BFA Program Offerings

The Art Academy of Cincinnati grants the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with majors in Creative Writing, Design, Illustration, Painting and Drawing, Photography, Print Media, and Sculpture upon satisfactory completion of all degree requirements. The AAC maintains a unique 1:2:1 curriculum that optimizes our carefully curated enrollment size to offer the greatest possibility of breadth, depth, collaboration, and personal engagement in art and design throughout the four-year program. Each firstyear BFA student begins with the First Year Experience (FYE), which consists of two semesters of courses in Art History, English, and Studio Arts. The Studio Arts component of the FYE provides sufficient breadth to allow students opportunities to investigate various media and personal expression while providing depth as they prepare for their chosen majors.

The second and third years provide in-depth learning within a specific discipline accompanied by a wide range of Studio Arts and Liberal Arts electives. Professional Practice coursework at both the Sophomore and Junior levels are hallmarks of the second and third years of the program.

In the fourth year, students from all majors come together in the Senior Pathways Studio experiences to focus on the work that defines them as artists, designers, and writers. Faculty from the major disciplines work with all the students in a collaborative and trans-disciplinary environment. Each student is required to successfully complete the Senior Capstone Experience in order to demonstrate achievement of the AAC Educational Goal, the AAC Educational Objectives, and the Educational Outcomes for the chosen major. The Senior Thesis is comprised of three essential components: 1.) a comprehensive written statement articulating pertinent issues and concerns in the culminating body of work; 2.) Formal Capstone Project, and 3.) a Culminating Capstone Review.