B.A. in Art with K-12 Teaching Licensure

This program of study allows students to complete a baccalaureate degree in art and also be licensed to teach art at the K-12 levels at the end of four years. Students pursuing licensure in this manner complete all requirements necessary for Virginia licensure, including field experience and student teaching. The art program provides an education in diverse media and focuses on creating, studying, and evaluating art. The program capitalizes on Marymount faculty's expertise in fine arts and profits from easy access to the many art galleries and museums in the greater Washington, DC region. Upon successful completion of the art program, students will be able to skillfully differentiate, select, and apply visual arts media, techniques, and processes; differentiate and interpret meaning in the visual arts from past to present by researching cultural and historical context; integrate academic knowledge with work environment; and effectively present and exhibit portfolio-quality work. Foundation courses in design, drawing, and art history introduce basic skills of observation and visual communication, and many are open to all Marymount students. The studio courses provide rigorous training in the necessary skills for creating art in any medium, and art history courses supply a background in the traditions of visual art, and the opportunity to analyze works of art in greater detail. At the end of the sophomore year, students demonstrate skills from the foundation studio courses by preparing a professional portfolio, which is required to continue in the major. After completing the foundation curriculum, art majors broaden their studio experience by enrolling in courses that apply their foundation skills in a variety of artistic media. Art majors also take upper-division courses in art history, one of which focuses on art in the modern world, and complete an internship in a regional art agency, gallery, or museum, or an apprenticeship under a professional artist. Students complete their studies at the senior level by creating a body of work that demonstrates their breadth of talent and by assembling a new portfolio of work that highlights their skills and achievements. Their work is evaluated by departmental faculty and invited guests, and juried for a group exhibition on campus that is open to the public.