Artists have produced forms of human expression throughout history that embody cultural identities and values in unique ways. In order to understand how such forms may contribute to the constitutions of cultures, it is important to understand their historical context and how they express meaning. Each artistic discipline uses particular materials with distinct expressive qualities. The artist learns what the significant qualities of the materials are and how they may be manipulated to create and express meaning. Likewise, the receiver of the work must also possess a certain familiarity with the significant qualities of the material in order to actively find meaning, analyze, and appreciate the art form.

In keeping with the goals of a liberal education, Fine Arts aims to develop aesthetic literacy, to cultivate a critical awareness of the aesthetic dimensions of everyday life and culture, and to encourage an exploration of individual creative expression. Because students arrive at St. Thomas with different degrees of experience of the Fine Arts, the courses eligible for the Fine Arts requirement have been selected for their accessibility to people with a wide variety of experience in the particular disciplines.

Students in the Bachelor of Arts Programme are required to select 6 credit hours in Fine Arts (normally in their second or third year), and may choose from among these courses. Not more than 3 credit hours may be taken as cross-listed courses (noted at the end of this section)