Bachelor of Fine Arts
The Bachelor of Fine Arts program is interdisciplinary by design; students accepted into the program come from all disciplines within the department, including art history, book and publication arts, ceramics, digital media, drawing, graphic design, painting, photography and videography, printmaking and sculpture. Students work to explore their creative development in an atmosphere that encourages cross-disciplinary activities and engagement.
Students who have completed 60 credit hours at the University overall may apply for the Bachelor of Fine Arts program. The Department of Art, Art History and Design will screen candidates through an application process and portfolio review, and determine a candidate's acceptance.
In addition, applicants must have completed a minimum of 12 credits in studio art and 12 credits in art history. Candidates must have and maintain a minimum 3.0 GPA in all courses to gain acceptance to the major.
Bachelor of Fine Arts students are admitted only in the fall semester.
Application guidelines
Applicants are to submit a completed cover letter, application form, portfolio and any additional supporting materials* (such as exhibition announcements, newspaper publicity, etc.), no later than 4:30 p.m. February 28 for the following fall. Late applications will not be accepted.
*Supporting materials are optional (if you have exhibition announcements or other items you would like to add, please add pages to the application form).
Portfolio submission guidelines
Please submit one PDF document saved as 'LastName_FirstName' which contains:
Please include a cover letter explaining your interest in the program. The cover letter should:
- be 500 words maximum
- include artistic interests and reasons for applying for the BFA program at the University of Nevada, Reno.
Please include your completed application form.
Portfolio of 10-20 images representing your work (when creating your PDF, images should not exceed 2,000 pixels on the longest and have a resolution of 72ppi, to keep the document small in size.
- Performance, video and interactive media must be submitted as an active URL placed in a PDF and must not exceed five minutes in length.
- Submit URLs for web-specific artwork
Please also provide:
- Image descriptions with each image: including name, title of work, dimensions (H x W x D), date work completed and specific media used. You may include brief descriptions where necessary, or
- Alternatively, provide a separate page with a numbered image inventory list: including name, title of work, dimensions (H x W x D), date work completed, and specific media used. You may include brief descriptions where necessary.
Example:
Kevin Blue
BFA Application
Image Inventory
1. "Untitled # 134," gelatin silver print, 20" x 24", 2005
2. "Valentine," steel sculpture, 72" x 24" x 20", 2004
Submit the application either via email to Scott Hinton or via flash drive (with a self-addressed, stamped envelope for return of your flash drive) to the Department of Art, Art History and Design office room 209, Church Fine Arts. We will make every effort to announce the results in early spring.
For more information, please contact BFA Program Coordinator, Scott Hinton at (775) 784-4994.