Art & Design

ETSU is an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Art and Design. The Department of Art & Design holds membership in the College Art Association, Southeastern College Art Conference, and other professional art organizations.

Department website: http://www.etsu.edu/cas/art

General Program Information

The Department of Art & Design is committed to excellence in visual arts education, teaching students the technical, theoretical, critical, professional, and personal skills necessary to succeed in the visual arts. Achieving the highest quality of academic scholarship and creative research are priorities expected and supported. In service to our community, we seek to promote awareness of the social and cultural significance of the visual arts, within the university, for our region, and the world at large.

The Department of Art & Design provides comprehensive training in the visual arts and art history. Our students develop problem solving skills, a strong work ethic, and an ability to communicate verbally and visually through their time with us. Alumni from our program are thriving in various careers in the arts. Our faculty includes internationally exhibited artists, published authors, and a Guggenheim fellow. We are affiliated with the Mary B. Martin School of the Arts at ETSU, which sponsors an eclectic calendar of visiting artists, curators, art historians, and exhibitions on the ETSU campus each semester.

Our facilities are comprehensive, with materials and spaces for Graphic Design, Fibers, Painting, Printmaking, Ceramics, Drawing, Jewelry & Metals, Sculpture, Analog and Digital Photography, and Extended Media. The studio areas are well equipped with an array of tools and larger equipment. The department houses two Mac labs for use by Art and Design students, as well as several Smart classrooms. Regularly updated software includes Adobe Creative Suite and more. Digital cameras are available for check out by registered art students; students also have access to a variety of large format digital printers and scanners available in our Visual Resources Center. Individual studio spaces are available for graduate students as well as undergraduate students working on capstone exhibitions. We have a wonderful gallery on campus, Slocumb Galleries, and a satellite gallery in downtown Johnson City, Tipton Street Gallery, where we host exhibitions by students, visiting artists, faculty, and more.

The Department of Art & Design is accredited by NASAD, The National Association of Schools of Art and Design and is a member of CAA, the College Art Association; SECAC, Southeastern College Art Conference; ISC, the International Sculpture Center, and is a consortium member of SACI, Studio Art Centers International, based in Florence, Italy. Annual study abroad opportunities are available to all ETSU students; the Ceramics program offers an annual workshop in Spannochia, Italy.

We offer the following undergraduate degrees:

Bachelor of Fine Arts (Studio Art) B.F.A.
Bachelor of Fine Arts (Graphic Design) B.F.A.
Bachelor of Arts (Art History) B.A.
Bachelor of Arts (Studio Art) B.A.
Bachelor of Arts (Studio Art) B.A. with a minor in Education*
Minor (Studio Art)
Minor (Art History)

*Our partnership with the ETSU College of Education enables our students to minor in Education and be eligible to teach K-12 upon completion of the degree.

The graduate degree that may be earned is the Master of Fine Arts. The M.F.A. is the terminal degree in studio art for practicing artists and university or college teaching of art. Please see the graduate catalog for more details.

BA/Studio,and BFA/Studio majors may specialize in one or more of the following areas: art history, painting, drawing, sculpture, printmaking, commercial art, graphic design, photography, ceramics, fibers, and jewelry and metalsmithing.

BA/Studio, BFA/Studio, and BFA/Graphic Design majors should take the following art courses during their freshman year:

Semester I: 9 Credit Hours

Semester II: 9 Credit Hours

BA/Art History majors should take the following art courses during the freshman year:

Semester I: 6 Credit Hours

Semester II: 6 Credit Hours

Transfer students should consult the chair of the Department of Art and Design concerning departmental limitations on transfer credit.

Graduate Study in Art

The Department of Art and Design also offers the Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree. Further information on the program is contained in the Graduate Catalog.

Penland Courses

Students may earn East Tennessee State University credit by taking art courses at the Penland School of Crafts in Penland, NC.

Penland hosts renowned instructors for short-term (one- to eight-week) courses of study in the following areas: wood, surface design, fiber, iron, jewelry, printmaking, photography, paper, book arts, glass, design, drawing, clay, and specialilzed courses such as Arts Administration and Critical Craft Theory.

For a catalog or information, call 828-765-2359 or write to:

Registrar
Penland School of Crafts
Penland, NC 38765