2025-2026 Academic Catalog
Welcome to Virginia Tech! We are excited that you are here planning your time as a Hokie.
Welcome to Virginia Tech! We are excited that you are here planning your time as a Hokie.
The School of Visual Arts (SOVA) offers studio-based programs in the visual arts balanced with the study of the history, theory, and criticism of visual and material culture. The faculty includes both practicing artists and scholars of art history. The School emphasizes new digital media as well as traditional artistic media. SOVA offers B.F.A. degrees in Graphic Design, Creative Technologies, and Studio Art; a B.A. in Art History, a minor in Art History and a minor in Visual Arts.
SOVA provides a variety of exhibitions and art events. The Armory Art Gallery exhibits work by national and regional artists and provides students and regional artists the opportunity to create and show wide-ranging experimental work. The Collaboration for Creative Technologies in Arts and Design (CCTAD) is a cross-disciplinary initiative with Art, Music, Computer Science and Communications. The Digital Arts and Animation Studio (DAAS) is designed to facilitate this new concentration.
FourDesign, a University Service Center, provides students with vital professional design experience. Student interns work in a team environment under the direction of FourDesign faculty to produce design work for clients, providing professional and entrepreneurial experience rarely available to undergraduates. Through visiting artists and scholars, the School also brings students and members of the art community into dialogue with artists and critics of international prominence.
SOVA participates in the University's Education Abroad program, which is open to students at the sophomore level or above and combines classroom study with travel-study tours in Europe, Cuba, and Latin America.
Foundations of Art and Design is a year-long, entry-level intensive program that prepares students for advanced study in the visual fields of integrative Studio Art, Creative Technologies and Graphic Design. The two-semester, 1000-level curriculum is made up of 15 credit hours covering principles of art and design, drawing, and digital imaging proficiency. Completion of the entire Foundation program is required of B.F.A. students prior to taking SOVA courses that are 2000 level or higher.
The investigation and unification of dexterity, contextual dialogue, and presentation skills are at the heart of the Foundations of Art and Design program at SOVA. Rather than isolating craft at the foundational level of study, whole elements of visual language are fostered equally. This unified approach to art and design studies aim to develop:
Studio Art, Creative Technologies, and Graphic Design candidates must be currently enrolled or have passed three foundation courses (ART 1204 Principles of 2D Art and Design, ART 1404 Principles of Drawing and ART 1604 Principles of 4D Art & Design). Acceptance is contingent on successfully passing all three of these courses. The Studio Art, Creative Technologies, and Graphic Design review committees (comprised of SOVA Faculty) screen student work for outstanding qualities in artistic ability, creativity, presentation skills and overall motivation.
The SOVA Studio Art program offers classes in painting, drawing, sculpture, and photography. We aim to prepare artists for the digitally enhanced world by integrating emerging technologies into a contemporary fine arts experience. Our students have access to cutting edge technologies like laser cutters, CNC routers and 3D printers, and are taught in an environment that encourages them to explore these tools in conjunction with traditional mediums. Students and faculty conduct research and create work that spans disciplinary boundaries. Our flexible undergraduate curriculum provides opportunities for students to achieve interdisciplinary breadth through electives in Graphic Design, Creative Technologies, and other areas of personal interest.
Situated within a nationally recognized research institution, SOVA attracts students and faculty who value the study of art in a broad cultural and intellectual context. The B.F.A. degree in Studio Art equips emerging artists with critical thinking skills, visual and cultural literacy, and tools to communicate their ideas. We also promote the professional skills and habits necessary to build and sustain a self-directed studio practice. Our program is uniquely positioned to provide students with the skills and opportunities to explore the impact of art and technology on our lived experience.
Graduates of the Studio Art program apply their creative skills in a variety of careers. Some become professional artists, exhibiting at national galleries and museums, or pursue commercial careers in photography, painting, illustration, and sculpture. Others seek their Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) in specific studio disciplines or post-graduate degrees in related arts fields such as Material Culture, Art Therapy, Art Education, Exhibition Design, and Art Conservation. Our alumni have gone on to become professional artists, university professors, K-12 teachers, and pursue careers in galleries and museums.
The Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Studio Art is a 78 credit-hour program. Each faculty member is dedicated to teaching, research, and outreach within his or her specific fields. The connection from professional practice to studio classroom is essential in creating applicable learning environments.
The goal of the program is to develop culture-enriching leaders and innovative visual artists. Completing an integrated path of study in the Studio Art program will result in a B.F.A. degree that is applicable to the demands of the visual arts industry.
The Creative Technologies program focuses on computer-based digital arts, including animation, creative coding, interactive installations, etc. Classes are taught by active artists and scholars with experience integrating emerging creative technologies into new media art contexts as well as applications in industry.
The Creative Technologies concentration consists of 75 credit hours, with 21 required credits and additional elective offerings that can be clustered so that students obtain specialization in immersive virtual environments, code and form or the moving image.
In the Creative Technologies program, students learn cutting-edge software in a creative environment, preparing them for employment in industry or further studies in graduate school.
The Graphic Design program is notable for its practical and applied approach to design thinking. Students concentrating in Graphic Design develop conceptual abilities, problem solving skills, and the technical know-how required by a fast-paced, competitive field. Graphic Design demands individual creativity, teamwork skills, and adaptability to changing markets and technologies. The Graphic Design program at Virginia Tech prepares students for the job market with practical experience, professional portfolio preparation, and an understanding of user-experience design. Graduates of the program may find themselves working in design agencies, UI/UX, product and packaging design, and advertising design. Coursework in animation, web design, and interaction allows students to explore emerging technologies.
Entry into this program is restricted and requires successful completion of specific criteria. Students accepted into Graphic Design begin the course sequence in the spring semester of their first year. From that point on, the course sequences are uniquely tailored to Graphic Design students, which emphasize typography, design, and applied technologies.
This program is oriented toward the history of western art, although courses are frequently offered on non-western topics. The foundation for the study of art history in SOVA is a two-semester survey of the history of art. At the intermediate level, there are fourteen courses offered on a regular basis, ranging from ancient Egyptian art and architecture to Art Since 1900, and including archaeology, arts of China and Japan, and the history of graphic design. Upper-level courses are designated as special topics courses. In recent years, they have ranged from the Seven Wonders of the World to Japanese prints to the History of Photography to the Preservation of Historic Interiors.
The major in Art History and Visual Culture is a 42-credit degree. In addition to the two semester Survey of the History of Art (ART 2385 Survey of the History of Western Art-ART 2386 Survey of the History of Western Art), students are required to take five courses at the 3000-level. The five courses are chosen from a list of four historical categories, ensuring students study art and architectural history over a broad historical range. In addition, majors are required to take ART 4484 Topics in Art Criticism and Methodology and three upper-level topics classes (ART 4384 Topics in Art History).
To provide a broader context for the history of art, majors are also required to take a history course and a humanities course (focusing on broad cultural and historical periods). To ensure some 'hands on' experience, they are also required to take either ART 1204 Principles of 2D Art and Design or ART 1404 Principles of Drawing. The program encourages students to take advantage of opportunities to study abroad and to serve as interns in cultural organizations, especially museums and historical sites.
The minor in art history is an 18-credit degree. It consists of the two-semester Survey of the History of Art (ART 2385 Survey of the History of Western Art-ART 2386 Survey of the History of Western Art) and two courses at the 3000-level and two at the 4000-level.
Hosted by the School of Visual Arts with collaboration from numerous departments across Virginia Tech, the interdisciplinary Visual Arts Minor leads students to explore art as a lens through which to view society. It encourages the cultivation of visual intelligence—through both study and practice-based approaches in studio art—relevant to our increasingly visual, media-saturated world and demanded in a variety of STEM and humanities fields. Students learn flexible visual skills and how to apply them to multiple disciplines inside and outside their major, such as business, medicine, law, and the natural sciences. The result is a comprehensive understanding of art and the built environment in a global context, as they intersect with the complexities of historical and contemporary society.
Requirements for the Minor include four core courses—ART 1104 Language of Visual Arts, ART 1004 Topics in Studio Art for Non-Majors, ART 2385 Survey of the History of Western Art/ART 2386 Survey of the History of Western Art, ART 4104 Interpretation of Visual Arts—and two elective courses in the social sciences, totaling 18 credit hours.
Interim Director - School of Visual Arts: A-M. Knoblauch
Chair – Foundation Program: J. Hand
Chair – Studio Art: M. Borowski
Chair – Creative Technologies: R. Weaver
Chair – Graphic Design: M. Dee
Chair – Art History: M. Moseley
Manager – Visual Arts and Society Minor: J. Jewitt
Curator – Armory Gallery: D. Sim
Professor: E. Standley
Associate Professors: S. Blanchard, M. Dee, T. Head, A-M. Knoblauch, M. Moseley, T. Tucker
Assistant Professors: M. Borowski, Z. Duer, M. Drum, P. Finley, N. King, A. Lechner, K. Meaney, A. Ronan, W. Santos Lages, R. Weaver
Collegiate Associate Professor: J. Jewitt
Collegiate Assistant Professor: L. Duffield, H. Okumura, A. Salisbury
Associate Professor of Practice: J. Joiner
Instructors: B. Bannan, J. Hand, J. Rosenthal, D. Sim
Adjunct Instructors: D. Choi, D. Dennis, M. Miller
Professor Emeritus/Emerita: S. Bickley, C Burch-Brown, T. Capone, D. Crane, K. Concannon, B. Fields, R. Kass, B. Van Hook
Associate Professor Emerita: M. Casto, S. Paterson
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