2025-2026 Undergraduate Catalog
Art
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Associate Professor Melanie Clemmons, Claire Morris Spaht Chair
Professors: Brian Molanphy, Philip Van Keuren
Associate Professors: Melanie Clemmons, Nishiki Sugawara-Beda
Assistant Professors: Emily Budd, Frederico Câmara, Daniel Rodriguez
Assistant Professor of Practice: Martha Poggioli
Visiting Professors of Practice: Dana Buzzee, David Challier, Kerry Maguire
The Division of Art educates students in the study and practice of art within an interdisciplinary, rigorous, and supportive environment. The program concentrates on technical and conceptual development, studio production and exhibition, and the process of analyzing and interpreting artwork. The curriculum offers production-based studio courses in ceramics, drawing, digital/hybrid media (new media), painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, and interdisciplinary art. Students work across a range of media and engage in artistic exchange with their peer cohort, faculty, and guest artists or professionals working in the arts. Faculty evaluate student progress through formal reviews and exhibitions working toward preparation for professional careers or advanced study in the arts.
Facilities for the study of art include specialized studios, individual workspaces, and equipment to support all media taught, as well as individual experimentation. Facilities include woodshop, metal shop, foundry, ceramics studio, painting and drawing studios, darkroom and digital photography large format printers, a Mac computer lab, and digital fabrication tools. Additional facilities include the Jordan Student Gallery and the Doolin Gallery for the installation of student artwork in Owen Arts Center, as well as the Pollock Gallery, the primary public exhibition venue of the Division of Art located in Expressway Tower. The division runs an extensive visiting artist program, ranging from visiting artist lectures and workshops to Pollock Gallery exhibitions. Through these programs, artists, critics and curators of note are brought to campus to teach, exhibit, and make artwork. The Meadows School and SMU offer excellent library resources, including the Hamon Arts Library.
The Dallas/Fort Worth area has a large artistic community with rich and varied resources. These include many internationally and nationally significant museums and contemporary exhibition spaces: SMU’s Meadows Museum, the Dallas Museum of Art, the Nasher Sculpture Center, the Crow Museum, the Green Family Art Foundation, the Power Station, the Warehouse, the Latino Cultural Center of Dallas, the Dallas Contemporary, the Kimbell Art Museum, the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, and the Amon Carter Museum. There are also artist-run cooperative galleries and an established and growing commercial gallery system.
Students wishing to transfer to the B.A. or B.F.A. degree program from another university must also be accepted by portfolio review and meet University transfer admission criteria prior to admission to study.
Students who were not dually admitted prior to matriculation but wish to major in Art must seek admission to the Division of Art by completing an Art application at https://www.smu.edu/meadows/areasofstudy/art/undergraduatestudies/admissions.
These students are strongly encouraged to enroll in elective Art courses (introductory level courses) prior to Art’s consideration of their application portfolio.
All students who apply for dual admission by the deadline to the University and to the B.A. in Art or B.F.A. degree program are considered for artistic scholarships based on artistic merit. Continuing scholarships are reviewed each year based on satisfactory progress toward the degree. To receive an award for artistic merit, students must submit either a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (www.fafsa.ed.gov) or a waiver, and a CSS/Profile (www.collegeboard.com).
The Division of Art offers two undergraduate degrees – the B.F.A. in art and the B.A. in art – and minors in art and photography. In addition, the Division of Art contributes to the continuous development and delivery of interdisciplinary courses throughout the Meadows School of the Arts. Art majors may not declare a minor in art or a minor in photography.
ProgramsMajor(s)Minor(s)CoursesArt-General
Studio courses generally require six hours per week of in-class work. Students should enroll with a firm commitment to regular attendance and should expect to spend an additional four to six hours per week, per class, to complete their coursework.
Prerequisites and Course Fees: Many courses at the 3000 level and all courses at the 5000 level have prerequisite coursework required. All directed studies courses require instructor approval before enrollment. All courses in studio art, except lectures and seminars, have a laboratory fee of $60 per credit hour, which is added to the tuition and fees assigned at the time of enrollment. Certain courses in art require an additional material or tool expense in addition to fees.
Foundations and Art, General Studio
Studio courses generally require six hours per week of in-class work. Students should enroll with a firm commitment to regular attendance and should expect to spend additional time outside of class to complete their coursework.
The foundation courses are ASAG 1300 , ASAG 1304 , ASAG 1308 , and ASAG 1312 . All students intending to declare a B.A. or B.F.A. in Art must complete ASAG 1300 and ASAG 1304. Students pursuing a B.F.A. must also complete ASAG 1308 and ASAG 1312. These four foundation courses are typically taken over two semesters (fall and spring). In their third year, both B.A. and B.F.A. students must enroll in ASAG 3390 . In their fourth year, they are required to complete ASAG 5310 and ASAG 5315 .
Additional courses in this section provide students with intensive studio training, exposure to a range of materials and processes, and an introduction to theoretical frameworks that shape contemporary art.
The curriculum includes seven specialized course areas, organized by discipline and course prefix: ASCE - Ceramics, ASDR- Drawing, ASPT - Painting, ASIM - Digital/Hybrid Media, ASPH - Photography, ASPR - Printmaking, ASSC - Sculpture. Each area offers 1000, 3000, and 5000-level courses, which fulfill Advanced Art and Art Elective requirements for both B.A. and B.F.A. students.
Ceramics
Digital and Hybrid Media
Drawing
Painting
Photography
Printmaking
Sculpture
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