Welcome to the Art Department

About the Department

“Art is not what you see but what you make others see.” — Edgar Degas

The Art Department offers a wide-ranging curriculum in fine arts, graphic design and art history, providing students with the technical skill, critical perspective and historical background to pursue careers in art and arts-related fields, as well as graduate study in art. Students have the choice of two majors, as well as a minor in art. The Bachelor of Arts in art is a liberal arts degree; whereas, the Bachelor of Fine Arts is a professional degree that requires 26 additional hours of art courses. Both majors require 16 hours in an area of specialization or “track.” B.F.A. tracks include painting, photography, sculpture, ceramics, glass art, graphic design and new media. B.A. tracks are more broadly defined. Studio classes are small so that students are able to work closely with faculty mentors to develop the means, both technical and conceptual, to express their ideas, feelings and insights. They learn to look at their work critically, considering it not only as a form of creative self-expression, but also in relation to larger cultural and historical perspectives.

Enhanced Curriculum

The curriculum is enhanced by the exhibitions and related educational programs organized by the University Galleries, as well as the Art Department’s Electronic Gallery, located in the Teacher Education and Technology Center (TETC), which sponsors exhibitions of video, animation, sound art and other new, electronically based media. The department also invites guest artists to the campus and organizes several trips each year to Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York City so that students can visit museums and galleries.

Exceptional Facilities

 Since the opening of TETC in 2008, the department has state-of-the-art facilities for teaching graphic design, Web design, digital photography, video and other technology based media. Other noteworthy facilities are the hot glass workshop, where students learn the art of glassblowing, the only such program in the state of Maryland; and the Student Art Center (SAC), a renovated house where students can meet informally and show their work in small group shows.

Faculty-Student Snapshot

The number of art majors has soared in recent years, now totaling over 240. Students have an outstanding record of acceptance to graduate programs in art, as well as securing a variety of jobs in art and arts-related fields. Accompanying the growth in majors has been a steady expansion of the faculty, now consisting of 17 full-time members, plus six or more adjunct faculty each semester. All are dedicated teachers and deeply committed, serious arts professionals who exhibit regularly, work on commissions, consult on arts-related matters with arts organizations, write about art for publication or are otherwise active in the larger arts world beyond the campus.

Featured Work

ART 330, DRAWING III Class work 102