Academics

Undergraduate Research

Honors, Scholars, and Undergraduate Research

Since 1992 significant emphasis has been placed on undergraduate research through the Honors program at OSU. As of this writing, more than fifty students working on B.F.A. and B.A. degrees in the department have participated; all have completed projects that have focused on intense and creative investigation of their work as young artists. A great deal of emphasis is now placed on this program, which is including more students each year.

This program is loosely centered on those students who participate through Undergraduate Research Projects. Many have been University Honors students in the Department of Art in the College of the Arts; others are students who participate through projects but may not be designated as University Honors students, and some may also be Colleges of the Arts and Sciences Honors (B.A.) students. Some of the projects are defined as for Graduation with Distinction if the student completes their program with an overall minimum GPA of 3.3. Many of our very best students have been completing these projects, all of which require additional work (minimum of eight credits) beyond the requirements for the B.F.A. or the B.A. degree.

Each student that participates must: write a proposal for a qualified project (to be reviewed for acceptance by the College of the Arts Honors Committee), be supervised by a faculty adviser for the duration of the project (usually one year), write an extensive report (thesis) about the project and its completion (often their final exhibition), and be reviewed for final acceptance of the results by a committee of three faculty.

Our experience has shown that students who have participated in this program are consistently receiving recognition through acceptance into quality graduate programs (most often with funding awards) and going on to further recognition of the quality of their professional work.

The Undergraduate Research Project and/or the Project for Graduation with Distinction offers the B.A. or B.F.A. student a curriculum that is reinforced with careful advising above what is afforded every Undergraduate Art Major in the Department of Art.