This is the first-year program required of all VCUarts students who wish to enter: Art Education, Communication Arts, Craft/Material Studies, Fashion Design, Graphic Design, Interior Design, Kinetic Imaging, Painting and Printmaking, Photography and Film, and Sculpture + Extended Media.
The exciting first year provides an intellectually rigorous, studio-based experience in the fundamental issues of art and design. The program exposes students to a vast forum of ideas and concepts preparing them for a wide range of disciplines.
Art Foundation students are not affiliated with a major department until they complete the Art Foundation Program. Once they do so, they apply to the department of their choice during the annual spring portfolio review. During this review, major departments make acceptance decisions based upon the evaluation of students’ academic records, creative work and performance in Art Foundation courses or their equivalent transfer course work. The large majority are accepted into their first choice.
“I had fears about a ‘boot camp,’ but in retrospect, AFO is the perfect format for that first year. I made connections with students who went to different departments, learned to appreciate others’ areas of strength, and vice versa. The AFO year gives you the confidence you need to choose your direction. My initial fears were unfounded.”
- Holly Lester, Sculpture + Extended Media
