Course General Description

At the Corcoran, we recognize the critical importance of the photographic image in contemporary society while establishing photography’s historical context within art. Students enrolled in the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fine Art Photography study current photo-based art while refining their technical skills and developing their individual styles and subject matter. Our curriculum examines the roles that lens-based media play in contemporary life while emphasizing personal creativity, varied photographic processes, and an awareness of cultural context and critical analysis. Through the direction and insight of our faculty — who are practicing artists themselves — and visiting artists, our students experience first-hand how photography can be a vehicle for creative expression and an agent for change. The Corcoran provides students access to the George Washington University’s extensive research resources. With an interdisciplinary approach to contemporary photographic practices, students are encouraged to extend beyond comfort zones, redefine practices, and prepare for creative pursuits after graduation.

School General Description

The Corcoran School of the Arts & Design at the George Washington University prepares its graduates to be the next generation of global leaders. Part of the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, the school functions as an incubator for artists, designers and scholars, who learn from internationally renowned faculty at the intersection of creativity and social innovation. It is an academic experience like no other—inspiring students to research, create and innovate with the potential to shape the world around them. We are a community of civically engaged artists and practitioners, aiming to impact the world through social change. Our students are poised to not just join the creative field of their choice, but to define it for themselves as they become well versed in both practice and research. We embody and exemplify the Columbian College’s Engaged Liberal Arts credo, which strives to link disparate fields and better prepare our graduates for rich, multidimensional careers in the evolving world we live in. The challenges society faces are diverse, requiring different modes of thought, and we prepare our students by encouraging inquiry and collaboration. While we at the Corcoran School can prepare specialists, we pride ourselves on the diversity of our practice and view ourselves as a place of possibility for students instead of teaching art in a singular way.