Fine Arts BFA - General Studio Concentration - Academic Experience

Visiting Artists Lectures, Workshops, and Speaker Series: The Department of Art regularly invites artists, critics, historians and designers to participate in the Department of Art Speaker Series, classroom lectures, and critiques.

Exhibition Opportunities: The Center for the Arts and area galleries gives BFA students frequent opportunities to exhibit work throughout their undergraduate careers, culminating in their Senior Thesis Exhibition, the result of a year-long course on the preparation, research, proposal development, installation, and curation of a cohesive body of their work. 

Buffalo Metro Area: Buffalo’s diverse grass-roots and alternative spaces dedicated to new and experimental genres complement institutions such as the Albright-Knox Art Gallery and the Burchfield Penney Art Center. Toronto, a ninety-minute drive from Buffalo, has hundreds of alternative spaces and commercial art galleries including the Power Plant and the Art Gallery of Ontario.

Internships

Semester-long internships are available with prominent design and art studios in New York City and elsewhere; arranged through the Department of Art. Advanced students in all BA or BFA concentrations may also enroll locally in an internship course. Placement is made in conjunction with faculty and includes design firms, commercial photographers, established art institutions, or alternative art spaces. Internships are frequently available to Art History majors and minors at such local museums and galleries as the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, the Anderson Art Gallery, Burchfield Penney Art Center, the Castellani Art Museum, the Center for Exploratory and Perceptual Art (CEPA), the UB Art Galleries, and Hallwalls. While internships may not be used to fulfill distribution requirements, they may be taken for credit.

Independent Study

With the approval of a faculty sponsor, students may sign up for a 3-credit independent study to pursue an issue or topic emerging from their coursework in art and art history. An independent study may not substitute required courses.

Students interested in study abroad have the opportunity to participate in numerous art-oriented programs around the globe. The Department of Art encourages majors to consider a junior year study abroad program. Such programs afford unique opportunities to gain first-hand knowledge of foreign cultures.

The UB Department of Art’s Rumsey Scholarship provides funding for summer travel to one or two art and art history sophomores and juniors in this annual competition based on an exhibition of their work and a written travel proposal.

The Student Visual Art Organization provides leadership opportunities to all interested university students and actively organizing special exhibits and events, open figure drawing sessions, and trips to museums and galleries. The Director of SVAO is Jeffery Sherven.

See the UB Student Association webpage.

Millonzi Distinguished Honors Scholarship
Outstanding Senior Award