice
IN THIS GUIDE
PREPARATION FOR THE MAJOR CLASSES 1
General Guidelines for the Order of Classes 3
COMBINING UPPER DIVISION COURSES (100+ LEVEL) 4
Art Faculty Advisors & Office Hours 5
TYPES OF CLASSES
Generally speaking there are 3 categories of classes: Prep for the major classes are below 100 level and can transfer in from community colleges. Upper Division Classes are 100+ level classes. Capstone Classes are finishing classes that you take in your final semester(s).
PREPARATION FOR THE MAJOR CLASSES
These are 100 level and below classes that are shared between Art & Art History majors. They lay the foundation of skills and theories you will need in more advanced classes. These classes can be transferred from community colleges.
You should be aiming to complete all of the preparation for the major courses (the upper box of the major form) before enrolling in any of the Specialized Upper Division (100+ level) courses.
UPPER DIVISION CLASSES
These are 100+ level classes that are specific for your major. They generally can not be transferred in from community colleges.
As a general rule of thumb we recommend taking ONE of the courses from the left column and 2-3 of the upper division Studio Classes / University Electives each semester. *(see charts below)
CAPSTONE CLASSES:
Take one of these in your last semester
- ART 197 - BA Senior Project
- PHOT 120 - Image and Idea
- PHOT 197 - Senior Project Photography
Classes for Your Degree
MAJOR FORM
The BA Studio Practice Major Form [pdf] is a guide to help you plan your time at SJSU and to ensure you know which classes you need to take.
Filling out the form doesn't lock you into the plan, but helps you to understand how many classes you need to take each semester and when you can plan to graduate. Many students need to change their plans depending on schedule and availability of classes among other things.
Why do I need to Complete the Major Form?
- This form shows you all of the art classes that you will need to take to graduate.
- You will need to fill this form out before any advising appointment you make with your major advisors and will need to be submitted with your application to the major.
- You will also need to submit this form with your application to graduate.
Instructions
- Submit the semester and year (ex F24) next to each class indicating the semester that you either took or plan to take the class in the future.
- If the course was completed at another college, please indicate the college, the exact course prefix & number in the “Outside course or Substitution” space provided.
Example Major Forms
Here is an example of a properly filled out Major Form Example. This will show you how to enter the information for all of the major forms, even if the classes are different than your major
ROADMAP
Use the BA Studio Practice Roadmap [pdf] to determine what semester you should take each class. The roadmap will give you a sense of what courses should be taken for the major and what the recommended order is. This is also the form that the SJSU administration uses to populate your ‘My Progress’ report.
General Guidelines for the Order of Classes
PRIORITY OF CLASSES
Top Priority Classes
ART 13 & ART 46
Art 13 is an important course in the Spatial Art pipeline. It provides a high-level overview of some of the tools and approaches students will learn in more depth later in their curriculum. Art 46 also provides the foundation for the BFA Portfolio, which all Spatial BFAs need to submit for review before they can graduate with a BFA in Spatial Arts.
Students usually submit their BFA Portfolio for review in their 3rd or 4th semester (after they have taken Art 13 & Art 46). The faculty reviewing the portfolios will be looking for the Projects from these classes (or proof of the CLOs if using personal projects) in the portfolio.
ART 1
Art 1 provides an introduction to skills and documents needed in preparation for professional careers in the arts; orientation to SJSU. It’s super useful early in your career at SJSU, you create a semester by semester plan and meet with an advisor as a graded assignment in the class.
Top Priority (absolute must before enrollment in 100 level classes)
Second Priority (more flexible about enrollment in 100 level classes), transferrable from other institutions
Third Priority
Fourth Priority
Fifth Priority
CAPSTONE Courses: Take one of these in your last semester
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COMBINING UPPER DIVISION COURSES (100+ LEVEL)
As a general rule of thumb we recommend taking ONE of the courses from the left column and 2-3 of the upper division classes each semester after you finish the Preparation for the Major Courses.
Take one of the following each semester | Take 3-4 of the following each semester* |
ART 100W Select one *ARTH elective: ART/ARTH 110 or ARTH 191A Select one ARTH 193(*) elective: ARTH 193A or ARTH/ASIA 193B | Select three FOCUS electives from one category* (classes are listed on 2nd page Major Form):
Select one FOCUS ADD electives*: Complete one course additional course from any area University Electives: 24 Units of Upper Division Coursework *courses cannot be counted twice, if you select a course for one elective category, it can’t be counted in another elective category |
One on One Major Advising
During the Fall and Spring semesters, you can meet with Art Faculty to help with Major Advising. Faculty Major Advisor can help you with the classes you need to take in the Art Department, but you will need to see a general advisor to make sure you are on-track with your General Education (GE) courses.
Art Faculty Advisors & Office Hours
Students should see an advisor specializing in their FOCUS area; see the BA Studio Practice advising schedule for their advising schedule.
Note: If you have a class during your advisor's scheduled office hours, we suggest respectfully asking your professor if you can step out for a bit to meet with your advisor.