School of Art & Design
Explore the spectrum of our degree programs
Art Education
DEGREES
The Art Education Program promotes the idea that art teaching is a lifelong creative practice. Our students are professionally prepared for teaching careers in and out of schools, museums, community sites, and through their own artistic practice and scholarly work. We offer a BFA and MA path to obtain a pre-k to 12th grade license for teaching art in Illinois and 46 other States. Our graduate students (MA, MEd, and PhD) become thought leaders at the intersections of teaching, art, and research; working as authors, curators, professors, activists, community organizers, and artists all over the world.
Sculpture
DEGREES
Sculpture focuses on methods and concepts in three-dimensional form-making and expanded spatial practices. Clay, plaster, paper, fibers and textiles, wood, metal, found objects, and plastics are just a few of the materials our students utilize to create three-dimensional objects at a variety of scales, from the miniature to the monumental.
Art HIstory
DEGREES
Why are the objects that we call “works of art” made? Who makes them? Who sees them? What functions do they serve? What kinds of meaning have they offered to viewers in the past? What kinds of meaning can they have for us now? Questions like these are central to the study of art history.
Illustration
DEGREES
Illustration introduces students to a range of historic and contemporary illustrative practices and the various paths they can take in industry, including fine art, editorial, publishing, advertising, visual development, surface design, and fashion Illustration.
New and continuing BFASA students may choose this concentration beginning in spring 2025, pending final approval by NASAD, our national accreditation organization.
Interdisciplinary Practice
DEGREES
The interdisciplinary practice concentration enables students to explore, combine, and expand thier knowledge in an array of studio disciplines including fashion, new media, painting, photography, printmaking, illustration, and sculpture. If you’re looking for an option that allows optimal experimentation to determine your own studio experiences, this is the path for you.
Printmaking
DEGREES
Printmaking offers a wide range of traditional, photographic, and digital printmaking methods that engage with contemporary art and design fields. Specific courses focus on screenprint, letterpress, comics and ‘zines, relief printing, intaglio, lithography, and other rotating special topics.