Bachelor of Applied Arts (Craft and Design)

• General Information 
• Eligibility
• Program of Study

General Information

This four-year articulated degree program offers a unique combination of academic and practical study, offering the advanced reasoning, research, and writing skills of a traditional liberal arts education at UNB along with the hands-on experience of studio art courses offered by the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design (NBCCD), one of Canada's most respected fine craft and design schools.

Eligibility

Admission to the Bachelor of Applied Arts (BAA) program is through the University of New Brunswick. Applicants must meet the admission requirements for the BA degree, submit a digital portfolio, and will follow the normal admission procedures of the University of New Brunswick. Students must indicate at the time of admission which institution they wish to attend first. The deadline to apply is March 1.

Prospective applicants and students wishing to transfer into the program with advanced credit, including students who have completed the NBCCD diploma, should contact the BAA program advisors at either UNB or NBCCD.

Students applying to the Bachelor of Applied Arts program must submit a digital portfolio as part of their application documents.

PORTFOLIO REQUIREMENTS

Students should upload the following portfolio items as one file in their application portal.

a) Letter of Intent: Please write a short letter for the admissions committee (250 words) describing your interest in art, craft, and design and how you feel the program will help you achieve your future career goals.

b) Image List: Provide an itemized list of each image included in your portfolio and the following information for each: title, date of work, and materials used.

c) Images: Please submit a minimum of 10 high-quality digital images of your original work, which may include close-ups or different stages of completion of your most recent creative works. These works should represent your creativity and interests in visual art. Mediums may include, but are not limited to, fine art, craft, photography, digital media, or video. All submitted mediums must be the original creations of the applicant. Please visit nbccd.ca/sample-portfolio to view a sample portfolio.

Portfolio Assessment

The admissions committee, comprised of representatives from Undergraduate Admissions at UNB Fredericton and a representative from NBCCD, will review portfolios with respect to the applicant’s current understanding of different mediums and art techniques and will use these areas to evaluate potential for success at NBCCD. Applicants will be reviewed based on their creativity, passion, potential for growth in a variety of craft and design mediums, and an understanding of art in relation to the world. The portfolio review will also consider the letter of intent as a demonstration of an applicant’s ability to express their artistic voice and career goals, as well as their ability to put together a professional portfolio of work. While the NBCCD representative will decide whether an applicant’s portfolio is acceptable, the final BAA admission decision will rest with Undergraduate Admissions.

Program of Study

The BAA is a four-year degree program, two years of which are taken at NBCCD and the remaining two years (60 ch) at the University of New Brunswick Fredericton (UNBF). The two required years at NBCCD will generally consist of the Foundation Visual Arts Certificate and the first year of the Diploma in Fine Craft. Students may start at either institution.

Year 1 at UNB

The first year consists of 24 ch at the first-year level and 6 ch at either the first-year or second-year level. Students may be advised to take certain courses that relate to their interest in craft and design, to their future career plans, and/or to upper-level (3000-4000 level) courses they plan to take in Year 2 at UNB.  Students should take at least 12 ch of courses with cultural content over the two years at UNB. 

Courses are required as follows:

• Two of ARTS 1013, ARTS 1014, ARTS 1023, or ARTS 1024.
• 6 ch in each of three different distribution groups, chosen from the four groups (A, B, C, D) listed below (18 ch). Students are encouraged to explore different subjects; within any distribution group they may take either 6 ch in the same subject or 3 ch in each of two subjects.
• The remaining 6 ch may be taken in any Arts or Science subject or taken as 3 ch in each of two subjects, including those already being taken this year; the course(s) in this category may be at either the first-year or second-year level. In addition to subjects listed in groups A-D, students may take courses in Film or Publishing to meet this requirement (6 ch).

Notes:

1. A student can count Psychology toward distribution group requirements as a Social Science OR a Science, but not both.
2. Laboratory courses taken in other Faculties will not be counted in the credit hour total but will be counted in the calculation of the Grade Point Average (GPA) for the BA program.  

Year 2 at UNB

The second year at UNB consists of 30 ch of lecture courses or seminars, of which at least 24 ch must be chosen from the 3000-4000 level in consultation with the program advisor.  The course selection should support the student’s interest in craft and design. Normally, students may not take independent study, reading, or thesis courses, but they are eligible to take an Arts Internship course such as ARTS 3000, ARTS 3001, ARTS 3002, or ARTS 4000.

Year 1 and Year 2 at NBCCD