Studio art provides the historical basis for all school art education.
The importance of this direct experience for potential teachers is recognized in the requirement for students to gain greater studio experience and an essential level of comfort and confidence with the materials, processes, and concepts of art. These courses provide a foundation in the chronology and the artistic and social themes of the history of Western art. An explicit syllabus outlining the organization, purposes and relationships of these requirements is available. Some students use the opportunity offered in these electives to extend their art study into other media. Some use it to gain more depth in one art medium.