Bachelor of Arts in Visual Art

Forge your path as an artist, flourish in a creative environment with the support and guidance you need to uncover your inner master artistic maker or creator.
Join VIU's Bachelor of Arts in Visual Arts Studies and regularly interact creatively and exchange ideas with fellow artists while immersing yourself in a unique experiential and interdisciplinary program led by instructors who are practicing artists themselves. Part of a Bachelor of Arts degree, this program gives you the opportunity to choose Visual Arts as a Major or Minor, supplementing your visual arts courses with various electives or majors of interest.
Vancouver Island University offers an opportunity for undergraduates to study Visual Art as a Major or Minor in a four-year Bachelor of Arts degree. Both options provide an opportunity for students to complement their degree in Visual Art with courses in other disciplines, including Business, Marketing, Theatre, Biology, History, Psychology, Anthropology, Education, Sciences, Media Studies and Creative Writing.

The BA Major offers a professional focus on all aspects of studio art, as well as academic classroom experience. Students may take this degree with a wide variety of electives or they may combine this Major with a Minor in another discipline. The latter may be appropriate to an individual student's academic and/or career goals, enhancing their preparation for a competitive job market. Both options strengthen employment or postgraduate study opportunities and equip students with technical, critical thinking, visual literacy and career adaptability skills.

A BA Minor in Visual Art may be combined with a Major or a Minor in another academic discipline and is appropriate for students contemplating a number of professional choices.

In years one and two, the BA Major and Minor in Visual Art emphasize art-making in a broad range of media with associated techniques and provide a conceptual foundation within the context of contemporary art and art history. In years three and four, the curriculum broadens into greater emphasis on interdisciplinary content, contemporary working methods and cultural theory.

Note: All students enrolled in Art or Design studio courses offered within VIU's Art and Design department must complete mandatory safety training session(s) before they will be allowed to use the department's facilities. Each student must purchase and use safety equipment as specified by the department and sold through the VIU Campus Store.

Graduation from high school or equivalent.
International students who are BC high school graduates must have a minimum grade of C in English 12 for direct entry into an academic program

IELTS (Academic) - 6.5 (no band below 6.0)
TOEFL IBT - 88 (no section below 20)
TOEFL Paper Based Test - 550 (no section below 56)