BFA,
Interdisciplinary Arts
In 2007, NSCAD University became the first university in North America to offer an interdisciplinary arts degree-granting program. The Bachelor of Fine Arts, Major in Interdisciplinary Arts program offers students the opportunity to explore a variety of media and practices in the areas of fine arts, media arts, craft and design. This program enables you to tailor your studies to your individual interests as an artist. Students will develop a range of skills, knowledge and techniques that foster cross-disciplinary ways of working. As you engage in the critical discourses of your chosen disciplines, you will gain an understanding of diverse practices and approaches, historical and contemporary issues, and the relationship between conceptual concerns, material and process.
Division: Art History and Contemporary Culture/Craft/Design/Fine Arts/Media Arts/Foundation
Degree: Bachelor of Fine Arts
Program: Major in Interdisciplinary Arts
Program Length: 4 years (see Degree Requirements)
Campus: Fountain Campus
Admission Deadline: March 1 for September; October 1 for January
Graduates of NSCAD’s interdisciplinary program become successful studio artists and craftspeople, entrepreneurs, gallery and museum administrators, designers, illustrators, community educators and arts writers. Many go on to study at the graduate level and become critics, curators, architects, museum and gallery archivists and college/university professors.
What Our Interdisciplinary Arts Students Can Expect
– Extensive facilities for media, crafts and fine art. Students have access to a gang darkroom and individual film processing cubicles, as well as a suite of computers available for digital photographic work, state-of-the-art kilns, a multitude of painting and drawing studios and all of the other facilities that NSCAD has to offer. Technical staff are available to assist with equipment booking and inquiries.
– A faculty of accomplished artists, scholars, educators and leaders in their craft.
– Training across multiple platforms: print, products, digital, social media, experiential and more.
Featured Courses
The Memory Palace at
5163 Duke Street
The Memory Palace at 5163 Duke Street: The “Memory Palace” is a technique for recalling information. It relies on spatial experience, visualization, storytelling and other modes of expression. In this course, the NSCAD campus at 5163 Duke Street will be the Memory Palace, the subject of interdisciplinary creative research and art making about the site itself.
Interdisciplinary: Language Into Art
Interdisciplinary: Language Into Art: This studio class explores the conceptual skills involved in the use of language in the making and meaning of images, objects and actions. Students will examine contemporary art practices and critical and theoretical writing, and will work across media on studio projects.
Investigating Identity Based Art
Investigating Identity Based Art: This course will explore the practice and history of identity-based art making from the 20th century to present. It will touch upon the long history of artists and activist practice of creation through identity exploration. It will traverse topics such as community-based practices, tools of self-preservation while artistically exploring identity, how to navigate challenging critiques and art as political action. Producing personal identity-based art is not mandatory for this class and will not be expected at any point in the course. This course will take form in seminar, workshop, studio assignments and class discussion.
Interdisciplinary: Media Landscapes
This studio class focuses on popular culture, social contexts and issues of identity in art-making. Students will examine contemporary art practices, and critical and theoretical writing, and will work across media on studio projects.
Please visit the Academic Calendar for a description of all courses available during your undergraduate studies.
