About Fine Arts

Art students standing at a table working on paintings.

Students participating in an encaustic painting workshop in the print studio.

The Fine Arts department offers undergraduate degrees in Studio Art and in Visual Culture, and a Masters of Fine Art (MFA) in Studio Practice. Experiential learning and professional practice are key components within all or our programs—applying for artist residencies and grant writing workshops, internships with galleries, and local arts programs, plus course assignments based on field trips. 

The undergraduate studio program offers courses in a wide variety of mediadrawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography, performance, sound, video, installation, wearable media, and digital imaging. It provides a firm basis with a lot of built-in choice. This lets students develop on their own terms supporting personal interests. The honours major program culminates in theHonours Graduation Exhibition

The undergraduate Visual Culture program focuses on modes of visuality such as art, performance, film, design, digital media and architecture. The program examines their contribution to the formation of cultures and societies and how they continue to actively change them.

Alumni have achieved successful careers in creative industries and in the culture sector: as artists, curators, designers, illustrators, animators, art historians, film producers, educators, writers, art librarians, arts administrators, and more.

The MFA in Studio Practice provides emerging artists with the opportunity to sharpen their artistic practices within a creative and critical environment, working with faculty who are accomplished practitioners in their fields. A defining feature of the MFA program is the Keith and Win Shantz International Research Scholarship in which students work with an established artist for 4-6 weeks anywhere in the world. 

You can read profiles of our students Jordyn, Steven and Tess on the Faculty of Arts website.