Course variations

Course summary

This program area of study covers painting and drawing, photography and new media, sculpture and ceramics. Students may concentrate their work in an area or may choose to work across the traditional media boundaries. The Department stresses an interdisciplinary approach that promotes the crossing of conventional visual, technical, and conceptual boundaries, while maintaining more traditional areas of in-depth study of one medium. By participating in the dialogue between the areas, and recognizing their affinities, students will gain a deeper understanding of the creative process and its place in the greater cultural context. Students combine traditional production-based courses that teach technical and conceptual skills with art history lectures and studio critiques. Students receive ongoing feedback on their work from the permanent staff, as well as visiting artists and critics. The visiting artist program brings local and internationally recognized artists to campus, where they lecture, make individual studio visits and give group critiques. Students who graduate from GW will leave with a strong aesthetic sensibility, firm control of their chosen medium/a, and a deeper understanding of the historical and theoretical issues that shape contemporary artistic practice.

Entry requirement for international students

Students from India should have higher secondary school certificate. Students from Australia should have senior secondary certificate of education, year 12 certificate. Students from Brazil should have Certificado de Conclusao de Secundo Grau. Students from China and Hong Kong should have senior high school graduation and superior national college entrance exam scores; HKCEE results and predicted HKAL results. Students from United Arab Emirates should have secondary school leaving certificate. Students from Indonesia should have SMA in science stream with minimum average of 7 in academic subjects. Students from Japan should have Kotogakko/secondary school diploma of graduation. Students from Malaysia should have MCE/SPM. Students from Pakistan should have intermediate certificate, higher secondary school certificate. Students from Thailand should have Mathayom Suksa 6. They are required to take either the SAT or ACT exams. Results of national examinations, such as the A Level exams, cannot be used as substitutes for these examinations. The SAT or ACT requirement may be waived only if there is no SAT or ACT testing offered anywhere in the student’s country of residence (as is the case for students in mainland China). If English is not their first language students must have results of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), regardless of citizenship, country of residence or language of instruction in school. The minimum required score is 80 on the Internet-based TOEFL, 213 on the computer-based TOEFL or 550 on the paper-based TOEFL. Strong applicants to GW score much higher than the minimum required score on the TOEFL. In lieu of the TOEFL, a minimum score of 6.5 on the IELTS is also considered. The TOEFL requirement is waived only for students who score 550 or higher on the Critical Reading section of the SAT.

Qualification

Bachelor degree

Awarding body

George Washington University

Department name

Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Fine Arts and Art History