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  • Berkeley Global

Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Visual Arts

360.00 Hours Required

Jennifer Lugris was accepted into UC Santa Barbara's M.F.A. program, "Thanks to Extension."

Jennifer Lugris

Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Visual Arts

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; art history courses that integrate issues of contemporary art within a historical context; and elective studio courses in painting, drawing, digital photography and other media. The focus on studio practice with a conceptual and art-historical framework enables you to develop a portfolio of work for application to a Master of Fine Arts program. All courses are approved by UC Berkeley and take place in San Francisco. This certificate can be completed on a part-time or full-time basis.

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Live Online format allows you to take classes from anywhere with an internet connection. Classroom sections will be taught in this format through Spring 2021. Learn more about this format.

Beginning August 15, 2020, you must have a Zoom account to participate.

Many schools are now accepting transfer credit for online coursework, including health and sciences programs. Check with your institution before enrolling.

Application

Name
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Visual Arts Application

Courses

Required Courses

Expand or collapse Required Courses
Minimum Required

7 Course(s)

Maximum Allowed

360 Course(s)

  • HISTART X441 Modern Art: History and Theory
    Units / CEUs

    2

    Status

    Not Available

  • HISTART X442 Contemporary Art: History and Theory
    Units / CEUs

    2

    Delivery Options

    Online

    Status

    Available

  • ART X401 Post-Baccalaureate Seminar 1: Portfolio and Visual Dynamics
    Units / CEUs

    2

    Status

    Not Available

  • ART X495 Post-Baccalaureate Seminar 2: Portfolio and Critique
    Units / CEUs

    2

    Delivery Options

    Online

    Status

    Available

  • ART X495.1 Post-Baccalaureate Seminar 3: Portfolio and Professional Practices
    Units / CEUs

    2

    Delivery Options

    Online

    Status

    Available

  • ART X495.5 Post-Baccalaureate Mentorship
    Units / CEUs

    2

    Delivery Options

    Online

    Status

    Available

  • ART 801 Portfolio Review
    Units / CEUs

    0

    Delivery Options

    Online

    Status

    Available

Electives (Art History)

Expand or collapse Electives (Art History)
Minimum Required

0 Hour(s)

Maximum Allowed

360 Hour(s)

  • HISTART X447.1 Social Political Artists: 1918 to the Present
    Units / CEUs

    2

    Status

    Not Available

  • HISTART X429 Art and Women
    Units / CEUs

    2

    Status

    Not Available

  • HISTART X426.5 The Grand Tour: Art and Travel of the 18th Century
    Units / CEUs

    1

    Status

    Not Available

  • HISTART X458 How the Art World Works
    Units / CEUs

    1

    Status

    Not Available

  • HISTART X408 From Revolution to Romanticism: European Art of the 19th Century
    Units / CEUs

    2

    Status

    Not Available

Electives (Drawing)

Expand or collapse Electives (Drawing)
Minimum Required

0 Course(s)

Maximum Allowed

360 Course(s)

  • ART X405 Drawing Fundamentals
    Units / CEUs

    2

    Delivery Options

    Online

    Status

    Available

  • ART X406 Drawing Intermediate
    Units / CEUs

    2

    Status

    Not Available

  • ART X431 Chinese Calligraphy
    Units / CEUs

    2

    Status

    Not Available

  • ART X414.6 Drawing on Nature
    Units / CEUs

    2

    Status

    Not Available

  • ART X433 Experimental Drawing
    Units / CEUs

    2

    Status

    Not Available

  • ART X413.3 Working in Series
    Units / CEUs

    2

    Status

    Not Available

Electives (Painting)

Expand or collapse Electives (Painting)
Minimum Required

0 Course(s)

Maximum Allowed

360 Course(s)

  • ART X410 Painting Fundamentals
    Units / CEUs

    2

    Delivery Options

    Online

    Status

    Available

  • ART X470 Painting Workshop
    Units / CEUs

    2

    Delivery Options

    Online

    Status

    Available

  • ART X411 Painting Intermediate
    Units / CEUs

    2

    Status

    Not Available

  • ART X412.1 Approaches to Abstraction in Painting
    Units / CEUs

    2

    Status

    Not Available

  • ART X449 Chinese Brush Painting
    Units / CEUs

    2

    Status

    Not Available

  • ART X449.1 Chinese Landscape Painting
    Units / CEUs

    2

    Status

    Not Available

  • ART X414.3 Contemporary Painting With Water-Based Media
    Units / CEUs

    2

    Status

    Not Available

Electives (Photography and Film)

Expand or collapse Electives (Photography and Film)
Minimum Required

0 Course(s)

Maximum Allowed

360 Course(s)

  • ARCH X406.3 Publishing Your Photobook
    Units / CEUs

    2

    Delivery Options

    Classroom

    Status

    Available

  • ARCH X405 Digital Photography Fundamentals
    Units / CEUs

    2

    Delivery Options

    Online

    Status

    Available

  • ARCH X405.7 Digital Photography in Practice and Context
    Units / CEUs

    2

    Status

    Not Available

  • ARCH X405.2 Digital Photography Intermediate
    Units / CEUs

    2

    Delivery Options

    Online

    Status

    Available

  • ARCH X405.8 History of Photography: A Dynamic Study and Practice
    Units / CEUs

    2

    Status

    Not Available

  • ARCH X406.1 Photography Workshop
    Units / CEUs

    2

    Status

    Not Available

Electives (Other Media)

Expand or collapse Electives (Other Media)
Minimum Required

0 Course(s)

Maximum Allowed

360 Course(s)

  • ART X423.1 Collage: The Art of Sustainability
    Units / CEUs

    2

    Status

    Not Available

  • ART X424 Intermedia: Conceptual Practices
    Units / CEUs

    2

    Status

    Not Available

  • ART X417 Printmaking Fundamentals
    Units / CEUs

    2

    Delivery Options

    Online

    Status

    Available

  • ART X417.3 Printmaking and Street Art as Activist Art Tools
    Units / CEUs

    2

    Status

    Not Available

  • ART X417.4 Woodblock Printmaking
    Units / CEUs

    2

    Status

    Not Available

Two Life Goals Down!

Certificate graduate Elinor Cheung in front of her painting depicting laughing Chinese women enjoying a game of mah-jongg

Elinor Cheung wanted two things: to live in a warmer climate and to paint. Item #1: She moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, from Minnesota. Item #2: She completed the Specialized Program in... continue reading Two Life Goals Down!

Continue Reading this Post

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Art and Design Gallery

View examples of Visual Arts' student artwork and class projects.

Program Staff

Anastasia Meadors
Program Director

Contact Information

To contact the department office, email extension-visualarts@berkeley.edu.

Prerequisites

College graduates who hold at least a bachelor's degree and have intermediate to advanced-level art skills are eligible to apply for the Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Visual Arts. Note: The revised prerequisites apply to new students registering for this professional certificate on or after July 1, 2015.

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 7 required courses (12 semester units), and a minimum of 6 visual arts electives (12 semester units). Candidates must pay a nonrefundable certificate application fee.

Course topics include theory/critique courses designed to develop creative and conceptual thinking; visual art history courses that function to integrate issues of contemporary art within a historical context; and visual arts electives chosen from a wide array of studio courses in painting, drawing, printmaking, photography and other media.

The curriculum can be completed within one year by attending full time (minimum 8 units per semester) or in two years by attending part time (minimum 4 units per semester). All coursework must be completed within five years.

You must take all courses for a letter grade. To receive the certificate, all courses must be completed with a grade of C or better and with an overall grade point average (GPA) of 2.5 or higher. A Certificate of Distinction will be awarded to those who complete the certificate with a GPA of 3.9 or higher.

How to Register

We have a rolling admissions policy, which means that we consider applications throughout the year. While there is no application deadline, it is advisable to submit all of your materials at least two months prior to your intended date of matriculation.

To apply to the Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Visual Arts:

  1. Submit the online application, which requires uploading the following materials, converting the documents to .pdf or .jpg:
    • Personal/artistic statement discussing your art background, current art practice and goals (as .pdf)
    • 10–12 images of your current artwork (each as .jpg). Include list of artworks with title, date, medium and size (as .pdf). If your images are too large, please submit them on a CD or USB with the list to the mailing address below.
    • Current C.V. or résumé (as .pdf)
    • A copy of your transcript from an accredited undergraduate institution verifying that you earned a baccalaureate degree (as .pdf)*
    • Any additional copies of transcripts from all other undergraduate and graduate institutions attended (as .pdf). International transcripts must be professionally translated.*
  2. Complete your student account profile if you are a new student.
  3. Pay the nonrefundable application fee through your shopping cart.

*To complete the application process, you must also send your original (official and sealed) transcripts to:

Anastasia Meadors
Director
Art and Design
UC Berkeley Extension
1995 University Ave., Suite 110
Berkeley, CA 94704-7000

If you are accepted into the certificate program, you will need to pay a separate nonrefundable $150 certificate registration fee.

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 $7,100 (not including course materials or registration fee). Course fees are subject to change.

Certificate and Award Request

Once you have completed the certificate coursework, notify UC Berkeley Extension that you have completed the curriculum and request your certificate. Send an email to extension-visualarts@berkeley.edu or call (510) 664-7824. After your records have been reviewed, verified and approved (usually within two to three weeks), your certificate will be mailed to you.

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Advisory Board

George Rivera
Associate Faculty, Mission College

Richard Shaw
Professor Emeritus, Department of Art Practice
UC Berkeley

Mark Van Proyen
Associate Professor, Painting Department
San Francisco Art Institute

Lewis Watts
Professor Emeritus
UC Santa Cruz

Dominic Willsdon
Executive Director
Institute for Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University

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