Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art

Vision

Be a destination art and design program for creatives seeking a distinct voice in their communities.

Mission

The Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art (BFSDoArt) provides students with an innovative student-centered curriculum that incorporates relevant technologies and interdisciplinary approaches to educate students with the requisite professional practices for leadership and collaboration in successful careers in art and design fields. BFSDoArt promotes life-long learning and academic excellence in an open and inclusive environment by developing transferable technical and research skills, specialized knowledge in discipline-specific areas, and communication of ideas by producing original creative works, scholarship, or pedagogy to cultivate discovery and innovation in the fields of art, design, or art education.

The BFSDoArt offers interactions with visiting artists and scholars and a diverse exhibition schedule in our Statesboro and Savannah campus galleries. Research, internships, and travel abroad opportunities are also available in our ongoing commitment to the development of a well-rounded future world citizen whose creative research recognizes both aesthetic issues and global awareness.

The BFSDoArt Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Art degree program provides students with a six-semester curriculum leading to the terminal MFA Art degree. Recognizing the close scholarly and functional relationship between Art and Design, the MFA Art is cross-disciplinary and combines technical skills, creative work, inquiry, and investigation to focus on the advanced preparation of artists and designers in their areas of specialization. The MFA program supports degree holders’ ability to become professional practitioners in art, design, and education; leaders in critical thinking; and significant contributors to the contemporary dialogue of their discipline through research and scholarship.

The MFA mission aligns with the University’s mission and values: collaboration, academic excellence, discovery and innovation, openness and inclusion, and integrity. Opportunities to demonstrate these values are essential to the curriculum through the activity of group critique and communal studio spaces (centering around a physical studio space within the Arts Building called the MFA hub), and weekly one on one studio visits with faculty. The degree promotes cultural enrichment and community engagement through experiences such as regular visiting artist exhibits and lectures by national and international artists as well as annual exhibitions within the local arts community in Savannah and Statesboro. In line with the mission of global impact of university students, faculty, staff, and alumni, our program offers an annual visit to the premier international Art Fair in Miami and our graduate students and faculty pursue international exhibition and presentation opportunities.

The Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art is an accredited member of the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD), offering a robust selection of minors in Animation and New Media, Art, Art History, Graphic Communications, Graphic Design, Photography and Digital Imaging, and Studio Art.

Undergraduate Program Information

The Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) for the Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Art center on three Desired Learning Outcomes (DLO) areas: transferable skills, specialized knowledge, and the communication of ideas. Upon completion of their course of study, students graduating with a BA in Art will be able to:

DLO-1 demonstrate general art and design skills proficiency within a liberal arts context.

Studio Art concentration

produce creative works with a variety of media, techniques, and processes that achieve basic visual communication and expression in one or more media.

Art History concentration

conduct research to support critical analyses of artworks by synthesizing information, engaging in scholarly practice, and providing proper documentation using a formal writing style and standard format.

DLO-2 demonstrate general art and design knowledge within a liberal arts context.

Studio Art concentration

employ a visual sensitivity by identifying and applying appropriate visual and conceptual terminology necessary to articulate the creative goals outlined in a project statement.
research relevant works and intentions of major artists/designers and movements of the past and the present, both in the Western and non-Western worlds to inform the development of creative works and support intentions and themes described in the project statement.

Art History concentration

identify artworks, monuments, and cultural productions from various eras and cultures by comparing key formal and stylistic elements using appropriate terminology.
interpret the content of artworks and monuments by analyzing and evaluating them within their formal, expressive, and socio-cultural contexts.

DLO-3 develop creative scholarship that communicates an artistic or intellectual goal within a liberal arts context.

Studio Art concentration

write a project statement with a coherent artistic or intellectual goal that reflects the capacity to make connections between concept and media and explain and defend views in support of their creative scholarship.

Art History concentration

produce original scholarship that expresses relevant skills and knowledge in methods of art historical research and ethics that contribute to the discipline’s knowledge base.

*The BA in Art programs are available on the Statesboro or Armstrong campuses.

The Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) for the Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Art center on three Desired Learning Outcomes (DLO) areas: transferable skills, specialized knowledge, and communication of ideas. Upon completion of their course of study, students graduating with a BFA professional degree in Art will be able to:

DLO-1 develop professional, entry-level art and design skills proficiency in their chosen area(s) of study.

Studio Art concentration

produce a cohesive body of creative work that expands within and between some combination of media, techniques, processes, and disciplines with technical facility.

Art Education concentration

produce creative works with a variety of media, techniques, and disciplines necessary to teach studio art processes commonly included in the K-12 curriculum.

DLO-2 integrate specialized art and design knowledge into their professional practice in their chosen area(s) of study.

Studio Art concentration

demonstrate functional competence of visual and conceptual terminology to articulate their intentions in the artist statement.
research relevant aesthetic issues, art/design history. theory, criticism, tools, techniques, technologies, materials, and media situated within the historical achievements, current major issues, processes, and directions of their field(s) to support intentions and themes described in the artist’s statement.

Art Education concentration

identify and apply the elements of art and principles of design associated with teaching art at a foundational level.
identify artworks and monuments by distinguishing between artistic eras and/or cultural productions of various eras and cultures by comparing key formal and stylistic components using appropriate terminology.

DLO-3 produce a professional entry-level body of work or design pedagogy that communicates intended artistic, design, or educational goals in a chosen area(s) of study.

Studio Art concentration

exhibit and present their creative scholarship publicly by giving an artist’s talk that reflects the capacity to explain and defend a coherent set of artistic/intellectual goals, value judgments about art and design, and where their work is situated in a contemporary context to professionals and laypersons.

Art Education concentration

plan and deliver instruction in art education settings based upon content area knowledge, diverse student characteristics, student performance data, curriculum goals, and the community context.

* The B.F.A. in Art programs are available on the Statesboro or Armstrong campuses, however Art Education concentration courses are only available on the Armstrong campus.

The Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) for the Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Graphic Design center on three Desired Learning Outcomes (DLO) areas: transferable skills, specialized knowledge, and communication of ideas. Upon completion of their course of study, students graduating with a BFA professional degree in Graphic Design will be able to:

DLO-1 To develop professional, entry-level level graphic design skills proficiency in their chosen area(s) of study, Graphic Design students will:

demonstrate functional understanding of technological tools and systems necessary for planning, producing, and disseminating visual communications.
demonstrate functional understanding of design principles and formal systems necessary for planning, producing, and disseminating visual communications.

DLO-2 To integrate specialized graphic design knowledge into their professional practice in their chosen area(s) of study, Graphic Design students will:

frame and conduct investigations using basic research and analysis procedures regarding audiences/users and contexts to inform the decision-making described in a creative brief.
apply formal vocabulary in the presentation of visual communication to describe relationships among form, meaning, and the behavior of the audience or user as outlined in a creative brief.

DLO-3 To explain intended professional goals in a chosen area(s) of study, Graphic Design students will:

demonstrate a capacity to describe and defend to professionals and laypersons their value judgments about design and where their creative scholarship is situated in a contemporary context.

* Courses beyond the foundations for The B.F.A. in Graphic Design program are only available on the Statesboro campus.

The Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) for the Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Art center on three Desired Learning Outcomes (DLO) areas: transferable skills, specialized knowledge, and communication of ideas. Upon completion of their course of study, students graduating with a MFA professional degree in Art will be able to:

DLO-1 develop professional art and design skills proficiency in their chosen area(s) of study.

CRAFTING: demonstrate an advanced understanding of materials and processes to achieve the stated art/design concept and expression. Students demonstrate professional studio practice and time management while refining and expanding technical creation skills and knowledge of material properties that may be within or outside of their area of specialization at program entrance.

DLO-2 integrate specialized art and design knowledge into their chosen area(s) of study.

CREATIVE VISION - demonstrate an advanced understanding of formal elements, conceptual development, expressive content, and the organizing strategies used to express concepts. Students continually research both contemporary and historical practices to fully understand and correlate critical theory and visual aesthetic issues. During critiques and program reviews, students verbally articulate their stylistic and aesthetic decisions in reference to studio practice activities.

DLO-3 develop scholarship that communicates and defends their artistic or intellectual goals in a chosen area(s) of study.

DISCOURSE - develop advanced writing and speaking skills to communicate clearly and effectively to the art and/or design communities, the public, and in formal or informal teaching situations. Graduate student writing and speaking will demonstrate an advanced level of professional presentation while providing compelling and convincing reasoning that critically and historically explains the student’s concept.

Programs

Undergraduate Program(s)

Undergraduate Minor(s)

Master’s Program(s)

Art M.F.A.