The Department of Visual Arts offers four programs that respond to a variety of student's interests and needs: a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA), a Major in Visual Arts, as well as a Major and a Minor in History and Theory of Art. Students can also integrate their studies in the Visual Arts with the Arts Administration programs offered by the Faculty of Arts.

The four-year Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) and the Major in Visual Arts are geared to original forms of expression associated with artistic production in the new millennium. While maintaining the traditional disciplines (drawing, painting, sculpture and photography), the Department also extends its teaching to new technologies (media arts). These programs are composed of practical (studio) and theoretical courses (in the History and Theory of Art) that encourage both creation and reflection on the Visual Arts.

The Major and the Minor in History and Theory of Art provide students with a solid grounding in the history of art, with a specific focus on contemporary art practices, and makes them keenly aware of current debates and practices in arts production, arts writing and the diffusion of art. Students learn not only how to analyze works of art, but also to understand and interpret them in relation to their broadest aesthetic, historical and cultural context. They also gain skills of critical analysis, thorough research and effective writing.

These programs that advance the practice and academic study of visual arts aim at the following objective:

- To awaken and stimulate creative and intellectual abilities;
- To give the basic theoretical and practical tools needed for the understanding and practice of art;
- To strengthen the sense of perception and critical judgment through theoretical discourse and studio experience;
- To examine works of art in their historical contexts as expressions of the individual and society;
- To expand the scope of the knowledge in closely related disciplines.

The Department of Visual Arts offers the above programs to the two linguistic groups. In Theory and History of Art, students choose courses in French or English. Studio courses after the first year are given bilingually. This approach encourages a creative exchange between the two linguistic and cultural traditions.

The Department of Visual Arts is responsible for courses with codes beginning in ART and AMT.

Art and Archaeology Slide Library :
The Department of Visual Arts and the Department of Classics and Religious Studies, together with the University's Media Library have established a collection of over 200,000 slides and digital images. This collection covers the great periods of the history of art from prehistory to the present time. Over 35,000 of these slides document Greek and Roman Antiquity as well as archaeology. Located at Morisset Library Hall, room 128, the slide library welcomes students as well as professors and serves as a resource centre for studies, research and teaching.
(Information: (613) 562-5800, ext. 3720).