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Program Contact
Barent Roth, Program Director
The Bachelor of Fine Arts degree is awarded for completion of 120 credits as designated by the program. A maximum of 60 credits may be transferred from another institution. Students must maintain a 2.0 cumulative GPA and fulfill all requirements in a timely manner.
Your BFA begins with Parsons’ first-year curriculum, which serves as the first-year course of study for all undergraduate programs at Parsons. The first year immerses you in an exploration of art and design concepts, skills, and critical practices, training students to become flexible thinkers, proficient makers, and lifelong learners.
Starting in your second year, you immerse yourself in design studios and seminars on diverse product design topics. Throughout your studies, art and design history and theory courses develop essential research, writing, and critical reasoning skills as well as the conceptual foundations for creative inquiry.
Parsons’ position within a major university — The New School — informs our interdisciplinary approach to scholarship and practice. University electives broaden your skills and perspectives with a wide range of liberal arts courses in the humanities, the social sciences, media studies, and business.
To view degree requirements from prior years, visit the Academic Catalogs archive. For a complete listing of courses and course descriptions, visit the university course catalog.
| FIRST YEAR | F | S |
|---|---|---|
| PUFY 1000 Integrative Studio 1 | 3 | - |
| PUFY 1010 Integrative Seminar 1 | 3 | - |
| PUFY 1100 Sustainable Systems | 3 | - |
| PUFY 1020 Space/Materiality | 3 | - |
| PUFY 1030 Drawing/Imaging | 3 | - |
| PUFY 1040 Time | - | 3 |
| PUFY 1001 Integrative Studio 2 | - | 3 |
| PUFY 1011 Integrative Seminar 2 | - | 3 |
| PLHT 1000 Objects as History | - | 3 |
| Students should explore their elective options with their advisors to create a coherent study plan. | - | 3 |
| Subtotal | 15 | 15 |
| SOPHOMORE YEAR | F | S |
|---|---|---|
| PUPD 2010 Product Design Studio 1 | 3 | - |
| PUPD 2027 Models, Mockups and Prototypes | 3 | - |
| PUPD 2020 Process Drawing and Digital Presentation | 3 | - |
| PLDS 2190 History of Design: 1850-2000 Lecture | 0 | - |
| PLDS 2191 History of Design: 1850-2001 Recitation | 3 | - |
| Students should explore their elective options with their advisors to create a coherent study plan. | 3 | 3 |
| PUPD 2011 Product Design Studio 2 | - | 3 |
| PUPD 2090 Computer-Aided Industrial Design | - | 3 |
| PUPD 2030 Materials & Manufacturing Processes: Lecture | - | 0 |
| PUPD 2031 Materials & Manufacturing Processes: Recitation | - | 3 |
| PLDS 2500 Intro to Design Studies: Lecture | - | 0 |
| PLDS 2501 Intro to Design Studies: Recitation | - | 3 |
| Subtotal | 15 | 15 |
| JUNIOR YEAR | F | S |
|---|---|---|
| PUPD 3010 Design Studio 3 | 3 | - |
| PUPD 3050 Human Factors, Ergonomics and Interface | 3 | - |
| Students should explore their elective options with their advisors to create a coherent study plan. | 3 | 3 |
| Students should explore their elective options with their advisors to create a coherent study plan. | 3 | 3 |
| Students should explore their elective options with their advisors to create a coherent study plan. | 3 | 3 |
| PUPD 3011 Design Studio 4 | - | 3 |
| PUPD 3080 Portfolio, Publication, and Dynamic Media | - | 3 |
| Subtotal | 15 | 15 |
| SENIOR YEAR | F | S |
|---|---|---|
| PLSD 3500 Advanced Research Seminar: Constructed Environments | 3 | - |
| PUPD 4010 Product Design Studio 5: Interdisciplinary Project(s) | 6 | - |
| Students should explore their elective options with their advisors to create a coherent study plan. | 3 | 3 |
| Students should explore their elective options with their advisors to create a coherent study plan. | 3 | 6 |
| PUPD 4011 Product Design Studio 6: Capstone | - | 6 |
| Subtotal | 15 | 15 |
The New School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.