Bachelor of Arts - Art - Art History

Program Description

The Department of Visual Arts and Art History at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) is dedicated to the advancement, practice and theoretical understanding of the visual arts. A central mission of the department is to enable students to understand art in the context of its rich historical heritage, incorporating continuing changes, innovations and accomplishments made by creative artists and art historians.

The department seeks to prepare both undergraduate and graduate students for professional careers in the creation and interpretation of the visual arts. Deeply related to this focus is a commitment to elevate and sustain the study of the arts as both a necessary mode of understanding and a dynamic expression of human experience as it relates to an increasingly complex global society. To accomplish this goal, students must develop technical skills related to a variety of artistic media as well as develop a comprehension of the creative impulse and the spirit that motivates it.

The faculty of the Department of Visual Arts and Art History, through its own significant research and creative activities, fosters the preservation of artistic legacies with an interest in originality and innovation within artistic and research practice. These educational goals are enhanced by visiting lecturers, workshops, internships, conferences and exhibitions held at two University galleries, the Dorothy F. Schmidt Center Gallery and the Ritter Gallery in Boca Raton, and activities at the other campus locations, including the Metrolab Studio in the Reubin Askew Tower in Fort Lauderdale.

Art students graduating from Florida Atlantic University have established careers as photographers, ceramicists, performance artists, printmakers, painters, sculptors, graphic designers and computer animators. They teach the fine arts and art history in colleges and universities, after advanced studies, as well as in grammar and secondary schools. They are involved in Art in State Building projects and work as museum directors, curators and gallery personnel. They handle digital imaging for corporate clients, and many are involved in advertising and corporate design.