The B.A. in Studio Art
The Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art is a 44-credit major within the 128 credits needed to graduate. Students take an array of courses in 2-D and 3-D design, drawing, painting and sculpture, and the program culminates with Intermedia Studio, where students test boundaries and introduce new vocabularies into their artistic dialogue.
Studio Art Core Courses
- ART 1050 Fundamentals of Design: the principles and elements of design, explored through visual projects
- ART 1060 Drawing: foundational drawing from observation and the structure of forms
- ART 2000 Art History Survey: painting, sculpture and architecture from prehistory to the mid-20th century
- ART 2160 Painting I: an introduction to oil painting, pictorial organization and critique
- ART 2350 Three-Dimensional Design: volume, mass, space, texture and form in three dimensions
- ART 3090 Sculpture I: an in-depth study of form based on observation and concept
- ART 3860 Contemporary Concepts in Art: the aesthetic and cultural shifts within contemporary art
- ART 4040 Intermedia Studio: the capstone, where students test boundaries and build new vocabularies into their work
Studio Art Course Descriptions
See the Studio Art course requirements and the full descriptions in the HPU Undergraduate Bulletin.
Studio Art Electives
Majors round out the degree with studio and art history electives, including:
- ART 2030 Printmaking: etching, relief and monoprinting
- ART 2080 Darkroom Photography I: darkroom techniques, camera controls and photography theory
- ART 2090 Ceramics I: thrown and hand-built forms
- ART/GBS 2988 The Grand Tour: a May Term course on art and architecture across Italy
- ART 3060 Life Drawing: the expressive potential of drawing the human figure
- ART 3081 Documenting the Community through Photography: documentary photography and research
- ART 3190 Ceramics II: throwing on the potter’s wheel and finding a personal direction
- ART 3680 Digital Photography: digital camera work, scanning and editing software
- ART 3850 History of Photography: key events and photographers since the 1830s
- ART/GBS 3880 Revolution in Paris: Art at the Turn of Two Centuries: a Maymester photographing Paris through the eyes of Eugène Atget
- ART 4060 Painting II: a personal response to visual elements in painting
- ART 4080 Darkroom Photography II: fine art printing and a personal vision
- ART 4090 Sculpture II: advanced study of form based on observation and concept
Areas of Study
Studio Art majors explore nine areas as they build their own body of work: painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, digital art, art history and museum studies.
Painting, Drawing and Printmaking
Every major starts with Drawing (ART 1060), a foundation in drawing from observation, and Fundamentals of Design (ART 1050). From there, students learn oil painting and pictorial organization in Painting I and Painting II, draw the human figure in Life Drawing and work in etching, relief and monoprinting in Printmaking.
Sculpture and Ceramics
Three-Dimensional Design introduces volume, mass, space and texture. Sculpture I and Sculpture II build an in-depth study of form based on observation and concept. In Ceramics I and Ceramics II, students make hand-built and thrown forms and develop their throwing skills on the potter’s wheel in fully equipped 3-D studios.
Photography and Digital Art
Students learn darkroom techniques and camera controls in a fully equipped darkroom, then move to digital camera work and editing software in Digital Photography and the Mac digital art lab. Documenting the Community through Photography adds documentary research, and History of Photography traces the medium since the 1830s. Students can go further with a Photography minor.
A studio art student works at an easel in an HPU studio.
Art History and Museum Studies
Art History Survey and Contemporary Concepts in Art connect studio work to the history of art. The Sechrest Art Gallery gives students a permanent collection of 18th through 21st century American and European art to learn from, and students can add an Art History minor or a Museum Studies minor. Emily Judson paired the major with a Museum Studies minor and went on to study art museum and gallery studies at the University of Leicester.
Pair It With a Second Major or Minor
The B.A. in Studio Art is designed to pair with another major or minors that fit each student’s personal and professional goals. It is an excellent complement for careers that benefit from visual communication skills and creative thinking.
HPU studio art majors have paired the degree with biology, performance theatre, Spanish education, and media production and entrepreneurship, and with minors in psychology, museum studies, communication and event management.
Portfolio Review
Students enter the major through Portfolio Review after completing Fundamentals of Design (ART 1050) and Drawing (ART 1060). Faculty review selected projects from those foundation courses along with each student’s professional behavior and overall GPA. The program has no quota and can accept every student who meets the department’s standards.
Creative Arts Fellows
The Creative Arts Fellows Program gives students a four-year, experiential, team-based experience with like-minded students. A dedicated director provides personal mentoring, networking, travel and opportunities to learn about careers in the ever-changing arts world from scholars and practitioners.
Minors for Studio Art Majors
Studios and Labs
Studio Art majors work in spaces built for every medium:
- A Mac digital art lab with industry-leading hardware and equipment
- A fully equipped darkroom for photography
- Fully equipped 2-D and 3-D studios, including an art studio in Plato S. Wilson Hall
- Exhibition spaces, including the Sechrest Art Gallery in the Hayworth Fine Arts Center
Small classes average a 17-to-1 student-to-faculty ratio, so students get one-on-one time with faculty artists in the studio.
Visiting Artists
Recent visiting artists include contemporary painter Monique Rollins and potter Ben Owen III, whose work is in the permanent collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the Smithsonian. During campus visits, Owen taught master classes on the basics of pottery and worked one-on-one with students.
Ben Owen III works with a student in the ceramics studio.
Study Art in Italy
The Grand Tour of Italy: Drawing and Art, Learning from the Masters is believed to be the Hayworth School of Arts and Design’s longest-running study abroad program. In 2026, 26 students traveled with faculty Mark Brown, Dr. Emily Gerhold and Janis Dougherty as the program’s 20th class, studying art in Siena, Florence, Venice and Rome. The trip counts toward the major as ART/GBS 2988 The Grand Tour.
“As someone who aspires to become an art therapist, I found that this experience strengthened my understanding of how art can communicate emotions, tell stories and connect people across different perspectives and cultures.”
Ava Grell, studio art major, 2026 Grand Tour of Italy
Students on the Grand Tour of Italy at the Colosseum in Rome.
Other Ways to Study Art Abroad
- A semester in Florence: a full semester at Studio Art Center International (SACI), with courses in drawing, painting, printmaking, ceramics, sculpture, art history and art conservation.
- Revolution in Paris (ART/GBS 3880): a Maymester where students photograph Paris and study the work that inspired photographer Eugène Atget. Read about the trip.
Gallery Trips to New York and Washington, D.C.
Every year, studio art students travel to New York City and Washington, D.C., to tour world-famous art galleries and meet with gallery directors.
On one New York trip, art and visual merchandising majors toured the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art, joined an interactive lesson in front of “Washington Crossing the Delaware” and studied the window displays along Fifth Avenue. Read the story.
“The New York trip was an affirmation of what I want to do for the rest of my life,” said Sophia Brown, one of the students on the trip.
Students also have opportunities to attend discipline-specific conferences in their areas of study.
HPU art and design students at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
Studio Art in the News
Monique Rollins
Renowned Artist Monique Rollins Encourages HPU Students During Campus Visit
With colorful, abstract paintings on display in art galleries and museums across the globe, Rollins spoke to a class of Painting I and Painting II students about her experiences as a working artist.
The Grand Tour of Italy
HPU Students Study in Europe Through Global Experience and ‘Maymester’ Programs
Highlights included giving HPU students the opportunity to visit the world’s most important contemporary art exhibition, the Venice Biennale, where students saw cutting-edge artworks from artists representing more than 80 countries.
Mike Auld
HPU Students Earn $20,000 In Start-Up Funds for Business Ideas
Two students tied for third place and earned $2,000 for their business. They were: ZenGuard by Mike Auld, a senior dual major in media production and studio art.
Explore Studio Art at High Point University
See how HPU studio art ranks and where its graduates go next.
Accreditation & Awards Careers & Student Organizations
Questions about the program? Email Mark Brown, chair of the Studio Art and Graphic Design program, at [email protected].