FAQs

Faculty members, who are all practicing artists with active art careers themselves, work closely and collegially with students, and invest significant time in their students’ career progress in and outside of the classroom including providing guidance assembling professional portfolios and applying for internships, graduate school and other art opportunities. Find out about the faculty.

Yes, each year the department organizes a field trip that is free to art students. Trips to Washington, DC, Baltimore, MD and Philadelphia, PA. The College now has the River Runner bus service, and students can independently sign up for trips to Washington, DC and Baltimore, MD on weekends in the regular semester sponsored by the SGA.

No, if you are accepted to SMCM, you can major or minor in ART. However, submitting your portfolio for feedback is an option!

The department offers a Bachelor of Arts degree (BA) in art, as well as an art minor.

Talk to art professor Carrie Patterson (ccpatterson@smcm.edu), who is the department's Admissions Representative.

Prospective and declared ART majors should plan to take one Art course each semester, right from the first semester. The Art major has very flexible requirements, and students have many choices. It is recommended that students meet with an Art faculty member and request to be assigned an Art faculty advisor as early as possible. We recommend starting with one of the two ART Core courses; ART 205: Introduction to Visual Thinking or ART 214: Introduction to Digital Media Art. Students will need to complete three introductory (200-level) studio art courses before advancing to upper-level (300-level) courses, so we recommend taking these introductory courses during the first two years of study. While 200-level courses may be taken in any order, we encourage students to take ART 205 as early as possible.

If you are already taking an ART or ARTH course, talk to your professor! You can also talk to your advisor, or email the department chair, whose contact information is on the Art home page.

Yes, we encourage students to study abroad, and many ART students study for a semester, full-year or on a study tour. Get the best of both worlds – study at SMCM for your B.A. in Art and study at an art school abroad at the Accademia Italiana in Florence, Italy or the Burren College of Art in Ireland. SMCM has many other sponsored programs in other countries, including programs in which art studio and art history courses are offered (Ex. Perugia, Italy and Dublin, Ireland) . Ask your art advisor and visit the Office of International Education.

The department sponsors many events each academic year. Check out this year’s events. The department also sponsors visiting artists through the Artist House Residency Programs.

Yes, there are several exhibition spaces including the Boyden Gallery and Hallwalls. The Annual All Student show takes place each spring semester in the Boyden Gallery, and Art Major Capstone exhibitions also take place in the gallery. The Department’s Hallwalls exhibition space is scheduled by faculty to show work from courses and special exhibitions, including student-organized pop-up shows.

The Department grants a number of scholarships and awards annually.

Each ART course has an academic fee which covers basic materials expenses. Depending on the nature of a particular course, academic fees range from $75-$150. Your professor often orders materials in bulk ahead of time to save you money. Academic fees also cover materials that are used communally. There will still be some art materials that you will need to purchase on your own. Typically for art courses there are no textbooks that need to be purchased separately.

Art professors will provide a list of materials in the course syllabus. Materials can be purchased at the Campus Bookstore, at local art supply stores, and online.

Students will have access to computers in our labs, and the larger screen and better processing make the desktop model a better experience in many ways than working on a laptop. External hard drive storage is necessary to switch between personal and lab computers. If you wish to purchase a laptop, we recommend the Macbook Pro 14" . Students can get discounted Adobe software by following these instructions from IT. If you are planning on pursuing animation or digital art, you may want to consider an iMac desktop computer instead. Finally, drawing tablets are also available for checkout, but if students are interested in purchasing their own, we recommend Wacom.

Talk with your Art advisor, and visit the Office of Internships. Also subscribe to the department’s Facebook page where you will find occasional postings of internship opportunities. The Art Department also regularly posts opportunities to the Google Classroom, which all Art majors and minors are subscribed to.

Yes, many Art majors have a second major or minor. Commonly paired majors include Business, Biology, Computer Science, and Environmental Studies; common minors include Women, Sexuality, and Gender Studies, Philosophy, and Education Studies. To find out what is best for your academic and post-graduation plans, make an appointment with your Art advisor to learn about the possibilities.

Professor Carrie Patterson offers several courses that introduce students to the field, and she can advise students interested in art education (ccpatterson@smcm.edu">ccpatterson@smcm.edu). Courses include: ART 369 Art for Educators and ART 269 Community Arts. Students may also serve as a course teaching assistant for specific courses with permission of the instructor by enrolling in ART 307 Practicum in Art Instruction. The College also offers a minor in Educational Studies, and an M.A.T. (Masters of Teaching). Students with an interest in art education should consider minoring in Educational Studies. Students are encouraged to set up an appointment with the department chair of Educational Studies as early as possible.

Yes, check out the After You Graduate page to learn more about what careers graduates purse after college. The department’s Capstone 1 and 2 (ART 430 and ART 431) provides a semester of creative work followed by a semester focused on professional practices in art to help prepare students for life after graduation. The College’s Career Center also has many resources for current students and alumnae.

Commercial photographer, magazine editor, curator, art buyer, photo editor, photojournalist, social media marketer, fine artist, graphic designer, illustrator, animator, graphic novelist, public or private school art teacher, community arts organizer, designer, landscape architect, architect, government-related arts jobs, historic preservation, radio production, interior design, art criticism, nonprofit management, academic/ scholar, and museum arts educator, and more!