Visual and Performing Arts
Studio Art Major and Minor
The Art Department embraces, encourages, and promotes diverse perspectives using the cultural power of art to catalyze change.
Your Four-Year Journey
Students often combine a major or minor in Studio Art with a major or minor in Biology, Economics, Education Studies, English, Environmental Science, History, or Psychology.
Begin with introductory courses in 2-D, 3-D art, or art history. We offer instruction in ceramics, photography, digital art, sculpture, painting, and introductory drawing. Join the Student Art Society, Clay Club, or Photo Club to get to know other art students and engage in special projects.
Pick your favorite mediums to explore at the intermediate level. Continue to gain experience in a variety of mediums that will allow you to express yourself broadly and communicate effectively. A course in contemporary art or feminist theory will help you understand your place in the art world. Field trips and exhibits in the Art Galleries introduce you to current artists and practices.
Solidify your pathway with advanced courses. Although they can happen any time, it's traditional to plan for internships with galleries, museums, or arts organizations in the junior year. Study-away at the NY Arts program or in a foreign country is a great way to connect with the bigger art world. The Junior Seminar offers you the opportunity to explore the kind of art you want to make by creating and displaying a large body of work.
Senior year is the time for Senior Project for majors, an ambitious display of a body of your work. In addition to advanced work in your medium, think about gaining career skills with the professional practices course or a hands-on gallery exhibition/museum studies class. For Studio Art minors, scheduling the Junior Seminar in your fourth year allows you to bring everything together in a final project.
EXPRESS YOURSELF, CONVEY MEANING, AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Make original works of art.
Demonstrate effective design principles, creative problem-solving, and appropriate craftsmanship and technique in a range of mediums.
Interpret and critically evaluate art and media.
Write and speak about art from an informed perspective by carrying out relevant research, contextualizing and interpreting relevant works.
Know art of the past and present.
Exhibit familiarity with Western and global artists, designers and historical movements as well as contemporary art and critical theory.
Develop professional practices and problem-solving abilities.
Gain skills through the exhibition of your work, documenting it in a portfolio, writing proposals, and curating exhibits.
Produce meaningful work that integrates other disciplines.
Your art will investigate human experiences, demonstrate conceptual sophistication, and integrate knowledge from other cultural contexts.
Alumni Careers — A Sampling
CAREER OUTCOMES
93
of Allegheny graduates are employed, in grad school, or in full-time service within six months.
60
Of Studio Art graduates begin careers immediately in teaching, design, photography, digital production, social media, galleries, or advertising.
40
Of Studio Art graduates on to graduate schools for studio MFAs or fields like architecture or medical illustration.
Madeleine Zimmermann, Alumna
Class of 2018, Studio Art and Environmental Science Double Major; Development Associate at Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland
“ Allegheny’s Art Department is unique because the professors and staff treat students as their peers, which really raises expectations and has helped me push myself as an artist and a student. Everything I create is motivated by the question ‘why?’ Everything I do has a reason and meaning and, because of this, I’m able to apply knowledge from every spectrum of my education. ”
