ists help maintain and develop the cultural life of a society by means of their unique expression of the basic truths of existence. The experience and practice of visual art creates an awareness of these basic truths, and especially of the imaginal and creative aspects of life, which is vital in the formation of the complete human being.?

Students from other academic disciplines gain breadth and insight from courses in studio art and art history, which share common ground with the other humanistic disciplines and creative arts, and which complement the sciences.

The study of Art as a major is divided into the art core and the area of emphasis. The art core is taken in the freshman and sophomore years and includes History of Art and Architecture I and II, Basic Drawing I and II, Two-Dimensional and Three-Dimensional Design, and Human Figure. In the sophomore year, preferably the Fall semester, the art student usually participates in the University of Dallas Rome Program.

The area of emphasis is designed to guide the student, either in the studio or art historical study, toward the full realization of his or her personal integrity and intellectual potential. The student may pursue the following areas: art history, ceramics, painting, printmaking, and sculpture. The student may also pursue the secondary, or all-level certificate in the teaching of art.

By the junior year, the art student emphasizing studio work is intensely involved in a major studio and elective studio work while also taking one course each semester in the history of art of twentieth-century and contemporary art. A critique of the student's work by the art faculty takes place in the second semester of the junior year. In the senior year, the studio major prepares for the senior exhibition and comprehensive examination through Senior Studio and Seminar. Reviews and critiques are a regular part of the year.

The pattern for the art student emphasizing art history is much the same through the sophomore year. The Rome Program is especially significant, for the student is able to experience works of art in their original context and to study the impact of the classical tradition on Western art. In the junior and senior years, the student takes a wide range of upper-level art history courses which integrate a knowledge of visual culture and architecture into a liberal arts education and life. These courses, along with Senior Research and Senior Thesis, introduce the student to critical analysis and research methods, thus preparing the student for the comprehensive examination and the final research paper presentation.

Whatever the area involved, the department seeks to give the art major basic principles, not merely standard solutions, so that he or she has the training, judgment, and flexibility to go on to successful graduate or professional work in art, art history, or other areas.