Fine Arts

Art Education

A.A. Degree • Suggested Curriculum

To teach art in Illinois public schools, teachers must be certified by the State of Illinois. To transfer into an approved baccalaureate program in art education as a junior, students must complete a minimum of 60 semester credits. Since admission is competitive, completion of the courses recommended below does not guarantee admission. Community and junior college students are strongly encouraged to complete an Associate in Arts degree prior to transfer. Students should be aware that a minimum grade point average of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale is required for program admission, and passage of a basic skills (reading, writing, grammar, and math) test also is required.

I. General Education Core (38)

Area A: Communication (9 credits)

ENG 101 [C1 900] Composition I - with a grade of C or better (3)
ENG 102 [C1 901R] Composition II - with a grade of C or better (3)
COMM 101 [C2 900] Principles of Communication (3)

Area B: Humanities and Fine Arts (9 credits)

Select three courses from the list for Area B on pages 50-52 with at least one course selected from humanities and one course from fine arts.

ART 121 [F2 901] History of Western Art I (3)
ART 122 [F2 902] History of Western Art II (3)
ENG (200 Level) Select any Literature Course (3) OR
HUMAN 101 [H5 904N] Comparative Religions (3)

Area C: Mathematics (3 credits)

Select one math course from:
MATH 112 [M1 904] General Education Mathematics (3)
MATH 115 [M1 902] General Education Statistics (3)

Area D: Physical and Life Sciences (8 credits)

Select one life science course and one physical science course from the list for Area D on pages 50-52. One course must have a lab component.

Area E: Social and Behavioral Sciences (9 credits)

HIST 201 [S2 900] U.S. History: 1492 to 1877 (3) OR
HIST 202 [S2 901] U.S. History: 1877 to Present (3)
POLSC 140 [S5 900] Introduction to U.S. Government & Politics (3)
PSYCH 101 [S6 900] Introduction to Psychology (3)

II. Area of Concentration/Major Field (15-21)

Art Core Courses (12 credits)
ART 101 [ART 907] Two Dimensional Design (3)
ART 102 [ART 908] Three Dimensional Design (3)
ART 104 [ART 904] Drawing I (3)
ART 106 [ART 905] Drawing II (3)
Media-Specific Studio Art Course (3-9 credits)
Select at least one studio art course from the following:
ART 109 Ceramics (3)
ART 162 [ART 906] Life Drawing (3)
ART 201 [ART 911] Painting I (3)
ART 205 [ART 914] Printmaking (3)
GC 151 [ART 918] Principles of Graphic Design (3)
PHOTO 171 [ART 917] Introduction to Black & White Photography (3)

III. Electives (3-9)

Select from the following teacher education electives.
Additional non-Western course from: ART 131, ED 100, 101, 160, 212,
GEOG 101, HUMAN 101, or HIST 115, 116, 140 (3)

Required A.A. Degree Program Total: 62 credits

SPECIAL NOTE: Before enrolling in any additional courses with an "ECED," "ED" or "EDU" prefix at Prairie State College, consult a PSC counselor or advisor to determine the transferability of these courses.