Visual Art

University of British Columbia

Canada, Vancouver

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University of British Columbia

Canada , Vancouver

Key Facts

Program Level

Bachelor

Study Type

Full Time

Delivery

On Campus

Application Fee

CAD 125

Campuses

Vancouver

Okanagan

Program Language

English

Start & Deadlines

Next Intake Deadlines15-May-2023

Apply to this program

Go to the official application for the university

Duration 4 year(s)

Tuition Fee

CAD 44,942 / year

Next Intake 15-May-2023

Visual Art

About

You can study intense specialization in a single field.

Visual Art involves the exploration and practice of different artistic media, in combination with developing an understanding of visual culture. In this program you will enjoy a combination of visual art practice, academics, and a broad range of elective courses, while having ample room for study in other areas of interest (including a minor or second major). Visual art courses foster individual creative production, and art history and academic electives develop visual literacy in a lively atmosphere of instructor-led debate, discussion, and critique.

You will explore art-making in at least four different media areas " including digital art, photography, painting, sculpture, drawing, and print media " and will develop your writing and research skills in art history and electives. Progressing in the visual art program, you will focus on your chosen media areas and combine those areas with research-based writing or a second area of study. Awareness of art's history and visual culture will empower you to create and discuss visual objects " approaching everything from traditional painting to online media with a developed and critical eye.

Experiential learning and research

Every academic year brings new opportunities for research, new exhibitions, and new ways for students to engage with the wider art community. These projects range from exhibitions that address the connections between art and technology, to funded sculpture installations on heritage sites.

Each year the graduating Visual Art students mount a major exhibition in our gallery and studio spaces. We even offer a course, VISA 475 Exhibition Theory and Practice, that allows you to take leading roles and gain experience in mounting a major exhibition " and earn credits while doing it.

Campus features

The Audain Art Centre offers students in the Visual Art program a central location, including learning-labs and the AHVA Gallery. The third floor offers space for visual art undergraduates to gather and connect with their peers in a supportive and inclusive environment.

Housed in the Audain Art Centre, the UBC Printmedia Research Centre provides a dynamic learning and research environment for the production of visual art in all major print media. This well-equipped facility allows for an integrated approach to print media that fosters a union of digital-image generation with traditional and contemporary intaglio, relief, screen, and lithographic printmaking processes, as well as letterpress and bookbinding procedures.

This program is similar to a general liberal arts degree with an emphasis on the practice of visual art. Held in studio environments, visual art classes foster individual creative production and visual literacy in a lively atmosphere of instructor-led debate, discussion, and critique.

Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4

VISA 180 - Foundation Studio: Approaches to Media
Drawing, painting, and related media in an introduction to studio practice. (This course is open to all UBC students, regardless of prior experience.)
VISA 183 - Foundation Studio: Ideas as Practice I
Contemporary art practices, emphasizing the relationship between meanings and materials, art historical contexts and concepts, and non-traditional materials. (This course is open to all UBC students, regardless of prior experience.)
VISA 110 - Foundation Studio: Digital Media
Foundation instruction in techniques and approaches to digital practice. The nature of digital technologies and their role in contemporary culture will be examined. (This course is open to all UBC students, regardless of prior experience.)
ARTH 101 - Ways of Seeing: Introduction to Visual Studies
Drawing on examples from across history and around the world, this course deals with the role of the visual in society, culture, and everyday experience.
ARTH 102 - Crisis and Contradiction in Art and the Built Environment
Concepts and issues critical to the understanding of art and its histories in a global context.

ARTH 227 - Art and the Visual Environment in the Modern and Post-modern Periods
A selective survey of visual art, architecture and other visual media since 1900.
ARTH 226 - Art in an Era of Global Expansion
A selective survey of painting, sculpture, and architecture from the 16th century to the emergence of the modern era.
VISA 210 - Digital Arts
Examination of current art practices and issues related to digital technologies and contemporary culture, with an emphasis on the theoretical conceptualization of digital artistic media.
VISA 240 - Photography
Introduction to photography techniques and image-making. Emphasis on camera techniques and film and darkroom production. Only one of VISA 240 or VISA 241 may be used toward requirements for Major, Minor, or Honours programs in Visual Art.
VISA 250 - Print Media
Visual print culture, and contemporary and historical technical print practices. Emphasis on hand-drawn intaglio, relief, screen and/or stencil printing, and graphic digital applications.

VISA 380 - Studio Theory
A seminar in problems in contemporary art practice and related theory. Preference given to Visual Art students.
VISA 320 - Intermediate Drawing I
Investigation of drawing as a discipline in the context of contemporary art. Emphasis on expanding definitions of the drawing practice while focusing on technical and conceptual development.
VISA 375 - Artists in Society
Exploring artistic practice through community-engaged partnerships and critical study.
VISA 341 - Intermediate Photography II
An investigation of contemporary photography production and approaches to the constructed image with emphasis on medium and large format camera use and studio lighting techniques.
ARTH 321 - Public and Private Bodies: Italian Renaissance Art and Culture
Visual art and culture within the social, political, and religious contexts of the Papacy and the city-states ca. 1350-1550 (Siena, Florence, Venice, Mantua).

VISA 401 - Advanced Open Studio
Research-based studio with thematic or disciplinary focus. Intended for senior Visual Art undergraduate students.
VISA 479 - Performance Actions and Approaches
Advanced performance art practices and research methodologies.
VISA 475 - Exhibition Theory and Practice
Exhibition course focusing on current curatorial practices and theories with an emphasis on contemporary visual art with the aim of preparing students to engage in the active organization of a large exhibition. Restricted to 4th year Majors in either VISA or ARTH, or permission of the instructor.
ARTH 410 - Seminar in African Art
Key debates in the art of Africa and the African diaspora
ARTH 445 - Film and the City
The complex interrelations between film and the city; dominant urban theories, film technologies and viewing practices and the intersections between them.

Disciplines

Faculty of Arts

Requirements

Entry Requirements

Graduation from a university-preparatory program at a senior secondary school: General Secondary Education Certificate (Tawjihi). Certificates must be official. Photocopies are acceptable if certified by school principal, head, or counsellor. Notarized copies are not acceptable.

Career

The flexibility of the Visual Art program allows you to creatively pair art-making with other areas of study, which empowers you to be a flexible and dynamic employee in a broad range of career paths. People who are equipped to create and respond critically to visual objects are increasingly valuable.

The Visual Art program equips you with the tools and skills necessary to work professionally in visual fields, as well as to pursue further studies in related fields such as architecture or urban design. You will also have the foundation to pursue other careers and fields of studies that require an arts degree " for example education, MBA, law, and library and archival studies.

Related programs

- - Name
  - Campus
  - Length
- - Art History
    - Vancouver
    4 years
  - Art History and Visual Culture
    - Okanagan
    4 years
  - Media Studies
    - Vancouver
    4 years
  - Theatre Studies
    - Vancouver
    4 years
  - Visual Arts (BFA)
    - Okanagan
    4 years

Fee Information

Tuition Fee

CAD 44,942

Application Fee

CAD 125

How to Apply

As you complete the online application, keep the following tips in mind:

Start early and take your time. Once you begin the application, you will be able to save it and return to it later – but only up until the deadline. Once you have submitted your application to UBC, you will not be able to edit it. Since the online application can sometimes time out if left open for too long, we recommend working on your personal profile questions outside of the application (where you can run them through a spell-checker) then copy and paste them into your application.
Let the online application guide you. You’ll be asked to provide only the information we need based on your degree choice(s), your previous education, and other factors.
Tell us your full academic history. It’s important to include all of the high schools, colleges, and/or universities you have attended. Don’t leave anything out!
Be accurate. UBC has a number of methods in place to authenticate information provided in the application. These methods include, but are not limited to, contacting references, verifying academic records, and requesting additional documentation to verify your personal profile. If an application is found to contain untrue or incomplete information, UBC may, at its discretion: withdraw an offer of admission; require you to withdraw from UBC; subject you to academic discipline; or share the information provided with other post-secondary institutions, law enforcement agencies, or other third parties.
Use an email address you check frequently. Once you have submitted your application, UBC will communicate with you primarily by email.
Note your UBC student number. Write down your UBC student number somewhere safe. You’ll need it in future correspondence with UBC.