Department Handbook

The Visual Arts major is designed to engage the student's ability to see and critique, as well as create, artistic expressions.

Requirements for the Major in Visual Arts

Eleven courses are required in the department, to include Visual Arts 150, 160, 250, and 260; five other courses in the visual arts, at least one of which must be numbered 270 or higher; and two courses in Art History.

Requirements for the Minor in Visual Arts

The minor consists of six courses: Visual Arts 150, 160, either 250 or 260, plus two additional studio courses, at least one of which must be numbered 270 or higher; and one course in Art History.

Visual arts courses without prerequisites are frequently oversubscribed; preference in enrollment is then given to first and second-year students as well as to juniors and seniors fulfilling requirements of the visual arts major or minor.

Interdisciplinary Majors

The department participates in interdisciplinary programs in art history and archaeology and in art history and visual arts. Courses; one 300-level course; and one additional course numbered above 101.

The Richard P. Martel Jr. Memorial Fund

Provides scholarship support, and an annual prize, to Bowdoin undergraduates who intend to pursue study in the Studio Arts and who show promise in that field. 

Department Description from the Bowdoin Course Catalogue

The Department of Art comprises two programs: art history and criticism, and visual arts. Majors in the department are expected to elect one of these programs. The major in art history and criticism is devoted primarily to the historical and critical study of the visual arts as an embodiment of some of humanity's cultural values and a record of the historical interplay of sensibility, thought, and society. The major in visual arts is intended to encourage a sensitive development of perceptual, creative, and critical abilities in visual expression.