Honors Schedule for Studio Art
To prepare for FA 99a, the first semester of the Honors Thesis project in the coming year, a student should attend the junior review in the spring. If a student is interested in pursuing honors, a letter of intent is due to the Studio Undergraduate Advising Head (UAH) before the completion of finals during the spring semester. The UAH will then reach out to the student to discuss next steps in preparing for next Fall.
Student is expected to develop studio work over the summer and return to campus with minimum 5 slides to accompany their thesis.
A student must have an average of 3.0 in Fine Arts courses and Department approval before registering for FA 99a. The principal advisor, in consultation with the UAH, forms an honors committee of 3 faculty members. The principal advisor will serve as the head of the committee and will be the instructor for FA 99a. This committee will guide the students throughout the year. The student prepares a brief thesis proposal, including 10 slides (5 from Junior review, 5 from summer), ready for the department review and approval of the Honors project. (See Guidelines for Studio Thesis Proposal)
Student must initiate one on one studio visits with each member of the thesis committee individually to review studio progress, draft an artist statement, to develop a bibliography.. Each member of the committee should visit your studio twice in the semester to review your ongoing project.
Student will meet with the honors committee in a group review in December before the final exam period ends. Epstein common critique room or various installation spaces can be used for this review. In some cases, Dreitzer gallery may be used during the senior studio exhibition. The first draft of the artist statement, the bibliography, and a slideshow of new work (min 10 slides) will also be reviewed.
A grade will be sent to the registrar. A successful 99a semester leads to a spring 99b semester that must be enrolled in at the beginning of spring semester in January. An unsuccessful 99a semester prohibits the studio thesis from continuing in the spring semester. In this case, the 99a is counted and converted to an independent study 4 credit endeavor.
January, February, March: Student must initiate one on one studio visits with each member of the thesis committee to review studio progress, written artist statement, and bibliography. Initial proposal for oral defense installation discussed and examined by principle thesis advisor.
In a meeting with the thesis committee, student will finalize proposal for thesis exhibition to be reviewed in front of the full faculty.
Oral defense of the thesis by the student before the honors committee, followed by the meeting of the honors committee to determine the majority vote the recommendation determining department honors. N.B.—letter grade for 2nd semester Honors Thesis (FA 99b) due on a date that is TBD by the Registrar's office.
The studio oral defense is in two parts. First, the student is required to give a 15- minute image presentation accompanied by a written artist statement and annotated bibliography to be given to each member of the committee. Students present their work in digital form and should include references to other artists that have influenced their process. This event is open to the public.
The second part of the defense takes place in front of the thesis installation with the full thesis committee and full Fine Arts faculty present. Location of the defense is determined at the start of spring semester and may vary from student to student depending on specific site needs.