Associate in Fine Arts?

Question

I am wondering if anybody can tell me what is an associate in fine arts? Like where can you work or what does it involve?? Is it to teach??...well tell me whatever you know thanks!!!

Answer 1

The area of Fine Arts includes fields such as music (instrumental and vocal), theatre, dance, and the visual arts (animation, film, graphic design, illustration, painting/ drawing, photography, printmaking, sculpture). While two-year colleges might offer AFA's in such things as music, theater, dance and painting, they wouldn't be worth much as a terminal degree. (You'd need to transfer to a 4-year program for the credits to be of much value.) And few programs that offer classes would be much impressed with an AFA degree, alone, in hiring teachers.

For commercial work in fields such as photography, videography, graphic design, illustration and music production/engineering, an AFA can give you the practical skills to start working in those areas.

Just to clarify, higher education is not necessarily required in the fine arts to seek work in the field. Art students can obtain training through master teachers in a variety of settings appropriate to their field. With the right training and skills, young artists can seek work and start amassing an impressive portfolio or repertoire that can earn them a respectable reputation and advance their career. Once this reputation is established, they can even become teachers in private settings. But to teach in public schools, you need a minimum of a BFA plus a teacher's certificate. And to teach in colleges, you need at least an MFA.

Most art students who go to college to major in art, do so because that is the only place where they can find master teachers of their art form. The other reason is that accredited programs require an academic foundation in addition to the arts classes that help students become well-rounded, educated individuals who then stand a better chance of finding work in a variety of areas.

Hope that helps.