Painting, Department & Faculty

The painting program offers students the opportunity to engage in contemporary practices and directions in painting through intensive studio experience. Skills are developed in various painting techniques and materials to address the relationship between form and content.

Find your voice.

Painting, BA

At the University of Dallas, experimentation with various forms is encouraged whether representational, abstract, dimensional or digital. Through practical and conceptual studio guidance toward their individualized creative visions, painting majors at UD develop a focused body of work culminating in a solo senior exhibition.

Basic Requirements

A total of 46 credits are required, including 14 art core credits consisting of Basic Drawing I & II, 2D & 3D Design, and History of Art & Architecture I & II. Students are also required to take two beginning studios in their sophomore year, preferably one in a 2D and one in a 3D discipline. It is recommended that art majors take Aesthetics as an elective and seek appropriate electives in other departments. During the students’ junior and senior years they will concentrate on their chosen discipline. Seniors will also participate in two semesters of Senior Seminar (one credit per semester). Satisfactory completion of the Senior Exhibition and the Art History Comprehensive Examination is required.

Comprehensive Examination

In the second semester of the junior year the work of the student is reviewed by the entire art faculty. A second review occurs in the first senior semester, followed by a final review in the last semester prior to the presentation of the senior capstone project, a solo exhibition held on campus. It must contain work completed predominantly during the Senior Studio course. The exhibition — selected, designed and constructed by the student — is judged by the faculty in an oral examination. In the senior year all art majors must also pass an art history comprehensive exam.

Painting MA, MFA

Ask yourself not only what personally motivates you, but also how your work potentially engages a larger audience and art world.

The graduate program in painting requires that the student/artist possess a strong sense of direction in their work. The image, idea, method or process is a concerted pursuit of form in service of content. I strongly believe that painting is not defined purely by its materiality but more importantly by the issues and ideas that surround it both historically and contemporaneously. Whether representational, abstract, dimensional, or digital, the key is to find the best means for realizing one's vision.

Graduate painters forge connections to creative communities beyond the University through department exhibition programming, visiting artist lectures and critiques, and trips to area art institutions. The Dallas/Fort Worth area offers a vast and vibrant art community providing a continual stream of world-class events and exhibitions.

The MA and MFA program in Studio Art draws students involved in a multiplicity of practices, interests, and professional aspirations. Through the programs emphasis on studio and professional practices these students evolve into practicing artists exhibiting their work, engaging in residencies, curating exhibitions, and teaching art.