All transfer students interested in art who are admitted to attend the University must pass a portfolio review prior to attending UCSC. See section on "Portfolio Review". A list of names and addresses of students indicating an interest in majoring in art is sent to the Art Department by Admissions. In turn, the Art Department sends out information about the portfolio review and an art major application to those identified students.
Junior transfers should take the following steps:
1) Apply to UCSC in November through the general admissions office for the following Fall quarter. Make sure you indicate you want to be an art major on your application. If you fail to do this, the subsequent steps will not take place.
2) If you indicated you want to be an art major on your application, then the admissions office will contact the art department in late February, early March, with a list of art students applying to UCSC. We will then send you a portfolio review application and information on applying to the art major. Please make sure the address on your UC application is where you want your portfolio application sent to.
3) Submit the art portfolio application by the deadline indicated on the application--usually early April.
Before attending UCSC (if accepted), students must have completed a minimum of three lower division studio art courses that are comparable to the UCSC Art Department lower division courses.* Transfer students who pass the portfolio review will be changed to "Art" as their major so that they can enroll via the WEB during Orientation in the summer. Those who do not pass the review, but are accepted to the University and plan to attend in fall quarter, will stay as Proposed Art and must add art classes on the first day of class if they decide to enroll at UCSC. (See section on "Getting Into Art Classes.") These students must pass the portfolio review in Winter quarter or must choose another major to complete.
You must formally declare your major after passing the Portfolio Review. First, meet with your college advisor who will prepare the Declaration of Major Form. Then take this form to Jude Pipes who will list all the courses you will need to take to graduate. You must do this in your first quarter of attendance at UCSC.
*Acceptance to UCSC does not guarantee admission to the Art Program, nor does passing the portfolio review guarantee that UCSC will accept you to the University.
Transfer Equivalency Credit
The Admissions Office evaluates all work completed at other institutions and issues Advanced Standing Credit for each transfer student. Occasionally this information is inadequate, and equivalency to art classes taught at UCSC cannot be established. In that case, an art major may meet with an Art Department faculty member to petition to have her/his work from the other institution fill an art major requirement.
The student should take a petition form (available at the Art Department office), along with the course description (including media, subject matter, syllabus, field trips, and any other pertinent information) transcripts, and the work (portfolio and papers) which s/he completed in the course to her/his appointment with the faculty member.
If the faculty member signs the petition, then the student returns the signed petition to the Art Department Adviser who will note this on the student's academic record.
Please Note: Substitutions are limited to a maximum of 3 courses total in the student's program of study (including EAP courses, courses from other UCSC departments and from other Universities/Colleges) and must have received a grade of "B" or higher. Students should plan carefully when using this option.
Getting into Studio and Art Seminar Classes
Art classes are very small (average 20 students) compared to courses from other departments on campus that can accommodate large numbers of students. No matter what the demand, our budget will only allow us a limited number of classes.
To get into a restricted studio art class, you will need to attend the first day of class to see if any spaces are available. If there are open spaces, the instructor will issue permission numbers that can be used to enroll the day after the first class meeting. It is imperative that if you want to add a class, or stay in a class that you have enrolled in, you must be at the first class meeting. If you miss the first class meeting, you will be dropped from the class or it will be full and you won't be able to add.
History of Art & Visual Culture and Art Seminar Classes
If you are having difficulty getting into studio art classes, you can try to enroll for an History of Art and Visual Culture, if you haven't taken a comparable course at your community college. Two History of Art and Visual Culture classes (one with a Western focus, one with a non-Western focus) are required for the art major. You may also substitute appropriate upper division HAVC classes for the lower division requirements, or may enroll in an Art Seminar class being offered. You may use only one HAVC course numbered in the "80s" to fulfill the lower division History of Art and Visual Culture requirement.
General Education Requirements (G.E.'s)
You may not be able to get into any studio art classes your first quarter. If you have general education requirements to complete, you can enroll in them your first quarter at UCSC.
Art is very desirable to many, many students -- not just art majors. That is why they are only accessible to students who are serious about studying art. Without the restrictions, art majors would not be able to complete their education in the time allowed by the University.
