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Degrees & Programs

School of Visual Arts
The School of Visual Arts is a national institute for art education established to foster professional artists capable of meeting the needs of the rapidly changing social, political and cultural environment of the 21st Century. For this, the School works to implement advanced and futuristic pathways in art education. As Korea’s only college of fine arts to embrace all the fields of visual arts, including plastic arts, design, architecture and artistic theory, the School of Visual Arts breaks with tradition to set a new model for art education grounded in creative, enterprising and integrated thinking, rather than individual genres or media.
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This innovative approach underpins all aspects of academic life at the School of Visual Arts, including improvements in the admission system, the constantly developing curriculum, the world-class education facilities and faculty, the close interaction and outreach to schools and departments, and practical education using internal and external exhibition facilities. In the twenty years since it was founded, it has succeeded in distinguishing itself amid the academic landscape for its innovation, breadth of approach and commitment to contemporary artistic practice, as evidenced by the impressive careers of its countless graduates.
  • Curriculum List of Curriculum
    All new students in the School of Visual Arts must take the Foundation courses, which are common courses required regardless of major. Students in all the departments, including Fine Arts and Design in which they produce actual works as well as Architecture and Art Theory in which they learn the studies of art, are paving the way for their studies in art by taking the four Foundation courses, such as Drawing, Observation & Two Dimensional Space, Object & Space, and Four Dimensional Space.

    Foundation Courses : Foundation courses are those that are equivalent to the foundation curriculum of an art college. Focused on conceptual, novel and creative learning paths in the arts, these courses are designed to be the doorway to further reflection on aspects of art education. In seeking to understand the value of the arts and create ideal forms of education, the Foundation courses focus on maintaining a well-balanced harmony of theory and practice.

    Expansion of Visual Language Vocabulary and Experience of Visual Expression : The four Foundation courses – Drawing, Observation & Two Dimensional Space, Object & Space, and Four Dimensional Space – in the first semester literally provide the ‘foundation’ for students to go on to build their career as artists in the future. Since most courses other than Drawing 1, which is focused on drawing models, are dedicated to presentations, discussions and critical perspectives, students are required to produce their own artworks after class. This approach enables the students to develop their ability to perceive their works while also building time management skills, a requisite for a successful artistic career.

    Expansion of Thinking : Drawing, Creative Process, and Three & Four Dimensional Concepts are three courses provided for the second semester that help students expand their thinking. Students learn how to question established complexities and, ultimately, how to seek solutions for themselves. The evaluation criteria focus primarily on the extent of the experience they have gained, rather than on visual outcomes like techniques, compositions or finishing touches. For this reason, students are able to play with what’s possible and explore the limits of artistic representation to build up a foundation for long-lasting originality.
  • Department

    Fine Arts

    The Department of Fine Arts aims to train enterprising artists capable of leading the future world of art by actively addressing the challenges of contemporary visual culture with the modern day competencies demanded of artists. Students learn the ability to manage various media and techniques, such as painting, sculpture, new media, ceramics and glass, beyond the boundaries of conventional artistic genres. Moreover, students can pursue the image of experimental and enterprising artists who broaden the scope of new possibilities of art based on insights and a clear awareness of social and cultural issues and trends.

    Fostering the Ability to Actively Respond to the Contemporary Art Trend of Hybrid and Post-Genre — Students study the materials and techniques used in various media through a curriculum that emphasizes open-mindedness, experimental spirit and liberal mind. In addition to a thorough grounding in general art education through exploring the depth of emotions as captured in specific media, the curriculum uniquely focuses on effective communication through discussions and presentations.
    Avoiding Standardization by Specific Ideologies or Trends — Students are encouraged to create their own creative and unique worlds of art by flexibly embracing multiple trends found in contemporary art, as well as exploring the motivations present in other artistic genres.
    Implementing a Practical Form of Theoretical Education — By incorporating the display of artworks within practical education that had previously focused solely on creation, students can actively explore the issues of artistic acceptance and reception, as well as the issues of exhibition space and audience.
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    Design

    The Department of Design is founded on the conviction that “the cultural industry can never blossom without strengthening its cultural roots and foundation”. It regards the key role of design as framing new values and culture to coincide with the constantly changing living environment. Its purpose is to foster train specialists to explore contemporary design issues in a more fundamental and conceptual way for innovation that’s both meaningful and impactful.

    Educating Design Leaders — Focusing on its majors in Interaction Design, Communication Design, Product Design and Transportation Design, the curriculum provides integrated education that acknowledges individual distinctiveness, explores future-oriented alternatives, and seeks to maximize the impact of outstanding individuals through collaboration and interaction.
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    Architecture

    The Department of Architecture trains architects to have architectural design capabilities in interior, landscape, environment, complex and urban design to embrace contemporary living environments, while also satisfying the traditional focus on building design skills. The Department of Architecture in K-Arts is situated within the School of Art, rather than the School of Engineering, a feature which distinguishes from all other such departments in Korea. This important feature shows the emphasis taken here on the creative aspects of architecture alongside the engineering part, as evidenced by the media studio courses that have been launched. This two-fold approach helps the Department enable students to constantly experiment and explore new ways of expression and thinking about architecture.

    Five-year Curriculum of Architectural Studies — The Department offers a five-year curriculum of architectural studies focusing on theoretical design and practical theory under its two main goals of studying architectural design and theories. This approach emphasizes the essence of unique design education, grounded in the certification standard of the Royal Institutes of British Architects (RIBA). Furthermore, the Department is currently targeting accreditation from KAAB (Korea Architectural Accrediting Board) by 2015 for the degree courses of the Department of Architecture. This accreditation would allow students to become ‘registered architects’ to be able to go onto a career as an architect in Korea upon graduation.
    In-depth and Intensive Education — The various design studio courses on offer here each year provide a level of depth and intensity not found in similar courses elsewhere, while also offering theoretical courses attended by the optimal number of students. The faculty goes with students of all years on architectural field trips within Korea and to other countries in the spring and autumn. These fieldtrips enable the attendees to broaden their perspective on architecture and reinforce the fellowship among members of the Department.
    Graduation shows and yearend exhibitions are held at the end of the year, providing an opportunity for students to showcase the skills they have built up during the year. Students have the chance to explore themes that are difficult to be examined during the semester through workshops held over the vacation period, which are also open to the public.
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    Art Theory

    The Department of Art Theory was established to train specialists in ways to objectively analyze all kinds of visual culture through in-depth experience. Students in this Department study the general concepts underlying the arts, with discussions on contemporary aesthetics and thorough examination of Eastern, Western and Korean art history. This approach enables students to develop a “critical eye” with which to legitimately and properly assess the art of the past and the present and, furthermore, to clarify the social and cultural meaning of art.

    Thorough Education of Majors — The undergraduate program provides a thorough education of majors that starts from the freshman year in order to foster practitioners adept at theoretical specialization. Freshmen and sophomores learn foreign language skills, master the basics of humanities and acquire an understanding of the foundations of art history, while juniors and seniors learn about the various forms of contemporary art, new art theories and research methodologies. Students can form individual, yet creative visions by learning substantial things in art museums, practical explorations, or by participating in intensive discussion courses. Moreover, cooperation with other schools enables students to maintain a sense of realism by attending courses in formative practice and criticism, skills needed by theorists. Students also go on field trips every semester to check on the things they have learned in class.
    What’s more, students are able to gain a broad perspective through the many opportunities they have to encounter various genres and theories of art from the six schools. The graduate program provides a more intensive knowledge base than the undergraduate program. It provides a curriculum that blurs the lines between specialized training in Eastern and Western art theories and current practice within the art world.
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