Art & Art History Advising Guide
Photography BFA
IN THIS GUIDE
PREPARATION FOR THE MAJOR CLASSES 1
General Guidelines for the Order of Classes 3
COMBINING UPPER DIVISION COURSES (100+ LEVEL) 4
Photography Faculty Major Advisors & Office Hours 5
GE Advising: H&A Student Success Center 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.
BFA Portfolio Review: you should apply to the Portfolio Review once you've completed 15-21 units of the preparation for the major 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 theses in your last semester
- Take 198 (BFA Seminar) the semester before you graduate
- Take ART 199 (BFA Senior Project) your last semester at SJSU
Classes for Your Degree
MAJOR FORM
Major Form is a guide to help you plan your time at SJSU and to ensure you know which classes you need to take.
- BFA Photography Major Form 2025-2026 (students entering SJSU Fall 2025 and later)
- BFA Photography Major Form 2024-2025 (students entering SJSU before Fall 2025)
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.
ROADMAP
Use the Roadmap 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.
- BFA Photography Roadmap 2025-2026 (students entering SJSU Fall 2025 and later)
- BFA Photography Roadmap 2020-2025 (students entering SJSU before Fall 2025)
General Guidelines for the Order of Classes
PRIORITY OF CLASSES
Top Priority Classes
PHOT
PHOT 40 is an important course in the Photography pipeline. It provides a high-level overview of some of the tools and approaches students will learn in more depth later in their curriculum. PHOT 40 also provides the foundation for the BFA Portfolio, which all students need to submit for review before they can graduate with a BFA in Photography.
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 (Art 198 & Art 199): Take these in your final year
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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 2-3 of the following each semester* |
ART 100W ARTH/PHOT 126 Select one *ARTH elective: ART/ARTH 110 or ARTH 191A Select one ARTH 193(*) elective: ARTH 193A or ARTH/ASIA 193B | PHOT 112 PHOT 115 PHOT 116 PHOT 120 PHOT 121 PHOT 129 PHOT 197 Select three PHOT SPEC electives: PHOT 110, PHOT 113, PHOT 114, PHOT 122, PHOT 123, or PHOT 125 Select two MAJOR Electives:
*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 Advising
Faculty Major Advisors are Professors teaching within your major and can help you with the classes you need to take in the Art & Art History Department. They can also approve of course substitutions.
General advisors located in the Student Success Center make sure you are on-track with your General Education (GE) courses.
Photography Faculty Major Advisors & Office Hours
During the Fall and Spring semesters, you can meet with Photography Faculty to help with Major Advising.
There are currently two full-time faculty advisors in Photography; see the Photography BFA advising schedule to find when they hold their office hours.
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. Faculty Major Advisors are only available during the Fall and Spring semesters, please see a GE Advisor or email art@sjsu.edu during Summer & Winter breaks.
GE Advising: H&A Student Success Center
GE Advising & H&A Student Success Center Website: https://www.sjsu.edu/ha-advising/index.php
Email: ha-successcenter@sjsu.edu
Phone: (408) 924-5095
Virtual and In-person Appointments available.
Advising Appointments: Spartan Connect
Intake Form (for quick questions): Submit an Advising Question
Office Open In Person: Visit Office: Clark Hall 244 (closed for lunch daily from 12-1pm
Monday through Thursday, 9am-12pm; 1-5pm
Friday 10am-12pm; 1-5pm
APPLICATION TO GRADUATE
You apply to graduate online via MySJSU online portal. You can apply up to 3 semesters before you graduate, but typically one year/ two semesters before your planned graduation. See step-by-step instructions here.
The registrar's office will check to make sure you have completed all of your degree requirements and will confirm with you once the check is complete. Additional information can be found on the Registrar's Website.
COURSE SUBSTITUTIONS
Students can request course substitutions with their Major Advisor:
- Submit your course substitution request here (must be logged in to SJSU gmail account)
- Meet with a Major Advisor during their office hours to discuss your request
- Once an advisor approves of the substitution they will send the substitution list to the Art Office.
- Bill will send the substitution to the Registrar's Office to process
Substitutions are usually processed in the last semester that the student attends SJSU, this step in the process can take awhile. If you follow the steps above and you don't see the substitution showing up in you MyProgress report by mid-terms in your final semester, contact your Major Advisor or Bill Alley in the Art Office: bill.alley@sjsu.edu