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During their first year of study, all MassArt undergraduates take part in the required Foundation Year curriculum. The Foundation Year allows students to develop the technical skills and artmaking knowledge that will act as the framework for their future learning. It’s also a valuable opportunity to explore and experiment with a variety of creative media before declaring their major during their sophomore year.

Your first year at MassArt will open your eyes to things you never saw coming. Marc Holland Department Chair, Studio Foundation & '00 BFA

After the Foundation Year, students continue taking Humanities, Integrative Sciences and Biological Arts, and History of Art courses, which comprise one-third of MassArt’s Bachelor of Fine Arts program. In addition to helping students foster new perspectives and a deeper understanding of the world, this coursework is designed to enhance and complement the creative work happening in our studios, labs, and workshops.

Undergraduate Credit Requirements

To earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from MassArt, students are required to complete a total of 120 credits, or 30 credits per year over four years of study. (The Art Education tracks that prepare students for licensure require students to complete as many as 126 credits by graduation). 

General Credit Requirements

Curriculum BreakdownCredits
Drawing (Figurative/Breadth) — two semesters6
Visual Language (2D)3
Time (4D)3
Form Study (3D)3
Studio Elective3
Thinking, Making, Writing3
Freshman Seminar3
Intro to Western Art3
History of Art Elective3
Total30

Curriculum BreakdownCredits
Major requirements12
Studio/Open Elective*6
Humanities/Integrative Sciences and Biological Arts/History of Art Electives12
Total30
*Depending on departmental requirements, electives may be Studio, Open, Humanities, Integrative Sciences and Biological Arts, History of Art, or departmentally required courses. Please consult the departmental course requirement listings for details.

Curriculum BreakdownCredits
Major requirements12
Studio/Open Elective*6
Humanities/Integrative Sciences and Biological Arts/History of Art Electives12
Total30
*Depending on departmental requirements, electives may be Studio, Open, Humanities, Integrative Sciences and Biological Arts, History of Art, or departmentally required courses. Please consult the departmental course requirement listings for details.

Curriculum BreakdownCredits
Major requirements12
Studio/Open Elective*6
Humanities/Integrative Sciences and Biological Arts/History of Art Electives12
Total30
*Depending on departmental requirements, electives may be Studio, Open, Humanities, Integrative Sciences and Biological Arts, History of Art, or departmentally required courses. Please consult the departmental course requirement listings for details.

College-wide Learning Goals

The MassArt community aspires to prepare our graduates with the following undergraduate learning goals.

Each department has also prepared learning outcomes for their programs. These departmental goals link back to some or all of the college-wide learning goals. They derive from the learning happening in departments’ course offerings.

The MassArt community aspires to prepare our graduates to achieve the following:

  • Generate a personal focus and contribute an independent voice to the world
  • Work effectively within the tenets of art, design, and scholarship
  • Seek opportunities and be ready to work as professionals in architecture; art education; art history; design; fine arts; and related fields
  • Skillfully use a variety of materials, processes, tools, media, and strategies to serve their intent, learning more as needed
  • Communicate clearly, creatively, and critically across a range of forms and contexts
  • Connect ideas effectively within and across media and disciplines
  • Refer to the fullest range of historical and contemporary art and design sources from across cultures and time
  • Engage in ongoing cycles of critical and creative thinking, investigation, making, reviewing, and revising to realize ideas and works
  • Evaluate, question, and challenge conformist thinking and create new paradigms
  • Apply a wide range of research methods and technologies in gathering and analyzing information(e.g., texts, objects, images, events, behaviors) for art, design, and scholarship
  • Engage effectively in individual and/or collaborative approaches to work
  • Interact proactively and constructively with diverse local, national, and global communities
  • Seek and incorporate sustainable practices for professional work
  • Advocate for architects, art educators, art historians, artists and designers as important contributors to society

Each academic department has also created specific learning goals for specific majors that can be found under each BFA program. These departmental goals link to some or all of the undergraduate learning goals, and derive from the learning happening in departments’ course offerings.

A MassArt Education

Learn what makes a MassArt education unique, and how we’re preparing students for a lifetime of success.

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Boston, MA 02115

(617) 879-7000