The pathway below represents an efficient and effective course taking sequence for this program. Individual circumstances might require some changes to this pathway. It is always recommended that you meet with an academic counselor to develop a personalized educational plan.
The courses have been intentionally placed and should be prioritized in the order in which they appear. If you are unable to take all the courses in a semester, you should prioritize enrolling in the courses in the order below. Some courses have been noted as “Appropriate for Intersession” . Should you need (or want) to take classes in the summer and/or winter intersessions, the program recommends these courses as appropriate for the condensed schedule of the intersessions.
Some pathways combine a “Certificate of Achievement” and an “Associate Degree”. If you are pursuing only the Certificate of Achievement, you are only required to take the courses marked “Program Requirement” .
All pathways include at least one “Gateway Course” which introduces you to the program and/or field of study and helps you decide if you want to continue with this Academic and Career Path.
Most Associate degrees (though not Associate Degrees for Transfer) require satisfying the SMC Global Citizenship requirement. If the Program Requirements do not include a “Global Citizenship course” , be sure to select a General Education course that also satisfies Global Citizenship.
In the Art Associates of Arts degree, students will be guided through a mix of material and conceptual exploration grounded in core foundational skills. Students will be able to demonstrate a diverse skillset in a broad range of media, materials and processes. They will define and use core concepts in 2D, 3D and new genres. Students will produce original work that demonstrates a high level of craft, with the ability to describe, analyze, and provide criticism of works of art in various media. This multi-faceted program will prepare our students to transfer, organize art works/art practice for exhibition, if applicable, and understand safe and hazard-free use of art materials and equipment.
Upon completion of the program, students will:
- Upon completion of the program in Art, students will demonstrate an appreciation and understanding of Art and Art History in order to develop creative and critical thinking solutions to various Art and Art History issues. Students will look at an artistic situation, whether in implementation or analysis, in order to develop and create a strategy for its solution.
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Gateway Course
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Program Requirement
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General Education
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Appropriate for Intersession
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Available Online
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Global Citizenship
Semester 1
15-17 Units
This fundamental course is focused on representational drawing and composition using various black and white media. Introduction to principles, elements, and practices of drawing, employing a wide range of subject matter and drawing media. Focus on perceptually based drawing, observational skills, technical abilities, and creative responses to materials and subject matter.
- C1 - Arts, Dance, Music, Theater
- Area III: Humanities
This is an introductory course in the theory and application of the elements of 2-dimensional design which includes line, value, form, light logic, positive and negative space, pattern, texture, perspective, composition and color theory. Required for all art majors.
- C1 - Arts, Dance, Music, Theater
- Area III: Humanities
SMC GE Area IV-B Course 3-5 units
This introductory course in rhetoric emphasizes clear, effective written communication and preparation of the research paper.
- Prerequisite: ENGL 21B or
- Prerequisite: ENGL 22
- Prerequisite: ESL 19B or
- Prerequisite: Group A on the Placement Test
- 1A: English Composition
- A2 - Written Communication
- Area IV-A: Language and Rationality (Group A)
This course provides an exploration of intellectual, psychological, social and physical factors that impact lifelong learning, well-being and success. Topics include motivation and self-efficacy; critical thinking, academic integrity and active study strategies; health issues and lifestyle choices; relating to others as a global citizen; written and oral communication; time management; career exploration; and educational planning.
- E - Lifelong Understanding and Self-Development
Semester 2
15 Units
This course is an introduction to historical references, conceptual ideas, and hands on applications related to three-dimensional design. Students in this class will look at spatial composition, along with organizing principles and elements of design as they apply to space and form. Students are invited to experiment with new materials, cutting edge technology, and critical dialogues in order to develop their own visual vocabulary for creative expression. The class will have regular lectures, practices with work space organization for exhibitions, and a sense of play in the use of materials for non-representational three-dimensional studio projects. This course is spirited and experimental.
- C1 - Arts, Dance, Music, Theater
- Area III: Humanities
AHIS 2 recommended
See the full list: Required Elective Course from "Art History Program Electives" below
SMC GE Area II-A Course 3 units
Elective Course 3 units
ENGL 2 recommended for transfer options
Semester 3
15 Units
ART 21A recommended
Any additional 3 unit ART course 3 units
SMC GE Area I Course 3 units
SMC GE Area II-B Course 3 units
Elective Course 3 units
Semester 4
15 Units
Elective Course 3 units
Elective Course 3 units
Elective Course 3 units
Elective Course 3 units
Elective Course 3 units
Art History Program Electives
42 Units
A survey of the chronological development of Western art from the Stone Age to the Gothic Period with emphasis on the cultural, political, and social factors that influenced this evolution. This includes: Near-Eastern, Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Romanesque and Gothic art and architecture.
- Skills Advisory: Eligibility for English 1
- 3A: Arts
- C1 - Arts, Dance, Music, Theater
- Area III: Humanities
- Area V: Global Citizenship
This course is a survey of the chronological development of Western art from the Renaissance to the contemporary with emphasis on the cultural, political, and social factors that influenced this evolution. This includes: Italian and Northern Renaissance,Mannerism, 15th Century Flemish, Baroque, Rococo, Neoclassicism, Romanticism, Realism, impressionism and Post Impressionism and the major movements of the 20th century. painting.
- Skills Advisory: Eligibility for English 1
- 3A: Arts
- C1 - Arts, Dance, Music, Theater
- Area III: Humanities
- Area V: Global Citizenship
A focused survey of the chronological development of art and architecture from Impressionism to the present day. This course will cover the major movements of modern and contemporary art while examining their historical, cultural and philosophical context. Specific attention will be given to art theory and its part in shaping conversations about art history and the contemporary.
- 3A: Arts
- C1 - Arts, Dance, Music, Theater
- Area III: Humanities
- Area V: Global Citizenship
An introduction to the art, symbolism, and visual culture of Latin America, emphasizing, Mesoamerican and Andean civilizations from prehistory to the Spanish conquest. Using interdisciplinary methods, this course will reconstruct (to the degree that is possible), the meaning and function of the visual arts in multiple, interlocking economic, political and sacred spheres. Subjects include the representation of history, ritual, and cosmology as revealed in sculpture, hieroglyphs, painting, ceramics, and architectural design. The course will also consider the interaction of ancient Latin American art objects with the contemporary world including issues of looting, cultural heritage, and museum display.
- Skills Advisory: ENGL 1
- 3A: Arts
- C1 - Arts, Dance, Music, Theater
- Area III: Humanities
- Area V: Global Citizenship
This course is an introductory survey of the art, architecture, and visual culture of Latin America from the colonial to the contemporary period. The course examines the introduction and adaption of European artistic models in the Americas as well as the transformation of American art as a result of the conquest, analyzing a variety of materials and media including urban planning, religious and secular architecture, painting, sculpture, manuscript drawings and prints from the colonial period (1492-1820). Students examine the role of Latin American artists in building independent nations in the 19th c. and engaging with issues of race, gender, new technologies, politics, and globalization in the 20th and 21st centuries.
- Skills Advisory: Eligibility for English 1
- 3A: Arts
- C1 - Arts, Dance, Music, Theater
- Area III: Humanities
- Area V: Global Citizenship
An introduction to artistic practices by exploring the myriad manifestations of visual culture in our world through a cross-cultural thematic approach. This course examines themes in art like Religion, Power, Reproduction and Sexuality, and traces them across cultures and time periods. Emphasis will be placed on learning the language of visual culture both in terms of the formal elements of design as well as the content of style and subject matter and finding connections and differences. Students will explore the various media of art from drawing, sculpture, fresco, oil, photography, motion pictures, architecture to contemporary advertising and design and investigate how various cultures have used specific media and themes. This course is designed to introduce Fine Art and Art History simultaneously providing a unique opportunity to explore these fields as well as to prepare students for a course of study in Fine Art and Art History.
- Skills Advisory: Eligibility for English 1
- 3A: Arts
- C1 - Arts, Dance, Music, Theater
- Area III: Humanities
- Area V: Global Citizenship
This course covers the historical development of Mexican art from its Pre-Colombian past to the present with a review of painting, sculpture, architecture, and their social, political, religious, and economic relevance.
- 3A: Arts
- C1 - Arts, Dance, Music, Theater
- Area III: Humanities
This course is a survey of the chronological development of Asian art from earliest times to present times with emphasis on the cultural, political, and social factors which influenced this evolution. The course includes the art of India, China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Cambodia, and Indonesia.
- Skills Advisory: Eligibility for English 1
- 3A: Arts
- C1 - Arts, Dance, Music, Theater
- Area III: Humanities
- Area V: Global Citizenship
An introduction to key themes in African art history through an examination of the role and function of African arts within their religious, political, social and economic contexts. The course will cover various art making practices including performance, sculpture, architecture, painting, photography, regalia and arts of the body. Considering the importance of broader art and architectural connections between Africa and other parts of the world, this course examines issues of colonialism, the global economy, Afrofuturism, questions of display, and current concerns with art appropriation and cultural patrimony.
- Skills Advisory: Eligibility for English 1
- 3A: Arts
- C1 - Arts, Dance, Music, Theater
- C2 - Humanities
- Area III: Humanities
- Area V: Global Citizenship
A survey of the chronological development of World architecture from prehistory to the Romanticism of the late 18th and early 19th Centuries. It includes art history and architecture with a worldwide introduction to the history of architecture. The contributions of technology, organizing methodology, intellectual thought, social conditions, and general artistic sensibilities will be addressed. This course will analyze key works to develop an understanding of specific relationships between the organization, configuration, and articulation of buildings and the historical, conceptual, and cultural arguments with which they are associated.
- 3A: Arts
- C1 - Arts, Dance, Music, Theater
- Area III: Humanities
- Area V: Global Citizenship
Through the use of lectures, slides, and field trips, students will study architecture from the mid-19th Century social and industrial conditions to current sensibilities represented by various creative individuals, movements and buildings. Cross references will be made to ideas of other arts, sociopolitical theory, and society in general.
- 3A: Arts
- C1 - Arts, Dance, Music, Theater
- Area III: Humanities
- Area V: Global Citizenship
This is a historical survey of the evolving nature of photography from the early 1800's to the present digital age.
- 3A: Arts
- C1 - Arts, Dance, Music, Theater
- Area III: Humanities
This course surveys artworks made by African Americans in the United States and abroad. Students will explore visual and material culture from the inception of chattel slavery in the sixteenth-century to contemporary Black Art Movements including Reconstruction and the Harlem Renaissance. Additionally, the impact of political movements on artists and their work such as the Black Liberation Movement and #BlackLivesMatter. In addition, students will consider how artists have contended with issues of race, gender, and sexuality and will examine transnational artist networks in Latin America and Europe among other places. Course content includes cross-historical phenomena such as the AIDS crisis, Afrofuturism, and the history of the Black Panther.
- 3A: Arts
- C1 - Arts, Dance, Music, Theater
- F - Ethnic Studies
- Area III: Humanities
- Area V: Global Citizenship
A survey of the chronological development of painting, sculpture, and architecture in the United States from its pre-colonial past to the end of World War II. The contributions and influences of a variety of ethnic groups to the diversity of art in the United States will be addressed. The artistic contribution of Native American, African Americans, Asian Americans, Chicano/Latino Americans and European Americans will be studied in the larger context of American society, history, and culture.
- Skills Advisory: Eligibility for English 1
- 3A: Arts
- C1 - Arts, Dance, Music, Theater
- F - Ethnic Studies
- Area III: Humanities
- Area V: Global Citizenship