A Certificate is awarded to students who successfully complete a program of studio work and art-related academic courses. This is for students in an academic department who will do a creative thesis in addition to their home department's thesis. Normally, students must complete two of the required visual arts courses before enrollment. Please note that students who wish to do a creative thesis in film/video production (not a written, film historical thesis) but are not able to submit a creative film thesis to their home department can concentrate by doing the Visual Arts Certificate rather than the Film Track Certificate.

Course Requirements

Seven courses combined from Visual Arts and from Art and Archaeology:  

a) Five Visual Arts courses, which must include studio courses in at least two different media, and at least two 300- or 400-level studio courses.

b) Visual Arts 392, Issues in Contemporary Art or a cognate. This particular course is strongly recommended for studio artists, for whom it has been specifically designed. However, it is possible to substitute a relevant 300- or 400-level seminar directly related to the medium a student practices, but with the prior permission of the director of the program. This course fulfills one of the five Visual Arts course requirements.

c) Two Art and Archaeology courses, in the modern period (nineteenth century to the present) and one of the other six distribution areas.

Independent Work

Junior Independent Work:

a) In fall, students select two advisers from the Program in Visual Arts and complete the Certificate Adviser Approval Form. The Junior Independent Work is done in consultation with the student's advisers, and also with the general Visual Arts faculty in "open studio" meetings.

b) The advisers’ spring-term grade for the Junior Independent Work represents an evaluation of the entire year’s studio work. The Junior Independent Work is exhibited in a group show at the beginning of the senior fall semester.

Senior Independent Work—The Creative Thesis:

a) In fall, students select two advisers the Program in Visual Arts and complete the Certificate  Adviser Approval Form. The creative thesis studio work is done in consultation with the student's advisers, and also with the general Visual Arts faculty in “open studio” meetings.

b) Students present their work in an exhibition at the end of the year, usually in a two-person show with another Certificate or Program 2 student. The grade for the creative thesis represents an evaluation of the entire year's studio work and is the average of two grades: (1) the average of the grades given by the student's two advisers and (2) the average of the grades given by the rest of the Visual Arts faculty who view the senior exhibition.