Professional Certificates
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Anastasia Meadors
Program Director
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Visual Arts
View the Brochure EDP 022442
The Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Visual Arts provides a critical bridge between talent and skill. This exciting curriculum includes expert instruction and rigorous studio experience to help you take your creative ideas to the next level in a supportive atmosphere. It includes theory and critique seminars designed to develop creative and conceptual thinking; visual art history courses that integrate issues of contemporary art within a historical context; and visual arts electives chosen from a wide array of studio courses in painting, drawing, digital photography and other media. The combination of the studio practice with the conceptual and art-historical framework enables you to develop a portfolio of work for application to an M.F.A. program. All courses are approved by UC Berkeley and take place in the heart of San Francisco’s Yerba Buena arts district. This certificate can be completed a part-time or full-time basis. Join our email list to stay informed about this certificate.
Courses
The table contains the required courses for the Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Visual Arts, as well as the terms they are typically available for enrollment.
6 Required Courses, 1 Art History Elective, Minimum 6 Art Practice Electives
24 Semester Units (360 Hours of Instruction)
| Required Courses | Course Number | Units/ CEU | Classroom | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Post-Baccalaureate Seminar I: Portfolio and Visual Dynamics | X401 | 2 | Fall | |
| Post-Baccalaureate Seminar 2: Portfolio and Critique | X495 | 2 | Spring | |
| Post-Baccalaureate Seminar 3: Portfolio Development and Professional Practices | X495.1 | 2 | Summer | |
| Modern Art: History and Theory | X441 | 2 | Fall | |
| Contemporary Art: History and Theory | X442 | 2 | Spring | |
| Portfolio Review | 801 | Spring Summer |
| Electives | Course Number | Units/CEU | Classroom | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Post-Baccalaureate Mentorship | X495.5 | 1 | Fall Spring Summer |
|
| Electives (Art History) | Course Number | Units/ CEU | Classroom | ONLINE |
| Abstraction vs. Figuration: Five Decades of Modern and Contemporary Art | X446.2 | 1 | Fall | |
| New! American Art | X427 | 2 | Summer | |
| Ancient Greek Art | X400.4 | 2 | Spring | |
| Art of the Impressionists (offered future term) | X102.8 | 2 | ||
| Art of the Post-Impressionists (offered future term) | X407.1 | 2 | ||
| In Place: Recent Trends in Public Art | X420.2 | 1 | Summer | |
| Landscape Art of the Romantic Era (offered future term) | X102.5 | 2 | ||
| Roman and Etruscan Art | X400.6 | 2 | Summer | |
| Electives (Drawing) | Course Number | Units/ CEU | Classroom | ONLINE |
| Anatomy for Artists | X415.5 | 2 | Fall | |
| Advanced Anatomy for Artists (offered future term) | X415.7 | 1 | ||
| Drawing Intermediate | X406 | 2 | Fall Spring |
|
| Experimental Drawing | X433 | 2 | Fall |
|
| Exploring the Portrait and Self-Portrait | X434 | 2 | Fall Spring |
|
| Extremities: Drawing Hands and Feet | X415.6 | 1 | Fall | |
| Figure Drawing | X415 | 2 | Summer | |
| Large-Scale Drawing | X408.1 | 2 | Fall | |
| Pastel | X408 | 2 | Spring | |
| Pen and Ink Drawing | X432 | 2 | Summer | |
| Perspective Drawing for Artists (offered future term) | X406.6 | 1 | ||
| Working in Series | X413.3 | 2 | Fall Spring |
|
| Electives (Painting) | Course Number | Units/ CEU | Classroom | ONLINE |
| The Abstract in Nature | X527 | 2 | Spring | |
| Approaches to Abstraction in Painting | X412.1 | 2 | Fall | |
| Chinese Landscape Painting | X449.1 | 2 | Spring | |
| Color Theory for the Visual Arts | X403 | 2 | Fall Spring |
|
| Contemporary Realism: Painting Techniques of the Masters | X442.1 | 2 | Fall | |
| Mixed-Media Painting | X440 | 2 | Summer | |
| Painting Intermediate | X411 | 2 | Fall Spring Summer |
|
| Painting Workshop | X470 | 2 | Fall Spring |
|
| Simplifying the Complex (offered future term) | X406.9 | 1 | ||
| Watercolor Fundamentals | X414 | 2 | Spring | |
| Working in Series | X413.3 | 2 | Fall Spring |
|
| Electives (Photography AND Film) | Course Number | Units/ CEU | Classroom | ONLINE |
| The Art of Film | X20 | 3 | Fall Spring Summer |
|
| Digital Filmmaking Fundamentals | X415.1 | 2 | Spring | |
| New! Digital Filmmaking Intermediate | X415.2 | 2 | Summer | |
| Digital Photography in Practice and in Context | X405.7 | 2 | Summer | |
| Digital Photography Intermediate | X405.2 | 2 | Fall Spring |
|
| Digital Photography Advanced | X405.6 | 2 | Summer | |
| History of Photography: A Dynamic Study and Practice | X405.8 | 2 | Spring | |
| Multimedia Storytelling | X416.1 | 2 | Spring | |
| Photography Workshop | X406.1 | 2 | Summer | |
| Electives (Other Media) | Course Number | Units/ CEU | Classroom | ONLINE |
| Monoprinting Fundamentals | X417.1 | 2 | Fall | |
| Monoprinting Intermediate | X417.2 | 2 | Spring | |
| New! Play as a Subversive Strategy | X433.1 | 2 | Summer | |
| New! Printmaking and Street Art as Activist Art Tools | X417.3 | 2 | Summer |
Course availability is subject to change.
To enroll, click on a course title above and choose a section.
You may enroll in individual courses without registering for the Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Visual Arts.
Who Will Benefit
This certificate is ideal if you are an intermediate to advanced practicing artist with an undergraduate degree (in any major) and a desire to apply to an M.F.A. program or pursue a career in the arts.
Prerequisites for Admission
A bachelor's degree is required for the Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Visual Arts and completion of a specialized program of study in painting, drawing, digital photography or equivalent, as determined by the program director. Note: The revised prerequisites apply to new students registering for this professional certificate on or after Jan. 1, 2011.
Curriculum Requirements
The curriculum comprises a minimum of 12 courses and a final portfolio review for a total of 24 semester units (360 hours of instruction), including 6 required courses (10 semester units), 1 art history elective (2 semester units) and a minimum of 6 art practice electives (12 semester units). Candidates must pay a nonrefundable certificate application fee.
The curriculum includes theory and critique seminars designed to develop creative and conceptual thinking; visual art history courses that integrate issues of contemporary art within a historical context; and visual arts electives chosen from a wide array of studio courses in painting, drawing, digital photography and other media.
All coursework must be completed within five years of registering for the certificate. However, requirements may be updated based on new developments in the field of study; we recommend completing the curriculum in a timely fashion. For more information, please see the completion requirements and the substitutions, waivers and transfer credit policies.
How to Register for This Professional Certificate
By registering, you declare your intention to complete the curriculum. To register for the Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Visual Arts, submit the online registration form with your credit card information or complete the mail-in registration form. The registration fee is nonrefundable.
Send an official transcript of your bachelor's degree to:
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Visual Arts
UC Berkeley Extension
1995 University Ave., Suite 110
Berkeley, CA 94704-7000
Estimated Cost
Each course is priced individually, and you pay the course fee at the time of enrollment. The certificate has an estimated total cost of $5,800 (not including course materials or registration fee). Course fees are subject to change.
Contact Information
To contact the department office, email visualarts@unex.berkeley.edu or call (415) 284-1041.
Advisory Board
Susanne Cockrell
Associate Professor, Fine Arts, Interdisciplinary Studies, Community Arts and First-Year Program
California College of the Arts
Richard Kamler
Associate Professor, Department of Art and Architecture
University of San Francisco
Carrie Lederer
Curator of Exhibitions and Programs
Bedford Gallery at Lesher Center for the Arts
Ted Purves
Assistant Professor and Chair, Fine Arts Department
California College of the Arts
George Rivera
Executive Director and Senior Curator
Triton Museum of Art
Richard Shaw
Professor, Department of Art Practice
UC Berkeley
Mark Van Proyen
Associate Professor and Chair, Painting Department
San Francisco Art Institute
Lewis Watts
Associate Professor, Department of Art
UC Santa Cruz
Dominic Willsdon
The Leanne and George Roberts Curator of Education and Public Programs
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
