    * Skip to Content
    * AZ Index
    * Catalog Home
    * U Ottawa Home
      * FR (switch to the French version of this page)
      * person arrow_drop_down Login
          + uoZone
          + Brightspace
          + VirtuO
      * search Search
      * menu Toggle Navigation
        search Search menu Close Navigation
        * Study
        * Campus life
        * Research and innovation
        * About us
        * Current Students
        * Faculty and Staff
        * Alumni
        * Giving
      * Study
      * Campus life
      * Research and innovation
      * About us
      * search Search
      * FR (switch to the French version of this page)
      * person arrow_drop_down Toggle Navigation
          + uoZone
          + Brightspace
          + VirtuO
    * home Home
    * Programs and courses
    * Undergraduate Programs
    * Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA)

  Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA)

      120 Units

      * Programs arrow_drop_down
          + All programs
          + Undergraduate
          + Graduate
      * Courses
      * Archives
    Download Page (PDF)
      * Overview
      * Program Requirements

        Our programs take you on an exploration of the visual arts, with a special emphasis on contemporary creation. Both programs include compulsory practical and theoretical courses that encourage both creation and reflection. The Department provides photography and media art labs as well as painting, drawing and sculpture studios. In the heart of Ottawa, you also have access to a wealth of artistic venues such as the National Gallery and the Ottawa Art Gallery. In addition, you train under the guidance of nationally and internationally recognized artists, curators, art historians and theorists. While maintaining its focus on traditional disciplines (drawing, painting, sculpture and photography), the Department also helps you discover the use of new media and technologies in the visual arts.

        The Department of Visual Arts also offers a Major and a Minor in Art History.

        This program is offered in English and in French.

      Requirements for this program have been modified. Please consult the 2023-2024 calendars for the previous requirements.

      This program cannot be combined with the Major in Visual Arts nor the Major or Minor in Art History.

      This program leads to the Master of Fine Arts program (MFA).

      Course List
        Code                  Title                                                  Units  
        Basic Skills                                                               
        ENG 1100              Workshop in Essay Writing                              3 Units
        3 course units from:  3 Units                                              
          PHI 1101            Reasoning and Critical Thinking                               
          PHI 1301            Philosophy: Ideas and Arguments                               
        3 course units from:  3 Units                                              
          AHL 1100            Introduction to Interdisciplinary Study in the Arts 1         
          AHL 1900            Introduction to Interdisciplinary Study in the Arts 1         
          ENG 1120            Selected Topics in Literature and Composition                 
        3 course units from:  3 Units                                              
          AHL 1100            Introduction to Interdisciplinary Study in the Arts 1         
          AHL 1900            Introduction to Interdisciplinary Study in the Arts 1         
          PHI 1102            Moral Reasoning                                               
          PHI 1103            Fundamental Philosophical Questions                           
          PHI 1104            Great Philosophers                                            
          PHI 1302            Philosophy: Themes and Texts                                  
        Total:                12 Units                                             
        
        Course List
          Code                                                                   Title                                        Units  
          Compulsory courses at the 1000 level                                                                              
          ART 1311                                                               Introduction to Painting                     3 Units
          ART 1321                                                               Introduction to Sculpture                    3 Units
          ART 1331                                                               Introduction to Analog Photography           3 Units
          ART 1341                                                               Art, Time and the Technological Imagination  3 Units
          ART 1360                                                               Histories of Art I 2                         3 Units
          ART 1361                                                               Histories of Art II 2                        3 Units
          Compulsory courses at the 2000 level                                                                              
          ART 2170                                                               19th Century Art: 1789-1900                  3 Units
          ART 2171                                                               Modern Art: 1900-1945                        3 Units
          Compulsory courses at the 3000 level                                                                              
          ART 3180                                                               Art After Modernism: 1945-1978               3 Units
          ART 3181                                                               Postmodernism and Art: 1978-2000             3 Units
          Compulsory courses at the 4000 level                                                                              
          ART 4986                                                               Intensive Studio Practice                    6 Units
          ART 4987                                                               Professional Practices in Art                3 Units
          ART 4989                                                               From Studio to Exhibition                    3 Units
          Optional courses                                                                                                  
          18 optional studio course units in visual arts (ART)                   18 Units                                   
          6 optional studio course units in visual arts (ART) at the 3000 level  6 Units                                    
          6 optional course units in art history (ART) 3, 4                      6 Units                                    
          Elective courses                                                                                                  
          36 elective course units                                               36 Units                                   
          Total:                                                                 108 Units                                  
          

          The electives may be replaced by a combination of a Minor, Microprogram(s), and/or elective units.

          Note(s)

          1

          This course has variable topics. Students may take this course twice.

          2

          The introductory survey courses, ART 1360 and ART 1361, are required for all undergraduates in the Department of Visual Arts (Bachelor of Fine Arts; Major in Visual Arts; Major and Minor in Art History), and are prerequisites for all compulsory 3000-level courses, so should therefore be taken in first year to ensure graduation on time.

          3

          Other courses may be selected in consultation with the Department.

          4

          The course AMT 3105 can count towards this requirement.

          List of Optional Courses - Studio

          Course List
            Code      Title                                                     Units  
            ART 1900  Drawing from Life: Fundamentals                           3 Units
            ART 2191  Special Topics                                            3 Units
            ART 2913  Painting and Image I: Materiality and Process             3 Units
            ART 2914  Abstraction in Painting                                   3 Units
            ART 2915  Painting and Context I: Observation and Process           3 Units
            ART 2916  Painting and Context II: Space and Site                   3 Units
            ART 2923  Sculpture in Transformation: Materiality and Process      3 Units
            ART 2925  Elements of Contemporary Sculpture                        3 Units
            ART 2926  Sculpture and Concept                                     3 Units
            ART 2928  Sculpture and the Body                                    3 Units
            ART 2932  Digital Photography Workshop I                            3 Units
            ART 2934  Large Format Photography                                  3 Units
            ART 2935  Mise en scène: Lighting on Location and in the Studio     3 Units
            ART 2940  Play: Art and Making Games                                3 Units
            ART 2941  Non-Standard: Creative Uses of Light and Sound            3 Units
            ART 2942  Lively Spaces and Objects: Fundamentals of Interactivity  3 Units
            ART 2943  Synthetic Art: Computer Generated Sound and Image         3 Units
            ART 2951  Drawing I: Materiality and Process                        3 Units
            ART 2952  Drawing: Animals, Humans and other living forms           3 Units
            ART 3916  Painting and Source I: Issues of Representation           3 Units
            ART 3917  Painting and Source II: Narrative and Series              3 Units
            ART 3926  Sculpture and Installation                                3 Units
            ART 3927  Relational Sculpture                                      3 Units
            ART 3933  Photography and Contemporary Context                      3 Units
            ART 3934  Hybrid Photographic Methods, Analog-digital               3 Units
            ART 3935  Special Topics in Photography                             3 Units
            ART 3944  The New Commons: Art Outside the Gallery                  3 Units
            ART 3945  Frames-Per-Second: Art and the Moving Image               3 Units
            ART 3952  Analytical Drawing and Graphic Design                     3 Units
            ART 3953  Drawing IV: Expressivity                                  3 Units
            

            List of optional courses - History of Art

            Course List
              Code      Title                                                      Units  
              ART 1360  Histories of Art I                                         3 Units
              ART 1361  Histories of Art II                                        3 Units
              ART 2170  19th Century Art: 1789-1900                                3 Units
              ART 2171  Modern Art: 1900-1945                                      3 Units
              ART 3116  Art and New Technologies                                   3 Units
              ART 3117  Art and Gender                                             3 Units
              ART 3118  Art, Globalization and Cultural Hybridities                3 Units
              ART 3180  Art After Modernism: 1945-1978                             3 Units
              ART 3181  Postmodernism and Art: 1978-2000                           3 Units
              ART 3334  Canadian Art and Cultural Identities                       3 Units
              ART 3344  Museum Studies and Artistic Practices                      3 Units
              ART 3354  Indigenous Arts                                            3 Units
              ART 3364  Histories and Theories of Photography                      3 Units
              ART 4115  Special Topics in Art History                              3 Units
              ART 4118  Special Topics in Contemporary Art                         3 Units
              ART 4119  Curating for Contemporary Art                              3 Units
              ART 4161  Special Topics in Arts, Heritage and Policy                3 Units
              ART 4355  Research Seminar in Art History                            3 Units
              ART 4900  Apprenticeship                                             3 Units
              ART 4910  Venice: Intensive Field Course on Global Contemporary Art  3 Units
              ART 4915  Special Topics in Art History                              3 Units
              ART 4955  Research Seminar in Art History                            3 Units
              ART 4956  Directed Research I                                        3 Units
              ART 4957  Directed Research II                                       3 Units
              ART 4961  Special Topics in Arts, Heritage and Policy                3 Units
              
      Back to top

          Contact us

              Undergraduate Studies

              For more information about undergraduate studies at the University of Ottawa, please refer to your faculty.

              Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies

              For more information about graduate studies at the University of Ottawa, please refer to your academic unit.

            Contact

              * General
                613-562-5700 call
                * General contact chevron_right
                * Find an expert chevron_right
                * Hire a CO-OP student chevron_right

            Explore

                * Careers chevron_right
                * News chevron_right
                * Media chevron_right
                * Health and wellness chevron_right
                * uoZone chevron_right
                * Human Resources chevron_right

            Visit

                * Campus tours chevron_right
                * Parking and sustainable transportation chevron_right
                * Campus map chevron_right
                * Library chevron_right
                * Book an event chevron_right

            Emergency

                * Emergency resources chevron_right
                * Immediate support chevron_right
            * 
            * 
            * 
            * 
            * 
            * Privacy
            * Accessibility Hub
            * Website feedback
          Close this window

          Print Options

            * Send Page to Printer

              Print this page.

            * Download Page (PDF)

              The PDF will include all information unique to this page.
