BA Art at Yale University

Programme overview

Students in the Art major develop a critical and practical understanding of the visual arts and design through a studio-based curriculum that organically blends practice with critical thinking and art historical precedents; apply fundamentals of visual art across a variety of mediums and disciplines; relate the practice of making art and design to culture and the study areas of art history and theory; and learn to embody the knowledge and practice of at least one artistic discipline through active search and research. Students may concentrate on a medium such as painting/printmaking, sculpture, graphic design, photography, or filmmaking, and interdisciplinary study is supported. Art majors learn to place their own work in the context of an inclusive group of contemporary art worlds and national and global cultures.

Faculty: Yale College | Duration: Thirty-six term courses in eight terms of enrollment (Yale College bachelor's degree) | Study mode: full-time | Location: New Haven, CT, United States

What you will study

Number of courses: 14 courses (incl prereqs, which may counted as concentration reqs, and yearlong senior project). Specific courses required: All concentrations — ART 3995 ; Graphic design— ART 1732 , 2764 , 2765 , 2766 or 3768 ; ART 3769 or 3770 ; and ART 4768 or 4769 ; Painting/printmaking— ART 1516 , 1530 , 3531 or 3532 ; ART 2545 or 3556 ; and ART 4514 , 4532 , 3560 , 4545 , 4533 , or 4557 ; Photography— ART 1836 and/or 1838 ; ART 2837 and/or 2839 ; ART 3837 or 3838 ; ART 3879 , 4801 , or 4803 ; Sculpture —any 2 of ART 1610 , 1620 , 1621 , 1622 , or 1623 ; and any 3 of ART 2610 , 3646 , 3648 , 3671 , or 4646 ; Filmmaking— ART 1942 , 3941 , 3942 ; ART 4942 or 4943. Distribution of

Official programme page

Application information

Entry requirements

Admission is to Yale College, not to this major (applies to all Yale College programmes). Yale College requires letters of recommendation, a school report with transcript, and ACT or SAT scores; applicants who are non-native English speakers without two or more years in an English-medium school must also submit an English proficiency test (TOEFL, IELTS, Cambridge English or Duolingo English Test). Major prerequisite: Favorable faculty review of work done in studio courses before end of sophomore year; ART 1111 and 1514 ; 3 addtl courses numbered 0001–1999.

USD 72,500 a year (2026-27). Yale College 2026-2027 tuition (single rate for all Yale College students). Excludes housing, food, optional health insurance, student activities fee and class dues. Source

First-year and transfer applicants apply to begin in the fall semester.

First-year applicants apply through the Common Application, the Coalition Application on SCOIR or the QuestBridge Application. Single-Choice Early Action deadline: November 1. QuestBridge National College Match deadline: November 1. Regular Decision deadline: January 2. Yale does not advantage students by program.

First-year and transfer applicants must include ACT or SAT scores (testing is required); neither exam is preferred.

Transfer applicants submit the Transfer Common Application by March 1 to enter as sophomores or juniors.

Graduate School of Arts and Sciences deadlines (all 11:59 pm Eastern) for fall 2027: December 1, 2026 (e.g. BBS, Chemistry, Economics, History, Linguistics, Psychology, Public Health, Statistics); December 15, 2026 (e.g. American Studies, Anthropology, Applied Physics, Biomedical Engineering, Computer Science PhD, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Law, Management, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, Political Science, Sociology); January 2, 2027 (e.g. African Studies, Applied and Computational Mathematics, Architecture, Computer Science MS, Earth and Planetary Sciences, East Asian Studies, Nursing, Philosophy). Combined programs follow the earlier deadline or December 15.

The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences application fee for all degree-seeking applicants is US $105, non-refundable, payable by Visa, Mastercard, Discover or American Express; fee waivers can be requested until January 2.

GRE General Test requirements vary by GSAS program (required, optional or not accepted) for the 2026-2027 cycle.

Apply through the official page: https://admissions.yale.edu/apply

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