Advisor's Guide To Visual and Media Arts Practice Courses

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: All courses are listed under "Visual and Media Arts Practice" in Bannerweb. Courses are no longer listed under "Studio Arts." Please contact the department if you have any questions.

The purpose of this guide is to help advisors of students interested in taking studio classes, whether to satisfy FSVP requirement, minor or major in Visual and Media Arts Practice, or simply take an elective.

Please note that all studio classes have a 5-day drop-add period. Important studio safety training is conducted early in the term and studio assignments from the beginning of the term are difficult to make up. We make no exceptions to this policy.

If your advisee is interested in satisfying FSVP requirement or elective by taking a studio art class:

Department of Art and Art History offers 100 level courses that satisfy FSVP requirement in drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, digital, and time-based media. "Only 100 level courses satisfy FSVP requirements." The classes are centered around the studio practice, and also involve individual and group critiques, slide presentations, and discussions on history and contemporary practice in a particular medium, attendance of exhibitions, and brief writing and research assignments.
Students can expect to work, on average, about six hours per week outside of class, in addition to four hours of class time, in order to satisfy class requirements.
It is important to emphasize that we do not grade “talent” and that meeting class requirements successfully is within reach of anyone who actively participates in the class, puts a sincere effort in their work and communicates with their professor early and often.

Transferring courses from other institutions for FSVP credit:

It is essential that students obtain pre-approval from Department before enrolling in the course—in the past many students have been disappointed that their classes transferred for general credit only. Please stress that NOT ANY studio class will transfer as FSVP and that Art History classes generally do NOT satisfy FSVP, because they do not have a creative studio component.

If your advisee is thinking about a Visual and Media Arts Practice major or minor:

Encourage them to take VMAP 211 and VMAP 212, Foundations in Visual and Media Arts Practice A and B before taking any other VMAP classes. These classes are prerequisites for most intermediate and upper-level studio courses and should be taken, if at all possible, in the first two years.
Encourage them to take ARTH 121, Survey 1: Prehistory to Middle Ages and ARTH 122, Renaissance to Present as early as possible. These courses should also be taken in the first two years of study (only one of the surveys is required for minors).
Encourage your advisees to contact one of the VMAP faculty as soon as possible to discuss their interests, goals, and proper sequencing of courses and study abroad. Even if they are not ready to declare, they will benefit from contacting us early.

Visual and Media Arts Practice Advisors:

Jeremy Drummond, Associate Professor of Art
jdrummo2@richmond.edu, # 804.484.1551, Office # K-103
Contact for: Digital Media, Photography, and Time & Space classes

Erling Sjovold, Associate Professor of Art
esjovold@richmond.edu, # 804.289.8273, Office # V-304
Contact for: Painting, Color & Composition, Design, and Drawing classes

Tanja Softić, Professor of Art
tsoftic@richmond.edu, # 804.287.6624, Office # V-211
Contact for: Printmaking, Color & Composition, and Drawing classes