Information for Frosh

Frosh interested in the Art major

First-year students interested in the Art major do not need prior art experience or coursework to pursue the major. A portfolio is not required for admission. When submitting the UC application, students can indicate Art as a major and will be admitted as proposed art majors. 

Frosh interested in pursuing an art major should enroll in Art foundation courses (Art 10_) during their first year. Students are required to pass two foundation courses in order to be eligible to declare the art major.  However, all three foundation courses (10D, 10E, 10F) are requirements for the major. Delaying taking these classes until the sophomore year may delay a student’s graduation.

Students should contact the Undergraduate Art Advisor artadvisor@ucsc.edu if they are interested in pursuing an art major and should meet with the advisor in their first quarter at UC Santa Cruz if they intend to enroll in art courses their frosh year.

Getting into classes

Studio art classes are very small (average 25 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. Frosh may not take any lower division studios until they complete all three of the Art 10 series foundation courses, at which time they will be declared an Art Major and begin enrolling in lower division studios.

To get into a studio art class, if you were not able to pre-enroll get on the wait list (making sure the desired class doesn’t have a time conflict with currently enrolled classes), 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 codes 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 may be dropped from the class or it will fill and you won’t be able to add.

Getting into classes

If you are not able to get into a foundation or studio course in a particular quarter at UCSC, you can enroll in courses that fulfill GE requirements. You should balance major requirements and general education requirements throughout your career at UCSC and not focus completely on your GEs in your frosh or sophomore years, as this could delay your graduation. 

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.

For more information

Contact the Art Department undergraduate advisor
Email: artadvisor@ucsc.edu