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About the Foundations Courses
The Foundations program comprises the following courses that introduce students to visual problem-solving and critical-thinking strategies incorporating and studying culture, history, and practice of various art and design forms across disciplines to prepare students for rigorous college courses in visual art, design, art education and art history.
The Foundations program in the College of Visual Arts and Design at UNT has a lecture/lab format, i.e., classroom learning once per week for an hour lecture as one cohort. Additionally, students spend five hours per week in separate making-based labs where the conceptual framework discussed in the lecture is applied.
Graduate Teaching Assistants and Adjunct Assistants
Graduate teaching assistants and adjunct assistants instruct the lab component of the Foundations courses and support lead faculty by mentoring, teaching, and delivering the content to students in making-based labs. The primary content and conceptual framework of the course is delivered, discussed, and analyzed in the lecture component of the course by the lead faculty.
Graduate teaching assistants and adjunct assistants who assist lead faculty are appointed through a rigorous selection process. Those graduate teaching assistants attend a teaching seminar and are held to standard measured through ongoing performance reviews. Foundations lab instructors meet weekly with lead faculty. Lead faculty provide mentorship throughout the semester to ensure equitable and cohesive instruction among all lab sections.
The Four Foundations Courses
Terms
Prerequisite: a course or requirement that must be completed successfully before enrolling in a
course
Corequisite: a course or requirement which must be registered for and taken concurrently with another
course
Courses
1. Perception and Translation | ART1600 | Prerequisites: None
This course focuses on the translation of visual phenomena using a variety of digital
and analog drawing (mark-making) materials.
2. Space - physical, temporal, and virtual | ART1700 | Prerequisites: None
This course explores multiple conceptions of space ranging from physical objects to
metaphorical space.
3. Narrative and Representation | ART 1800 | Prerequisites: None
This course emphasizes multiple levels of representation ranging from the physical
to the intangible.
4. Systems and Transformations | ART 1900 | Prerequisites: Two of ART 1600, ART 1700, ART 1800; and corequisite:
one of ART 1600, ART 1700, ART 1800
This course critically analyzes multiple — research- and choice-based — perspectives
of object and image-making and challenges students to develop a personal framework
in the processes of visual art and design.
Recommended Resources
Visit the CVAD Resources web pages for information about where to see art, find art supplies, obtain information technology support and more. These resources and other connections to student services support your college experience.
Contact Information
Binod Shrestha
Director, Foundations Program
940-369-8053
Binod.Shrestha@unt.edu
Art Building, Room 230E
Future undergraduate students: Apply to UNT; you will meet with an academic advisor during orientation. You also may contact CVAD Recruiter Kevin Contreras, Kevin.Contreras@unt.edu, for more information.