Studio Arts

Effective: Fall 2022
Associate in Arts for Transfer Program Map
🖶 Printer Friendly Report

This program map from the 2024-2025 catalog year represents one possible pathway to complete this program. Your pathway may vary depending on your transfer plans and also previous college credit, including AP Test scores, concurrent enrollment courses and high school articulated courses.

I'm ready to get started. What do I do next?

  1. Review this program map to get an overview of the required courses
  2. Meet with a counselor to develop your customized student education plan www.chabotcollege.edu/counseling
  3. Use DegreeWorks, an online student education planning tool, to track your progress toward graduation www.chabotcollege.edu / admissions / degreeworks
Program Description

The Studio Arts AA-T program offers a strong introduction to the core principles of creating fine art and is designed for the student artist interested in transferring to a four-year Studio Art program at a CSU campus. Courses are offered in painting, drawing, ceramics, sculpture, photography, art history and digital technology.


What can I do with this major?

Sample Dream Future:

  • professional artist
  • illustrator
  • layout artist
  • graphic designer
  • animator
  • 3D motion graphics for advertising
  • art director
  • art critic
  • art educator
  • art therapist
  • gallery and museum curator
  • gallery assistant
  • art restorer.

CSU Bachelor's Degree transfer opportunities:

  • Studio Arts
  • Education
  • Art History
  • Photography
  • Digital Arts and Multimedia
  • Graphic Design
  • Arts Technology.

Learning and Career Pathway
  • Arts and Design

Icon Key

= Critical Course = Prerequisite for Other Courses = Prerequisite Required = Required for Major GE = General Education

Semester 1

13-14 units

ART 2A
Introduction to Drawing

3 units
This course provides direct experience in exploring basic drawing concepts, including the expressive use of contour, value, perspective and composition while using a variety of media. Assigned projects may include still life, landscape, portraiture and figure. Focus on perceptually based drawing, observational skills, technical abilities, and creative responses to materials and subject matter.
Course Details:
  • Transfers to CSU

    • ART 24
    3-D Foundations

    3 units
    Introduction to the concepts, applications, and historical references related to three-dimensional design and spatial composition, including the study of the elements and organizing principles of design as they apply to three-dimensional space and form. Development of a visual vocabulary for creative expression through lecture presentations and use of appropriate materials for three-dimensional studio projects.

    English 1- Critical Reading and Composition

    4 units
    GE

    Math Course for General Education: see a counselor to choose the appropriate course. MTH 47 recommended

    3-4 units
    GE

    Semester 2

    16 units

    ART 23
    2-D Foundations

    3 units
    Introduction to the concepts, applications, and historical/multicultural references related to two-dimensional art and composition, including the study and analysis of the basic principles and elements of line, shape, texture, value, color and spatial illusion. Development of a visual vocabulary for creative expression through lecture presentations, studio projects, problem solving and written assignments. (May not receive credit if ART 10 has been completed)

    List B Course #1 (Art Studio Elective)

    3 units
    Choose one course from List B below
    See the full list: (Click here)

    List A Course (Art History Elective)

    3 units
    Choose one course from List A below
    See the full list: (Click here)

    General Education Course- see a counselor to choose the appropriate general education pattern and general ed course option for this term.

    4 units
    GE

    General Education Course- see a counselor to choose the appropriate general education pattern and general ed course option for this term.

    3 units
    GE

    Semester 3

    16 units

    List B Course #2 (Art Studio Elective)

    3 units
    Choose one course from List B below.
    See the full list: (Click here)

    ARTH 5
    Art History - Renaissance to Modern-Day

    3 units
    History of Western art covering Early Renaissance, High Renaissance, Mannerism, Baroque, Neoclassicism, Romanticism, Realism, Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Modernism and Contemporary developments. (Formerly ART 5; may not receive credit if ART 5 has been completed.)

    General Education Course- see a counselor to choose the appropriate general education pattern and general ed course option for this term.

    3 units
    GE

    General Education Course- see a counselor to choose the appropriate general education pattern and general ed course option for this term.

    3 units
    GE

    General Education Course- see a counselor to choose the appropriate general education pattern and general ed course option for this term.

    4 units
    GE

    Semester 4

    15 units

    List B Course #3 (Art Studio Elective)

    3 units
    Choose one course from List B below.
    See the full list: (Click here)

    General Education Course- see a counselor to choose the appropriate general education pattern and general ed course option for this term.

    3 units
    GE

    General Education Course- see a counselor to choose the appropriate general education pattern and general ed course option for this term.

    3 units
    GE

    General Education Course- see a counselor to choose the appropriate general education pattern and general ed course option for this term.

    3 units
    GE

    General Education Course- see a counselor to choose the appropriate general education pattern and general ed course option for this term.

    3 units
    GE

    List A

    Art History Electives (choose 3 units from list below)

    ARTH 4
    Art History-Ancient to Gothic

    3 units
    History of Western art from prehistoric times through Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Aegean, Greek, Etruscan, Roman, Early Christian, Byzantine, Medieval, Romanesque and Gothic civilizations. (Formerly ART 4; may not receive credit if ART 4 has been completed.)

    ARTH 6
    Art History - Twentieth- and Twenty-First Century Art

    3 units
    History of significant Modern, Postmodern and Contemporary art movements. Lectures include discussions of works made in various media by well-known and lesser-known makers, including women artists, non-western artists, and artists of color.

    ARTH 8
    Art History - A Global Perspective

    3 units
    This course offers an overview of the rich visual cultures of Africa, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas. Our focus is on perspectives, philosophies, and aesthetics developed before and/or outside the European tradition, thereby providing students visual and intellectual lessons from civilizations with distinctive and exceptional non-white worldviews. Each unit of study addresses a non-Western civilization’s visual cultures and the aesthetics associated with that civilization’s periods/kingdoms, religions, and favored art types. This course is especially appropriate for visual learners.
    Course Details:

    List B

    Art Studio courses (choose 9 units from the list below)

    ART 2B
    Drawing and Composition

    3 units
    Development of knowledge and skills introduced in Art 2A, emphasizing exploration of artistic concepts, styles, and creative expression related to intermediate-level drawing, focusing on complex subject matter and concepts using a variety of drawing mediums, techniques, and methodologies. Students in this course will build on fundamental drawing skills to develop personalized approaches to content and materials in exercises covering multiple historical and contemporary approaches to drawing.
    Course Details:
    1. Prerequisite: ART 2A
  • Transfers to CSU

    • ART 3A
    Figure and Composition I

    3 units
    Fundamental skills, techniques and knowledge of art related to drawing of the human form using graphite, charcoal, ink, and conte crayon. Compare figurative compositions using the human form through design, master paintings, verbal and written descriptions, and critiques. Awareness of the creative process as it applies to anatomical analysis by class drawings, anatomy assignments, and figurative compositions which require the student to explore drawing techniques, compose, and evaluate drawings. Open to any student, no drawing experience required.

    ART 3B
    Figure and Composition II

    3 units
    Continued development of knowledge and skills introduced in Art 3A. Emphasis on composition and color and different figurative design elements during the drawing of the human form.

    ART 25
    Color Theory

    3 units
    A study of the principles, theories, and applications of additive and subtractive color in two dimensions. Topics will include major historical and contemporary color systems, production of projects in applied color, and the elements of design as they apply to color.

    ART 7A
    Introduction to Watercolor Painting

    3 units
    The student will learn materials, methods, techniques and watch demonstrations of transparent watercolor painting, including its effects and possibilities. The student will work with the instructor to maximize watercolor painting skills during class and at home.
    Course Details:
    1. Strongly Recommended: ART 2A
  • Transfers to CSU

    • ART 7B
    Intermediate Watercolor Painting

    3 units
    Continued development of knowledge and techniques introduced in Art 7A. Emphasis on various intermediate watercolor techniques that produce different types of watercolor paintings that advance the student’s skills.

    ART 12A
    Beginning Oil Painting

    3 units
    Projects in oil painting with an emphasis on fundamental painting techniques and approaches.

    ART 12B
    Intermediate Oil Painting

    3 units
    Advanced projects in oil painting with an emphasis on individual creative work and development of personal ideas and style.

    ART 13A
    Acrylic Painting - Beginning I

    3 units
    Projects in acrylic painting with an emphasis on fundamental painting techniques and approaches.

    ART 16A
    Introduction to Ceramics I

    3 units
    Instruction in the fundamental techniques of wheel-thrown and hand-constructed clay forms. Survey of clay and glaze materials and reaction to fire will be included. Methods of decorating using glazes will be introduced. Influence of Eastern and Western contemporary and historical works and the students' creations. Formulate personal creative process, including inspiration, experimentation, and evaluation. Designed for art majors as well as general education students.

    ART 16B
    Introduction to Ceramics II

    3 units
    Further development of the technical skills of wheel thrown and hand constructed clay forms. Exploration of surface decoration, using various glazing techniques and methods of slip decoration is continued. Designed for art majors as well as non-majors
    Course Details:
    1. Prerequisite: ART 16A

    ART 17A
    Beginning Sculpture 1

    3 units
    Construction methods in clay through design of three-dimensional and relief sculptures. Includes an introduction to ceramic art history and fundamentals of ceramic glaze and firing technology. Elements and principles of three-dimensional design are emphasized in oral and written critiques. This course is designed for art majors as well as general education students.

    ART 18A
    Wood and Stone Sculpture I

    3 units
    Design and carve Bas-relief sculptures, using subtractive methods in wood and stone. Examines examples from modern and cross-cultural wood and stone art forms. Includes fundamentals of pneumatic (air power) technology. Elements and principles of three-dimensional design are emphasized in oral and written critiques. Designed for art majors as well as general education students.
    Course Details:

    ART 20
    All Media Sculpture

    3 units
    Concentrated individual studies in sculpture, designed to provide opportunity for continued investigation in the possibilities of a particular sculptural medium for the purpose of creating individual expression.

    ART 61
    Illustration

    3 units
    Creation and execution of conceptual ideas in illustration. Includes a variety of mediums and contemporary application styles. Emphasis on skills in traditional draftsmanship, craftsmanship and presentation.
    Course Details:

    Digital Art

    3 units

    DIGM 1
    Introduction to Digital Art

    3 units
    Introduction to fundamental concepts, practices, and theories of digital art production. Topics include integration of traditional design, color, and compositional principles with contemporary digital tools.
    Course Details:
    or

    DIGM 4A
    Digital Illustration

    3 units
    Introduction to the principles of illustration using digital tools. Through lectures, demos and assignments students are exposed to and practice digital illustration skills for design, editorial, and animation. Emphasis is placed on the use of vector-based tools for artistic drawing and graphic design. Students explore the relationship of digital illustration with the field of Graphic Design, Animation and Fine Art.
    Course Details:
    1. Strongly Recommended: ART 2A

    DIGM 2
    Introduction to Graphic Design

    3 units
    Introduction to the essential visual elements of graphic design. Exploration of the principles, concepts, and protocols used for effective visual communication. Cultivation of the designer’s creative process and problem-solving skills. Emphasis on strong conceptual development and solid craftsmanship through design execution. Projects explore creative development of graphic design ideas from start to finish.
    Course Details:

    DIGM 10A
    Introduction to Animation

    3 units
    The history and evolution of technical aspects of animation are examined. Students explore animation principles using analog media, including, phonotropes, stop motion animation, claymation and flip books. Digital aspects of animation are also explored to create short mini animated sequences.
    Course Details:
    1. Strongly Recommended: DIGM 11

    PHOT 1A
    Digital Photography I

    3 units
    Introduction to the processes, principles, and tools of digital photography. Course provides an overview of digital camera functions for automatic and manual exposure, image creation and capture, file management, and image editing. Students may use any appropriate digital camera including; DSLR, mirrorless, point & shoot or smartphone. Topics include the development of technical and aesthetic skills, elements of design and composition, camera technology, materials and equipment, and contemporary trends in digital photography. May not receive credit if PHOT 50 has been completed successfully.
    Course Details:
  • Transfers to CSU
    • Total Units: 60-61 units
    This program map is not a guarantee of course availability or financial aid applicability.