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Potter Hall 103
816-271-4282

About the Program  

What majors and minors are offered?
Why should I major in Art?
Are your programs accredited?
Why is it important that the program is accredited?
What type of graduate schools and programs are your graduates attending?
What are the admission requirements for the program?
As a high school student, how should I prepare for an Art degree?
What is the typical class size?
How do students work together with faculty?
What student organizations are available?
What type of awards have your faculty and students received?

What majors and minors are offered?
Department of Art photoWestern’s Department of Art offers three bachelor’s degrees. The Bachelor of Arts degree in Art is for those students interested in a career in fine arts, the Bachelor of Science Degree in Education is for those who want to teach art in the public schools, and the Bachelor of Science Degree in Graphic Design is for those interested in a career as a graphic designer.

Why should I major in Art?
An Art degree prepares students to practice art on a professional level. You may want to major in Art if you feel compelled to express your ideas, thoughts and feelings through art. The Western Art Department offers you the opportunity to explore a wide variety of media.

Are your programs accredited?
The Art Education program is fully accredited by the National Council on Accreditation of Teacher Education.

Why is it important that the program is accredited?
National accreditation is one way to ensure the quality of the program you choose. The organizations providing accreditations ensure the program meets certain standards of quality.

Art photoWhat type of graduate schools and programs are your graduates attending?
Many Art graduates earn Master of Fine Arts degrees, and those with Art Education degrees often earn advanced degrees in that field. Recent graduates have earned degrees from Kansas State University, University of Maine and College of Staten Island in Brooklyn, N.Y.

What are the admission requirements for the program?
Students must complete three courses, ART 110 Beginning Drawing, ART 120 Two-Dimensional Design, and ART 130 Tools and Techniques, with a 2.5 GPA before declaring a major in the department.

As a high school student, how should I prepare for an Art degree?
If you are considering an art major in college, complete the high school core curriculum, and take all the art courses available at your high school. Also, visit art museums and enroll in art programs or seminars. You may want to look into volunteering at a museum.

What is the typical class size?
Academic classes may contain up to 30 students, but studio classes are 20 and under in number. Faculty members work closely with students individually and in small groups throughout their college careers.

How do students work together with faculty?
Faculty members are actively involved in students’ college experiences, helping them plan their coursework and careers. Students in studio classes can be assured that professors demonstrate processes or procedures in class and on an individual basis outside of the classroom if a student needs additional help.

Professors also work one-on-one with students or in small groups on research projects.

What student organizations are available?
Griffon Arts SocietyThe Griffon Art Society is a student organization open to anyone interested in art. The Society holds periodic meetings throughout the year and sponsors social functions, field trips and community projects.

What type of awards have your faculty and students received?

  • An art professor had a print on exhibition at the Sharjah Art Museum in
    Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. The print is part of a suite of prints
    that documents the French-Algerian War of the 1960s. The work is in
    conjunction with the development of a graphic novel, and the print was
    acquired by the museum.
  • Last year, students and faculty had 38 works shown in 28 exhibitions across the United States. Awards for those exhibitions included six first-place awards, two second-place awards, two honorable mentions, one merit award, one purchase award, and one juror’s award.
  • Five professors had inclusions in books, publications or research studies. One professor’s ceramic sculpture was one of 250 chosen from nearly 20,000 entries as an illustration for a book, “Making Marks.”
  • An art professor had his ceramic sculpture selected for the 48th annual Delta Exhibition. Forty-five works by 44 artists were chosen from 630 pieces submitted by 351 artists.
  • A professor’s color photographic triptych was one of 43 photos selected from over 1,700 entries for the Texas Photographic Society 13: The National Competition.
  • Two students had photographs included in the 24th Annual Student Photography Contest and Publication. Only 5% of the 31,000 submissions were selected for publication.
  • Four students had a total of 11 photographs juried and accepted into the 20th annual Five-State Photography Competition. One of those students won a first place award and a cash prize.
  • One student was juried into a nine-state show called Artists of the 21st Century. She received first place and a cash award.