Kent State University School of Art

Is the School of Art accredited?

Yes, the School of Art is accredited by NASAD, the National Association of Schools of Art and Design, the national organization to accredit art schools or departments.  This means that your credits are recognized by all other accredited post-secondary schools around the country, important in case you wish to do work temporarily at another institution and if you contemplate graduate study. 

What undergraduate art degrees might I earn?

You can earn several different kinds of degrees in the School of Art: The BFA, a pre-professional degree, leads to graduate study, in any of the studio arts or crafts.  The BA in Art Education leads to K-12 employment or further graduate study. The BA degrees in Art History and in Crafts or Fine Arts are liberal arts degrees which prepare students broadly to continue in a wide variety of career or study directions.

How do I choose my classes as an art major?

All majors have a suggested 4-year outline of courses, balanced between required art courses and choices of liberal education requirements (LERs) and other electives.  During your first year, your orientation class teacher serves as academic advisor.  After that, you select or are appointed a faculty advisor in your major to help with course selection as well as to provide important advice on general academic and career matters. Faculty advisors are backed up by professionals at the School and college levels for students ‘between majors’ and for other questions relating to your progress toward degree.

What other costs will I incur as an art student?

Many art courses carry fees based on number of credits to be earned and cover the costs of “doing business” in class.  These fees are published for each course and figured in with your tuition bill as you register.  In most studio and education classes, fees go toward purchase of high-quality, sometimes hard-to-obtain materials which are purchased in quantity and at discount and provided to you as needed in your classes, to create works that become yours.  Other fees cover required field trips, costs of life models, or honoraria for outside experts brought to class.

Does the School offer travel-study opportunities?

Yes, art students can enroll for travel-study trips to New York, Chicago, Washington DC, or even to Paris-London, Italy, or other international destinations.  You earn credit for work initiated or completed on-site in a range of art-rich locations as part of a semester’s, or summer’s, regular coursework.

What is the advantage of attending an art school within a university?

In terms of both your intellectual opportunities and your friends and colleagues, a university setting offers you the greatest possible breadth of experience and resources to learn more about any subject in order to nourish and stimulate your creativity, scholarship, and professional and personal growth.

What facilities are available for my research/creative work?

In addition to the University’s library and access to other Ohio resources via OhioLink, the School of Art offers digitally equipped art history classrooms, an image library, a Mac computer lab with the standard array of peripherals, studios and workspaces that have extensive, often unique equipment, and an assortment of individual spaces for students working on senior projects. Critique spaces and student galleries, as well as public spaces throughout our six buildings, offer room for display and consideration of emerging art.

Why are the graduate programs in the School of Art important to an undergraduate?

Our graduate students in all divisions bring the intellectual and creative excitement of emerging artists, teachers and scholars to your environment.  Some will serve as teachers or assistants in some of your classes, offering another link to the University through someone close to your age and experiences, other learners just a little further ahead in the educational process.  Kent State offers the only MFA degree in the visual arts in northeast Ohio.

How does a School of Art degree prepare me for the “real world”?

You will have many opportunities to learn by experience throughout your undergraduate career: In Art Education, you begin to teach Saturday art classes and in field experience in your sophomore and junior years.  In art history, classes give you the chance to study and work with real objects in local and regional museums, several of which are world-class.  In preparing for the BFA degree, you stage your own exhibition, from advertising to hanging to writing your own artist’s statement to orchestrating the opening reception.  Also, the School Gallery and Downtown Gallery offer internships for learning how museums and commercial galleries work. A number of classes now feature hands-on learning opportunities as assignment options.  And internships and experiential learning opportunities are now featured as curricular options to give you special real-world experiences for learning and for credit.

Other questions?  Ask your student ambassador or scroll through other pages on this website.  Or call the School of Art at 330.672.2192.

Prospective Students page