Explore. Create. Design. Perform. Succeed!
Envision your future here. Undergraduate Degrees Graduate Degrees
We are a vibrant community of artists, performers, researchers, designers, and educators committed to making meaning, learning, traveling, experiencing, and sharing. We collaborate. We build. We act and play.
We impact lives – your life.
Pursue your passions.
The College of Arts and Architecture offers more than 30 undergraduate and 15 graduate degrees in a resource-rich setting with world-class faculty and facilities, coupled with diverse arts, performance, and design programs, all in one of the Best College Towns in America. Our alumni get amazing jobs and make a difference.
Engage with the arts!
Penn State Arts and Architecture is a comprehensive college of arts and design, presentation, and performance. Supporting and elevating our extensive academic programs, the college also holds important collections and hosts powerful performances.
The Palmer Museum of Art and the Center for Performing Arts, as well as other A&A engagement units, foster significant partnerships and connections across the University, enrich the student experience, and expand the impact of arts, design, and performance at Penn State and within the broader community.
From welcoming world-class performers and premiere performances to housing globally relevant art collections and featuring contemporary exhibitions, the College of Arts and Architecture marshals the power of art, performance, and design to deeply investigate the most significant challenges of the times. And our invitation is open to all – visit, explore, experience. Engage with the arts!
Center for the Performing Arts
The Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State is unable to present public performances by artists at University Park during spring semester 2021, but the center’s series of streaming presentations, Up Close and Virtual, continues free of charge to patrons.
Learn about the evolving lineup of Up Close and Virtual presentations.
Explore the Palmer
In addition to its growing collection that spans world cultures and centuries of art, the Palmer Museum of Art – a leading cultural resource for the region – is providing a diverse array of online programming and events, plus virtual tours and exhibitions. It’s a fantastic time to experience the Palmer.
Alumni Spotlight
Alumni Spotlight
Annie Burridge
B.M. in Music 2000As general director and CEO of Austin Opera, Annie has led the development of a new strategic plan and launched an artistic initiative – Opera ATX – which brings groundbreaking artists to unexpected and unique venues throughout Austin. Before switching her focus to administration, Annie performed with numerous opera companies and orchestras, and was a young artist with Des Moines Metro Opera. In addition to her performance successes, Annie has received many leadership accolades.
The student experience matters here.
Engage. Learn. Grow.
Thrive.
100%
100% of people are creative and have the potential to make massive impact on the world. We are here to help you realize your potential.
Faculty Spotlight
Pep Avilés
Stuckeman Career Development Professor in Design
Pep Avilés is a historian, architect, and professor specializing in postwar and contemporary architecture. His academic research explores the impact media had on the materiality of architecture and the redefinition of modernism after World War II.
Avilés’ work has been sponsored by the Canadian Center for Architecture, the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, and the Getty Research Center, and has been exhibited at the Centre de Cultura Contemporànea de Barcelona (2017) and the Oslo Architecture Triennale (2019), among others. He is the founding editor of the journal Faktur: Documents and Architecture.
Marian Garcia Piano Competition and Festival: Recital featuring Dr. Cathal Breslin
Recital HallEvents
Go. Explore.Sam Suggs Q&A bass students
Music I 121 Esber Rehearsal Hall
Guest Artist Recital: Sam Suggs, double bass
Music I 130 Recital Hall
News from A&A
“Sesame Street” and “Avenue Q” puppeteer Rick Lyon reflects on time at Penn State
Can you tell me how to get, how to get to Sesame Street? If you ask puppeteer Rick Lyon, a 15-season veteran of the show and creator of the puppets
Architecture student’s research uses fungi for better building acoustics
