BA & BFA in Studio Art

Studio Art at Illinois

Studio Art BA & BFA — What to Know

Choosing Studio Art here means joining a place where creativity, experimentation, and serious making come together. Whether you are drawn to the BA or the BFA, our programs give you room to explore, to take risks, and to shape a practice that reflects your voice and interests.

BFA in Studio Art (BFASA)
If you’re excited to dive deep into art‑making, the BFA is made for you. You can specialize in one area — fashion, illustration, painting, photography, sculpture, printmaking, or new media — or follow the interdisciplinary path and mix materials, methods, and ideas across those areas. Your concentration shows up on your transcript so that you get recognized for that focus. Early years help you build technical skills in traditional media (drawing, clay, wood, metal) plus new approaches like coding, digital imaging, interactive media, and performance. You’ll get your own studio space inside a lively community of artists. You’ll share work‑in‑progress, receive critiques, put up exhibitions, and get ready to make work for galleries, for public art, or for advanced study in graduate school.

BA in Studio Art (BASA)
If you want art but also want to explore other fields (history, science, writing, social justice, tech, whatever you care about) the BASA gives you that freedom. You still get strong training in studio art, learning materials, ideas, and concepts. You get to choose many of your courses outside the studio, pursue coursework that fits your broader interests, and build a path that looks like you. This degree works well if you see your future combining art with other areas like design, communication, education, technology, or something unexpected.

Shared Experience & Outcomes
Both paths start with foundational art courses that introduce you to materials, conceptual thinking, and making in two dimensions (like print, drawing, painting), three dimensions (sculpture, installation), and four dimensions (video, performance, interactive work). You’ll work in our communal studios; you’ll engage in critiques, exhibitions, and projects that push you to grow.

Graduates leave with more than just a portfolio. You’ll build flexibility, technical fluency, critical thinking, and the creative confidence to work in diverse fields. Maybe you’ll be an exhibiting artist, maybe you’ll work in design or media, or maybe you’ll invent a career we can’t even name yet. Either way, if you care about making and meaning in your work, this is a place that will support you.