Indiana University Kokomo officials announced Tuesday they will be offering a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, in hopes of preparing students for arts-related careers.
Chancellor Michael Harris said this program addresses a need for north central Indiana residents because it will provide the only opportunity in the region for becoming a career artist.
“The Bachelor of Fine Arts program provides an opportunity for students who are talented creatively and artistically to develop those talents and prepare them to use their skills in careers that can enhance the region’s transformation from an economy of manufacturing to an economy of innovation and knowledge,” Harris said.
School officials said typical job fields for BFA graduates include work as illustrators, cartoonists, special effects artists, craft artists, video game designers, animators, painters and sculptors.
Gregory Steel, assistant professor of fine arts, said the BFA allows students to compete with other arts students for admission to graduate fine arts program. He said the BFA track also gives them more time and focus for studio work to prepare for future careers.
“We are very pleased the commission approved this degree, and we are grateful to all those who worked so hard to make this happen. We are especially thankful to Chancellor Harris, who went to the commission personally to express our desire and the desire of our students to have this degree,” Steel said.
Steel, an assistant professor of fine arts, also said students may transfer from the Bachelor of Arts program to the Bachelor of Fine Arts program immediately, and they may apply credits already earned toward the new degree.
“A lot of them have been working on basically the same classes,” Steel said. “Many of our arts students have been waiting for this.”
Steel said he anticipates classes could be added. There have been several new classes added to the curriculum in the last five years, building toward this program. They include jewelry making, ceramics, video and digital art.
University officials estimated there would be 34 students enrolled by the program’s fifth year.
The BFA is more specialized, with additional concentration in studio art and fewer general education requirements than the current Bachelor of Arts.
Steel said, in addition, to allowing more students to pursue an academic art degree, it provides an economic benefit to north central Indiana.
“The arts are always an interest for people moving to an area or who live in an area, and want a sense of community and access to the cultural aspects normally only seen in larger metropolitan areas,” he said.
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