BFA in Art Education

The BFA in Art Education program provides the requirements for Illinois State teacher licensure and the experiences needed for students to become art teachers in Chicago’s diverse public schools and communities. The program cultivates the study and making of art in a variety of ways that are rooted in local cultures and histories of activism and democratic participation in the public sphere. BFA in Art Education students will develop their own artistic practice and learn how a rigorous process of art making can be shared with their students.

The BFA in Art Education curriculum is grounded in the understanding that an engaged and engaging art education links students’ life experiences to traditional and contemporary art, media, and cultural forms. In addition to taking courses in studio art, students will complete coursework in art education to foster an awareness of collaborative strategies of teaching, learning, and art making. Student teachers gain rich experience and mentorship working with licensed art teachers in Chicago Public Schools.

As the only public university in the city of Chicago offering a dedicated pathway into art teaching, UIC’s BFA in Art Education program is committed to creating models of art education curricula that address inequality and open pathways for students to analyze and create contemporary culture.

Upon completion of all UIC program requirements, and all Illinois State Board of Education licensure requirements, Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art Education students are eligible to be recommended for a secondary teaching license endorsed in visual arts for grades 9-12 (Type 09) and grades K-12. Graduates of UIC’s Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art Education program will be qualified to teach visual arts in grades K-12.

Questions about the BFA in Art Education program? Please email us at arted@uic.edu

UIC Council on Teacher Education (CTE)

Earning a Subsequent Endorsement in the Visual Arts

To earn a visual arts subsequent endorsement, educators must complete 18 semester hours of visual arts coursework (at the 100 level or higher and with a grade of C or better) and pass the Visual Arts Content Area Test (214). Information about the test can be found on the Illinois Licensure Testing System (ILTS) website linked here.

Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) accepts the following areas of coursework to be used toward a visual arts subsequent endorsement: “Art, art appreciation, art education, art history, drawing, fiber arts, painting (watercolors, pastels, etc.), photography, pottery, printmaking, sculpture, typography, and art methods.” (Source linked here) Coursework does not have to be completed in any particular order.

Recommended courses in Studio Art, Social Context of Art & Art Education, and Art History:

Studio Art:
Any 100-level (or higher) course in Art (4 credit hours)
*Students may choose 1 or 2 courses in this category.

Social Context of Art & Art Education:
ART 110: Introduction to Art Education (4 credit hours)
IDEA 120: Digital Practices in Design and the Arts (4 credit hours)
ART 190: Introduction to Socially Engaged Art (4 credit hours)
ART 280: Collaborative Resistance Printshop (4 credit hours – offered in summer session)
ART 290: Art and Resistance: Socially Engaged Art (4 credit hours)
*Students may choose 1 or 2 courses in this category

Art History:
AH 100: Introduction to Art and Art History (3 credit hours)
AH 110: World History of Art and the Built Environment I (4 credit hours)
AH 111: World History of Art and the Built Environment II (4 credit hours)
AH 130: Photography in History (3 credit hours)
AH 172: Visual Culture of the Ancient Americas (3 credit hours)
AH 263: Latin American Colonial Art (same as LALS 263) (3 credit hours)
AH 264: African American Art (3 credit hours)
AH 271: Native American Art (3 credit hours)
*Students should choose 2 courses in this category.

Information about the visual arts subsequent endorsement is at the bottom of the Special PK-12 section on the ISBE website, linked here, and here.