Change/Addition of Major
Application Deadline: December 7, 2012
(Spring 2013 enrollment)
Application Deadline: May 17, 2013
(Fall 2013 enrollment)
Currently enrolled or former UT Austin students who are interested in changing major to or adding a simultaneous major in the Department of Art and Art History must become familiar with the university's rules on Transfering from One Division to Another within the University and must adhere to these rules and meet all other departmental application requirements by the stated deadlines. Applicants must be approved for admission by the department's Undergraduate Admissions Committee. Current majors in the department must also apply to change majors from one major to another major internally (for example, from Art History to Studio Art, or Visual Art Studies to Studio Art).
Meeting minimum academic requirements, submitting all application materials by the deadline, and completion of Art and Art History foundation courses does not guarantee eligibility or acceptance to a specific major of the department. Application review and admission to all degree programs is competitive and selective.
Simultaneous (dual degree) major applicants must have completed 30 hours college credit at this university at time of application. These 30 hours cannot include AP, IB, credit-by-exam, dual or transfer credit. This is university policy and applies to all students in all majors in all colleges. Applicants without 30 UT hours of course credit completed at the end of the semester in the application deadline occurs will not be considered.
In order to have your application materials considered for admission to the Department of Art and Art History, you must select one of the admission codes on the departmental application and be aware of minimum academic and application requirements:
-
BA Art History (570700)
Minimum UT GPA 3.00, evaluation of related course work (ARH 302 and ARH 303 completed or in progress, or any upper division art history course), resume, statement of educational intent, essay, writing sample -
BFA Design (509904)
Minimum UT GPA 3.00, evaluation of related course work, resume, statement of educational intent, essay, art portfolio (Note: Students are admitted to Design for fall semester enrollment only; no spring semester admissions) -
BA Studio Art (570800)
Minimum UT GPA 3.00, evaluation of related coursework, resume, statement of educational intent, essay, art portfolio -
BFA Studio Art (509953)
Minimum UT GPA 3.00, evaluation of related coursework, resume, statement of educational intent, essay, art portfolio -
BFA Visual Art Studies (509956)
Minimum UT GPA 3.00, evaluation of related course work, resume, statement of educational intent, essay, art portfolio
Application Materials
You must submit all the following items via our Slideroom application and portfolio portal by the departmental application deadlines of December 7, 2012 (for Spring 2013 semester enrollment) and May 17, 2013 (for Fall 2013 semester enrollment):
- Apply to Change/Add Major Form (completed in Slideroom)
- General Questions (completed in Slideroom)
- Resume (completed in Slideroom)
- Statement of Educational Intent (completed in Slideroom)
- Admission Essay (completed in Slideroom; see instructions below)
- Writing Sample (for Art History applicants only; submitted as a PDF in Slideroom; see instructions below)
- Art Portfolio (for Design, Studio Art, and Visual Art Studies applicants only; see instructions below)
- Additional Essay Assignment (Design and Visual Art Studies applicants only; completed in Slideroom; see instructions below)
Admission Essay
Essay topic for Art History, Design, Studio Art, and Visual Art Studies applicants:
Personal interaction with objects, images and spaces can be so powerful as to change the way one thinks about particular issues or topics. For your intended area of study (art history, design, studio art, visual art studies), describe an experience where instruction in that area or your personal interaction with an object, image or space affected this type of change in your thinking. What did you do to act upon your new thinking and what have you done to prepare yourself for further study in this area?
Writing Sample
(for Art History applicants only)
The writing sample requirement is in addition to the statement of intent and admission essay. The writing sample must be a photocopy of a substantial paper (involving documented research and demonstrating critical analysis) produced in a college-level course, preferably at UT Austin. The writing sample must have a cover sheet that states: Your Name, Paper Title, Course Number and Course Name, Instructor Name, Semester and Date Written.
Art Portfolio
Refer to Instructions for Online Undergraduate Portfolio Submission
All applicants applying for admission to Design, Studio Art, or Visual Art Studies must submit an art portfolio of their strongest and most recent art work to the Undergraduate Admissions Committee as part of the application process. The art portfolio must be received by Slideroom by the application deadlines stated above. Please do not send any art portfolio materials to the Office of Admissions or the Department of Art and Art History.
Additional Essay Assignment
(for Design and Visual Art Studies applicants only)
Download the Design Essay prompt (PDF)
Visual Art Studies Essay prompt:
The Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Art Studies degree provides options for art teacher certification (Early Childhood through Twelfth Grade) and experiences in community art programming. Please provide a statement on your aspirations and inspirations for teaching art.
How Will I Be Evaluated?
Admission to our department is based upon resume, GPA, academic performance in art-related Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, high school and college credit coursework (if any); quality of writing sample(s) on required essay(s); if applying to Design, Studio Art, or Visual Art Studies, quality of slide portfolio; and, if applying to the Design or Visual Art Studies, evaluation of additional essays in Slideroom.
Notification
Students will be notified in an email via Secure Academic Note (SAN) of their application results, generally four to six weeks after final spring semester hours and grades have been reported (a specific date will be given to you upon receipt of application). Students who are accepted into the program must participate in mandatory departmental academic advising. Should you be accepted into the department, you will be given specific information about the major changing process, academic advising and registration procedures in your acceptance SAN. Please do not contact the department about the status of your application; the department will contact you when decisions have been made.
Transfer Courses
Though not required, applicants may wish to transfer in course credit for the Art and Art History foundation courses that correspond to the degree program for which they are applying. By doing so, applicants will have a fundamental preparation for applying to our programs and/or be able to develop their slide portfolio, and if admitted, will enter into the department ready to start entry level courses in their major. Completion of foundation courses does not guarantee admission to any of our programs. Because of the unique nature and structure of the department's Design curriculum, Design courses from other institutions will not transfer to UT Austin as DES prefix courses. Design courses from other institutions will not apply towards any DES curriculum or the BFA Design degree plan. To learn how courses taken at other Texas colleges will transfer to UT Austin, consult the Office of Admissions' Automated Transfer Equivalency System.
