Visual, Digital and Performance Arts

Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA)

Train with the next generation of artists and cultural producers. Learn in cutting-edge facilities designed for traditional, digital-studio and performance arts courses.

UBCO Print studio

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Degree

Bachelor

Length

4 years

Faculty/School

Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies

Why study Visual, Digital and Performance Arts at UBC Okanagan?

The BFA offers a perfect balance of studio work and academic study, immersing students in hands-on critical and contemporary art education, integrating creativity and research into a variety of fields such as visual arts, digital media, eco art, indigenous media arts, art history, visual culture and the digital humanities.

Students are encouraged to work in media that best suits their artistic practice: drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, sculpture, video, animation, computational arts and movement-based performance work.

The program focuses on skill development, entrepreneurial opportunity, cross-cultural understanding, and critical thinking.

Visit our FCCS Art blog showcasing some of our current student works and the studio spaces where they create their work.

Degree Options

Students can earn a BFA degree with a major or minor in visual arts, and have the option to study theatre, art history and visual culture as a minor.

The first year of the program sees students taking foundational courses in drawing, painting, sculpture, art history and digital media.

Students in their final two years work in a self-directed manner—always with the support from faculty supervisors and professors—which culminates in an exhibition of independently developed works.

Sample Courses

The Visual Arts program offers a wide variety of foundational and advanced courses. Students can learn the basics in a wide variety of different media and performance-based courses – everything from Introduction to digital media to painting, drawing, photography and acting for stage and screen.

These are examples of courses you can enrol in during your studies. View course descriptions for the current academic year. Browse visual arts courses and descriptions in the academic calendar.

VISA 102: Drawing and Two-Dimensional Art Practices I
VISA 104: Three-Dimensional Art Practices I
VISA 106: Introduction to Digital Media I
Art History 102: Art and Visual Cultures of the World II
CCS 150: Creative and Critical Art Theory I

VISA 215: Painting I
VISA 233: Screen Printing I
VISA 244 : Photography I
ARTH 203: Global Contemporary Art
VISA 266: 2D Animation

VISA 312: Advanced Practice in Painting
VISA 382: Advanced Practices in Media Arts
VISA 362: Advanced Practices in Photography
FILM 303: Narrative Film Production
CCS 320: Interdisciplinary Ecological Art

VISA 336: Advanced Practices in Printmaking
VISA 322: Advanced Practices in Sculpture
VISA 482/483 : Advanced Art Practices
Art History 3- or 400-level

Plan your academic journey by exploring the undergraduate academic planning guide designed for visual arts students.

Explore customized Program Plans designed to support your journey to graduation and beyond.

Careers and Outcomes

UBC degrees are respected by employers around the globe. Program graduates will have the skills to pursue a career in a variety of fields like,

  • Animator
  • Art administrator
  • Art director
  • Art illustrator
  • Cartoonist
  • Communications coordinator
  • Costume designer
  • Cultural events planner
  • Curatorial assistant
  • Designer
  • Exhibit designer
  • Filmmaker
  • Graphic designer
  • Performer
  • Photographer
  • Printmaker
  • Production artist
  • Product package designer
  • Proofreader
  • Researcher
  • Sculptor
  • Set designer
  • Studio art technician
  • Studio assistant
  • Tattoo artist
  • Technical illustrator
  • Textile designer
  • Theatre director/technician
  • Video editor
  • Visual merchandiser
  • Visual art consultant
  • Web designer

Your skills will be applicable to careers in public or private art galleries, theatres or museums, cultural organizations, film production, studio art practice and future graduate studies.

Admission, Fees, Applying

You could soon be studying at one of the world’s top universities. Be sure to review the content below to prepare for attending UBC Okanagan.

Portfolio Requirement

Students applying to the BFA program are required to supply a portfolio of written, visual and/or digital materials.

UBCO FINA Gallery

Experiential Learning

Expand your horizons while studying abroad, conducting meaningful research, or working in the community with your UBC colleagues.

Learn more about Co-op, Go Global, Undergraduate Research Awards and other opportunities at Experiential Education.

Art history courses, visiting artists’ presentations and participation in art exhibitions, or performances locally, nationally, internationally and in the department-run FINA Gallery also form integral parts of the curriculum.

Students can take a practicum course to organize the annual Art on the Line fundraiser, and have the opportunity to take a Go Global Street Art course, or a course in Public Art: Mural Painting.

Global and Close-Knit

At UBC Okanagan, you gain all the benefits of attending a globally ranked, top 5% university while studying in a close-knit learning community. 50% of graduates, from all across the globe, choose to stay in the region.

Discover the Okanagan

A diverse natural region with sandy beaches, beautiful farms, vineyards, orchards and snow-capped mountains, the Okanagan is an inspirational landscape perfect for those seeking leisure or outdoor adventure.

UBC's Okanagan campus borders the dynamic city of Kelowna, a hub of economic development with a population of more than 150,000 people— the fourth fastest-growing population in Canada.