Art Department

Department Faculty

Jeffrey Morton, Department Chair and Program Coordinator
Elissa Weichbrodt

Department Goals

The Department of Art believes that a broad liberal arts foundation provides students with a rich training for cultural engagement and artistic expression. As practitioners and theorists, we aim to reflect in our practice and instruction, the importance of art in human life and the Christian faith. A life of faithful artistic stewardship will therefore ask students to pursue their calling using God-given gifts within the community of Covenant College and to the culture at large. To pursue these ends necessitates developing hands-on artistic technical skills and conceptual strategies, including the ability to collaborate and make with others. In addition to our program of artistic making and thinking, we provide an academic environment that will increase our understanding and appreciation of the art of the historical past while developing a critical framework to interpret and respond to the visual art and culture of the present.

Requirements for Major in Art

The Bachelor of Arts is offered to liberal arts students who wish to major in art. One goal of the major is to provide a broad liberal arts education that will inform the breadth of artistic practice. A second goal of this major is for students to explore a variety of art classes in studio and art history, while selecting a concentration in the following studios in both traditional and applied art: painting, drawing, ceramics, sculpture, photography, and design. Completion of the program requires a total of 126 hours, including a minimum of 45 hours of art depending on the concentration chosen.

The Common Art Core (27 credits)

Art students are required to take the Common Art Core listed below, and to choose from one of five different concentrations. Most concentrations require an introductory course and three upper level courses (at least two in the same concentration); however, some concentrations have additional requirements, such as 12 credits of social science courses in communication design. At minimum students will take a total of 30 studio credit hours (12 credits in Foundation Studio, 9 credits in Studio Concentration, and 9 credits in Advanced Studio Concentration), and 9 additional credit hours in art history and 6 credit hours of capstone courses for a total of 45 credit hours. Advanced placement for ART 110 Drawing 1 allows students to enroll in ART 115 or ART 250 and 230. However, students will still need to take 45 credit hours in the art major.

The Studio Concentration (18 or 30 credits)

While art making today is a broad and varied practice, with artists using a variety of media and approaches to create work, the purpose of the art major is to allow students to explore in depth a particular concentration. The goal of the concentration is to develop proficiency in a particular medium while exploring the possibilities of other art media and traditions. Students, therefore, will be required to take a variety of media in at least three different Studio Concentration Courses and at least two similar Advanced Studio Concentration Courses and one Advanced Studio Concentration Elective.

Foundation courses are prerequisites for some, but not all, of the introductory studios listed below. See course description for corresponding prerequisite. For each advanced studio there is an introductory studio course as a prerequisite.

The Double Concentration (30 or 42 credits)

A student majoring in Art who wishes to complete two studio-based concentrations will complete two required Introductory studio courses in each concentration and one additional Introductory studio elective for a total of five (5) Introductory studio courses. Additionally, students will complete two Advanced studio courses in each concentration and one additional Advanced studio elective for a total of five (5) Advanced studio courses. All total, students completing two studio-based concentrations will have at minimum ten (10) studios for a total of 30 studio credits in addition to the 27 required courses for the Art Major. For example, a student completing both the 2D concentration and 3D concentration will have a total of 57 credits in art (a Graphic Design Double Concentration will also require 12 Professional Practice credits for a grand total of 69).

Model Sequence for BA Art Major

Freshman Year:	Junior Year:
2 Foundation Courses	1 Introductory Studio Course
1 Introductory Studio Course	2 Advanced Studio Courses
	1 Art Criticism
Sophomore year:
2 Foundation Courses	Senior Year:
1 Introductory Studio Course	1 Advanced Studio Course
2 Art History Courses	1 Senior Capstone Seminar
	1 Senior Capstone Project

Course Numbering

Beginning with the 2014-15 academic year, a new course numbering system was put in place. The course numbering pattern of ART XXX is as follows.

The first number equates to the typical sequence year or level (1-4).
The second number equates to the art discipline area
The third number equates to the discipline sequence (0-9).
- #0# General or survey
- #1# Drawing and Printmaking
- #2# Design
- #3# 3-D arts (sculpture, ceramics, crafts)
- #4# Photography
- #5# Painting
- #6# Time-based arts
- #7# Art History
- #8# Independent Study or Seminar
- #9# Capstone

Teacher Certification

Art Pre-MAT

Students interested in teaching art for grades P-12 should complete a BA degree with a major in art (any concentration is acceptable) and then enroll in the one-year Master of Arts in Teaching at Covenant College. It is recommended that the Education Minor be completed. Three of the courses in the minor, EDU 121 Introduction to Teaching , EDU 222 Educational Psychology and EDU 361 Education of Exceptional Children , are required for admission to the MAT. For information about certification, see Teacher Certification under the Education section of the catalog.

Additionally, it is recommended that pre-MAT art majors take one of the following specific courses as part of their art major:

For more information, contact:

mat@covenant.edu or lindsey.fain@covenant.edu
706.419.1406
grad.covenant.edu

Programs

Major

Minor

Courses

Art Courses