College of Fine Arts and Communication

http://www.umsl.edu/divisions/cofac/

General Information

The College of Fine Arts and Communication at the University of Missouri-St. Louis includes the Departments of Art and Art History, Communication, Music, and Theatre and Dance.  The Faculty and alumni of this College have distinguished themselves as scholars, visual artists, teachers and performers.  Students of the College pursue their activities in a variety of campus locations, including the Fine Arts Building, Lucas Hall, the Music Building and the General Services Building.  The University’s new, $55 million Performing Arts Center will open the fall of 2003, affording two world class venues for performances by individual university students and faculty, campus ensembles, and visiting artists.  In addition Gallery 210, Gallery FAB, and Gallery VISIO in the Millennium Student Center, offer space for the display of student and faculty artwork, as well as visiting exhibitions.

The College of Fine Arts and Communication is distinguished by its collaboration with the community.  Five endowed professorships link the University to the Saint Louis Symphony, the Saint Louis Art Museum, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, the Laumeier Sculpture Park, and other local cultural institutions.  The Des Lee Arts Education Collaborative connects the University and a variety of partner cultural institutions to eleven local school districts.

The College of Fine Arts and Communication consists of some 50 full-time faculty members in the following departments, each offering work in specific undergraduate degree programs: art and art history, communication and music.  In addition, the Theatre and Dance Department began to offer classes in theatre during the 2002-2003 academic year. 

Graduate degree programs administered through the Graduate School are also offered in the communication and music departments.


Requirements for Undergraduate Study

In addition to the university general education requirements, all majors in the College of Fine Arts and Communication must meet the following requirements:

To graduate, all majors in the college also must complete the following:

  • Requirements of their chosen baccalaureate degree (i.e., B.A., B.F.A., B.M., etc) in accordance with the policies of the College of Fine Arts and Communication.
  • Requirements of the department for their selected major or interdisciplinary program.

Cultural Diversity Requirement
To expand cultural awareness, all students are required to complete a course that emphasizes Asian, African, Middle Eastern, Latin American, Pacific aboriginal, Native American, or a comparable culture.  Courses that satisfy this requirement involve substantial material independent of the cultures’ interactions with European cultures.  If a course focuses on one facet of a culture, it must treat the topic within the context of the culture as a whole.  A list of courses which fulfill the Cultural Diversity requirement may be found elsewhere in this bulletin..


Academic Policies

Grade Requirements
To graduate all majors in the college must satisfy one of the following grade point options:

  • Earn 120 hours with a C grade or better, which constitutes a complete degree program.  Neither a grade of C- nor a satisfactory grade may be counted.
  • Have a minimum UM-St Louis Campus grade point average of 2.0 and have met all the other Grade Point restrictions that are required for the degree program and the major.
Residency Requirements
Unless otherwise specified, a transfer student must complete 12 hours of graded work at UM-St. Louis at the 2000(100) level or above within the minimum number of hours required for each major. 

Unless otherwise specified, a transfer student must complete at least six hours of graded work at UM-St Louis at the 100 level or above within the minimum number of hours required for each minor.  Students should consult the minor department for specific residency and grade requirements. 

Specific Baccalaureate Degree Requirements

Course Requirements
After fulfilling the general education and specific major degree requirements, students are to take the remaining hours required to complete the bachelor’s degree from courses (which the appropriate department has evaluated as being of university level quality)  from one or more of the following areas or their university quality equivalents at other institutions:  anthropology/archaeology, art (appreciation, history, studio), astronomy, biology, chemistry, communication, criminology and criminal justice, economics, English, foreign languages/literatures, geology, history, mathematic/computer science, music (appreciation, history, performance), philosophy, physics, political science, psychology, social work, sociology, business, education, engineering, or interdisciplinary.  Other areas or courses not listed require approval by the chair of the student’s department. 

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)
All B.A. degree candidates must successfully complete a curriculum which includes a departmental major or an approved interdisciplinary field.  A major must include at least 30 credit hours but no more than 45 hours.  The college offers the B.A. degree in art history, communication and music.

Foreign Language Requirement
Candidates for the B.A. degree are required to complete 13 credit hours or the equivalent in proficiency in one foreign language.  Foreign language guidelines are as follows:

  1. Students entering with no high school language units must enroll in Language or may enroll in the 115 series.
  2. Students with the degree of proficiency equivalent to 13 hours of college-level work may obtain exemption by passing the department’s placement exam.  The specific dates for the exam are announced in the Schedule of Courses or may be obtained from the admissions office or the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures.
  3. Native speakers of language other than English may meet the foreign language requirement by presenting a transcript from a university or secondary school of their native country.  The department will certify native speakers of those languages which are taught at the university.  Those who are proficient in other languages must submit certification of competence to the college.
  4. Language 2115 a, b, and c (Intensive) (115) will satisfy the foreign language requirement.  115a, 2115(115b) and 115c are co-requisites and must be completed with a grade of C or better, to satisfy the foreign language requirement.
  5. Students may not repeat for credit an elementary course if they have already completed a higher-level course for which the elementary course, or its equivalent is a prerequisite.

Applied Music and Studio Art
All students in the college may count any number of hours of applied music (private lessons) or studio art courses toward any degree in the college.  This also includes transferred credit.  However, students not majoring in music may count no more than eight hors in music performing organizations (Music 1400(40), 1410(41), 1500(50), 1520(52), etc) toward graduation, including credit transferred.

Bachelor of Music (B.M.)
The requirements are the same as for the B.A. degree with the addition of music education and education courses for music majors seeking state teacher certification.  Although foreign language proficiency is not required, foreign language study is required for applied voice students.

Certificate Program
A certificate program is offered in photographic studies.

Department Honors
Majors in the music department may pursue department honors.

Minors
A number of minors are available at UM-St. Louis.  Some are offered by individual departments, while others, such as Classical Studies and Black Studies, are interdisciplinary in nature and involve a number of departments.  The requirements for the various minors are listed in either the departmental or interdisciplinary sections of this Bulletin.