(Featured photo: Jeremy Fineman, OCCC Visual Arts coordinator – Photo by Cynthia Homan)
Oklahoma City Community College Visual Arts degree program is a 16-week course offered to students in two 8-week terms, earning a minimum of 61 credit hours to obtain an Associate degree in Visual Arts, with the capability to transfer to 4-year college or university like Oklahoma Baptist University, University of Oklahoma, Mid-American Christian University, and many more universities (OCCC Curriculum and Assessment).
Jeremy Fineman is the coordinator of Visual Arts at OCCC. Fineman who teaches ceramics 1 & 2, mosaics 1 & 2, Foundations: color and design, Art History Renaissance to Contemporary, Art appreciation and drawing.
He graduated from University of Hartford with a BPA in Photography and earned an MFA in Ceramics from East Carolina University. He has been teaching at OCCC since January 2015.
Fineman, shared a lengthy list of courses that are offered. Some courses Fineman said are offered in he degree are Foundations 1 for design and color & Foundations 2 for 3D design, Drawing 1 & 2, Figure Drawing, Painting 1 and portfolio development and presentation among any general education courses required.
“The forefront of the creative field, it does not matter if you are a doctor, lawyer, engineer, or banker, if you cannot think creatively, you do not have any agile, you are not going to be innovative,” Fineman said.
According to Fineman, the job options are a wide range of different selections.
Fineman states that a student can find work in “digital cinema production for making children’s books, also in teaching, designer for clothing, architecture and graphic design.”
Robin West is considering attending Fineman’s Visual Arts program.
West is not quite to retirement age but like many other people, she is already planning her free time during retirement.
West said she is, “not sure how she is going to use her free time.”
While having a talk with one of her children, they suggest that she attend college courses before she gets to retirement age.
West said would like to work with “ceramics, mosaics or possibly even figure drawing,” once she obtains her degree in Visual Arts, if that is what she chooses to do for her retirement.
The Visual Arts degree program at OCCC is just one of more than 60 degree and certificate programs for approximately 17,000 credit-seeking students.
Through these programs those like West have opportunities to return to education at a later age.
OCCC also has the option for students in certain programs to transfer to a four-year school or have direct entry into the workplace.
According to the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education to transfer to an Oklahoma public 4-year university after obtaining an associate in arts, the policy guarantees you associate’s degree will satisfy all freshmen and sophomore general education requirements at the university you choose.
Another positive aspect is if you are transferring before you complete your associate degree, you will still receive general education credit but only for those courses that match those at the college you choose.
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