Bachelor of Fine Arts, Major in Integrated Studio Arts

at University of Massachusetts Dartmouth USA

Chemists conduct research and experiments to discover new concepts about the universe. They try to solve society's problems, whether by developing a cure for cancer, monitoring the earth's ozone layer, creating new materials to heat our homes, or pursuing countless other challenges.

The knowledge you'll gain through the study of chemistry at UMass Dartmouth will open the door to many different career opportunities within the five divisions of chemistry: analytical, biological, inorganic, organic, or physical. You'll be prepared for chemistry careers in education, forensics, government, law, industry, medicine, or research.

When you major in biology, you begin your studies with a solid foundation in fundamental biological principles and practices. Then you'll focus on your specific interests, such as cell and molecular biology, organismal biology, ecology and evolution, or the biology of marine organisms.

We offer programs of study leading to bachelor's degrees in biology and marine biology. Both programs emphasize field and laboratory opportunities, so you will learn biology while studying living organisms. Our semi-rural campus and nearby coastal environments will be your living laboratories.

Our faculty engage in research at the forefront of their fields, with a strong focus on marine biology, ecological and evolutionary genetics, and integrative biology, in which we use diverse approaches to study the complexity of biological organisms.

You'll be prepared for careers in industry and government in areas such as animal biology, biotechnology, botany, cell biology, developmental biology, education, and medicine—or to pursue research in fields such as biomedicine, the environment, and marine science. Our curriculum prepares you for graduate study in biology, medicine, and other health professions.

The Management major prepares you to succeed in environments that require initiative, professionalism, and the ability to work independently. You'll develop your analytical and leadership skills and gain knowledge in how to supervise others, develop and implement strategies, and advance organizational goals.

UMass Dartmouth's Management degree offers 2 study options that enable you to refine your management skills in your area of interest:

Small Business and Entrepreneurship option
You'll focus on how to identify, plan, and start a new venture—either as a start-up or an as an initiative within an existing business.

You will complete 3 core courses in Management, and elective courses that cover topics such as the identification of new products and services and the development of comprehensive business plans.

Leadership option
Organizational leaders plan and coordinate the activities of others, as well as doing hands-on work themselves. As a general manager, you'll combine day-to-day operations with special projects, personnel decisions, customer relations, and budgeting.

You will complete 3 core courses in Management, and elective courses that cover topics such as career development and human resources management.

The MFA degree is the credential that signifies a student's capacity to work independently in a discriminating, distinctive, and professional manner.

The Fine Arts program provides an educational context where motivated and creative artists can pursue their own goals, hone technical skills, and advance personal vision through intense, focused individual studio activity. Faculty members generate critical dialogue with graduate students at specific intervals during each semester.

Academic courses in art history, critical theory, philosophy, and a range of university offerings support the cultivation of the individual's intellectual and aesthetic maturation.

The study of fashion design and production balances your creative vision with technical skills and an in-depth understanding of the fashion industry. You can prepare for a professional career in apparel design, marketing, manufacturing, and product development.

When you pursue your BFA in Art + Design: Fashion Design, you'll develop a wide range of skills and knowledge: advanced fashion design concepts such as computer-aided design (CAD), technical design and production, business in the fashion industry, public speaking and presentation, and contemporary fashion trends.

You’ll utilize up-to-date software and fashion-forward techniques to develop a strong and comprehensive portfolio of work. Juniors and seniors in the program develop full lines of clothing with opportunities to exhibit their collections at the annual CVPA Fashion Show, industry shows, and retail galleries.

Internships and networking opportunities help you make industry connections in Boston and New York, and graduates will be ready to compete successfully for jobs throughout the fashion industry.

The BFA is a professional degree with concentrated areas of specialization, so you will take more art courses than you would in a BA program. At UMass Dartmouth, you also have the advantages of a university education where you can diversify your studies and expand your career opportunities. Your BFA degree also provides excellent preparation for MFA programs and other graduate study.

The BFA in Art + Design: Painting offers professional, studio-based training in the visual arts with all the advantages of a university education.

The BFA is a professional degree with concentrated areas of specialization, so you will take more art courses than you would in a BA program. At UMass Dartmouth, you also have the advantages of a university education where you can diversify your studies and expand your career opportunities.

As a painting student, you'll learn fundamental skills and contemporary practices through a wide spectrum of course offerings such as:

• Form
• Color & space
• The human figure
• Concept-development
• Mixed media
• Abstraction
• Time-based media
• Installation

You'll develop cross-disciplinary sensitivity—with the possibility of combining painting with printmaking, photography, digital media, textiles, and other disciplines in contemporary art making. You'll also be able to explore fields across the university, such as business, engineering, and science.

Fine artists are inherent problem-solvers, negotiators, collaborators, and team-players; they have excellent hand/eye coordination and can illustrate their ideas—often quickly—so that others can understand a concept beyond the written or spoken word. The skills of a fine artist can be applied in education, business, advertising, set design, and arts management (gallery directors, administrators), to name a few.

At UMass Dartmouth, the data science major is an interdisciplinary, integrating mathematics and computer science with disciplines such as business, engineering, healthcare, planning, science, and sociology.

Data scientists manage, mine, and analyze big data across multiple disciplines—and use computational thinking to gain new knowledge and solve real-world problems of high complexity.

As a data science major, you’ll build a strong foundation in information theory and in the methods and tools of mathematics and computer science. You’ll gain skills in complex problem solving, data-driven discovery, decision support, machine learning, predictive and visual analytics, and statistics.

You’ll be prepared for leadership positions in data analytics, discovery informatics, information management, and knowledge engineering. Businesses, government, healthcare, and the natural and social sciences need more data scientists to explore and explain complex information.

Our graduate program provides individualized attention and unique research opportunities for students. Classes are typically small, affording superb opportunities for interaction with the faculty and access to state-of-the art equipment and computational resources.

Students gain broad knowledge of the field and UMass Dartmouth has particular expertise in biotechnology and environmental chemistry. You may choose to specialize in:

• Analytical chemistry
• Biochemistry
• Computational chemistry
• Inorganic chemistry
• Marine chemistry
• Organic chemistry
• Physical chemistry

Massachusetts is one of the world's hubs for digital technology. UMass Dartmouth's animation and game arts program integrates digital art, design, and technology to advance the quality of digital communication and create a more understandable world.

You'll concentrate on digital animation and interactive multimedia while exploring 2- and 3-dimensional design, web design, and virtual reality. As you explore the potential of various digital media technologies, you'll engage in consistent, hands-on experimentation, working with faculty members who have considerable expertise in the field.

Your BFA in Art + Design: Animation + Game Art will prepare you to meet the design and communications challenges of the 21st century with careers in areas such as art direction, advertising, animation, broadcasting, creative direction, education, environmental design, game design, interface design, multimedia, scientific visualization, software application design, special effects, video editing, virtual reality and web design.

The BFA is a professional degree with concentrated areas of specialization, so you will take more art courses than you would in a BA program. At UMass Dartmouth, you also have the advantages of a university education where you can diversify your studies and expand your career opportunities.

UMass Dartmouth's liberal arts major offers an intellectual challenge, encouraging you to pursue your interests across a variety of academic fields.

You'll develop your creativity, critical thinking skills, and sense of independence while you explore concentrations across the humanities, social sciences, and interdisciplinary programs:

• The humanities: art history, English, foreign languages, history, philosophy
• The social sciences: anthropology, economics, political science, policy studies, sociology, women's and gender studies
• Interdisciplinary programs: sustainability, urban studies, women's and gender studies

Recent studies have shown that a degree in liberal arts provides a strong foundation for professional careers and scholarly work. You'll develop the qualities that future employers prize most: strong communication skills, the ability to assess a situation and develop a course of action, and the confidence to work independently.

As a liberal arts major, you will design your own interdisciplinary path as you choose two concentrations and bring them together to create new ways of seeing, knowing, and expressing your academic and research interests.

Liberal arts majors find careers in business, communications, education, government, human resources, museums, non-profit organizations, public policy, and social work. You'll be prepared for graduate study in the fields you'll explore as you select your liberal arts concentrations.