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Create, innovate, communicate

As a visual artist, you create, innovate, and communicate. You share beauty, you share experiences, you share thoughts and feelings that help people to connect. In the College of Arts and Architecture, we’ll help you hone your skills, nurture your creativity, and prepare you for the next step.

Undergraduate
Degrees

SoVA student painting in studio.

B.A. in Art

The B.A. in Art offers visual artists the opportunity to find their artistic voices in an environment that fosters individuality and prepares graduates for an impactful career in the arts.
SoVA student exhibition Pushing it to the limit.

B.F.A. in Art

The BFA prepares visual thinkers who work with hands, heart, and head to be leaders in the contemporary art world.
SoVA Saturday Art School exhibition for young artists.

B.S. in Art Education

The B.S. in Art Education degree program produces highly skilled art educators who inspire future generations to embrace art and its power to effect social change.
Student participating in the Borland Project Space

B.A. in Art History

The B.A. in Art History offers an opportunity for students to explore and examine art while developing a deep understanding of how and why it brings the world closer.
Virtual Reality immersive experience seminar.

B.Des. in Digital Arts and Media Design

The B.Des. in Digital Arts and Media Design is on the cutting edge of a rapidly growing discipline that prepares students to develop digital technology in art, gaming, simulations, web-based design, and much more.
First year M.F.A. student exhibition with an interactive floor projection and teal balloons.

B.Des. in Digital Multimedia Design

The wholly online B.Des. in Digital Multimedia Design program prepares students to impact the ever-changing visual art, information science and technology, and communications digital media landscape.
Students gathered around a table with sketches and a laptop open as the instructor points at concepts on the pages

B.Des. in Graphic Design

The B.Des. in Graphic Design empowers students to become innovators that meet the growing demand for branding, storytelling, visualizing information, user experience, and user interface designs.
ADRI Jenny Kenyon

B.A. in Integrative Arts

The B.A. in Integrative Arts offers the unique opportunity for students to work successfully as innovative and dynamic artists, designers, and performers in an increasingly interdisciplinary world.
SoVA student photoshoot capturing a close up shot.

B.Des. in Professional Photography

The B.Des. in Professional Photography prepares students to realize the power of photography while training them to professionally capture the beauty and complexity of the world.

Undergraduate
Minors + Certificates

Brightly-colored textured floor objects and wall art displayed as part of an exhibit in Patterson Gallery located on Penn State University Park campus.

Art Minor

The Art minor will help you develop the skills and knowledge to understand and integrate a range of art and design methods and content into your broader academic interests.
A 20th century decorated wooden box called a Tukula container produced by Kuba carvers from the Democratic Rebublic of the Congo.

Art History Minor

Explore art from ancient to contemporary times, in Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Oceania. This minor relates visual images to the big questions of humanity.
Graphic design students collaborating ideas in studio.

Digital Arts Certificate

Blend classroom and online learning in this 15-credit certificate program that will help you develop artistic knowledge and technical skills that can be applied across industries and professions.
A student presents her 3d model figurine concept to a panel of judges during the Arts Business Ideas Competition. Mimicking the look of her 3d model, she wears a pink ponytail wig and vibrant outfit.

Entrepreneurship and Innovation Minor

Become a leader in the arts or design. Engage in a start-up venture. Leverage your art or craft. Create alliances. Meet social or business needs. Craft ideas and make art work.
Undergraduate graphic design student work exhibition: showcasing a wall divider with big bold text, digital designs on flat-screen TVs, and poster design pinned up on a divider board.

Graphic Design Minor

The Graphic Design minor is intended for students interested in augmenting their academic major with the physical, technological, aesthetic, and conceptual skills associated with a design discipline.
Hundreds of red lanterns overhead in the Doseonsa temple in Seoul, South Korea.

International Arts Minor

Expand your perspective. Become a well-traveled citizen of the world. A minor in International Arts will provide a deeper understanding of how art and design permeate cultures around the world.
A public collection of late artwork displayed at the Palmer Museum of Art. A student explains the meaning of the piece to visitors.

Museum Studies Certificate

Learn the fundamentals of museum studies. Explore the history, theory, and practice of institutional collecting and conservation. Engage in a technical investigation of art.
A student photographing colorful artwork on display in Zoller Gallery.

Photography Minor

Acquire technical and conceptual photographic capabilities for documenting, expressing, and sharing information, ideas, views, and cultural perspectives. Learn to communicate in a visual language.

Graduate
Degrees

M.F.A. exhibition showing close up of a sculpture.

M.F.A. in Art

The Penn State M.F.A. in Art offers concentrations in ceramics, drawing and painting, graphic design, new media, photography, printmaking, and sculpture – all to elevate your art and impact.
BPS showcasing Art Education research exhibition on transdisciplinary creativity.

M.S. in Art Education (+Dual M.S.)

The M.S. in Art Education and Dual M.S. in Art Education + Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Penn State explore the making of art and curriculum as the making of ideas that matter.
Art Education student research exhibition.

Ph.D. in Art Education (+Dual Ph.D.)

The Ph.D. in Art Education – plus the Art Ed + African American and Diaspora Studies and Art Ed + Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies dual-title degrees – position you to make a lasting impact on the art education profession.
Art History graduate investigating an artifact from the African Brilliance exhibition.

M.A. in Art History

The M.A. degree in Art History transforms a passion for the arts and cultural history into a career path. Through the completion of a master’s paper or thesis, foreign language...
Palmer Museum painting analysis by Maggie Davis.

Ph.D. in Art History (+Dual Ph.D.)

Advanced study of visual arts spanning periods, cultures, and geographies. The Art History Ph.D. program – with Asian Studies or Visual Studies dual-title options – can deepen your expertise and advance your Art History career.

Alumni Spotlight

Penn State gave me the opportunity to explore the many career paths available in the film industry.
Caleb Yoder, Penn State alumnus and DreamWorks animatic editor.

Alumni Spotlight

Caleb Yoder

B.Des. in Digital Arts and Media Design 2016

A student internship with DreamWorks Animation led Caleb Yoder to a full-time videographer position with the company following his graduation. Caleb spent eight months as a videographer before moving to the DreamWorks TV division, where he worked as a production assistant and production coordinator on Harvey Street Kids. As a Schreyer Scholar, Caleb graduated with highest distinction, serving as college marshal for the College of Arts and Architecture. Caleb now is assistant animatic editor at DreamWorks.

Silhouette of Caleb Yoder shooting video for DreamWorks.
DreamWorks animatic editor Caleb Yoder pictured with characters from Harvey Street Kids

Galleries, Studios & Workshops

Sketch. Stitch. Saw. Fabricate. Create. Display. We have spaces for it all.
See All Galleries, Studios & Workshops
A close up of a SoVA student using a hand-held cutting saw to cut and smooth a piece of metal tube in the SoVA Wood & Metal Shop.
A close up of a SoVA student using a hand-held cutting saw to cut and smooth a piece of metal tube in the SoVA Wood & Metal Shop.

Patterson Gallery

Located in the second floor lobby of the Patterson Building, the Patterson Gallery showcases undergraduate student research and creative work, mainly spotlighting senior thesis


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A close up of a SoVA student using a hand-held cutting saw to cut and smooth a piece of metal tube in the SoVA Wood & Metal Shop.

SoVA Makerspace

SoVA’s Makerspace is a hub of creation and fabrication, and contains 3D scanning and printing equipment, robust computer workstations, as well as a CNC


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A close up of a SoVA student using a hand-held cutting saw to cut and smooth a piece of metal tube in the SoVA Wood & Metal Shop.

SoVA Wood & Metal Shop

The Visual Arts Building Wood and Metal Shop is an exceptionally well-equipped and maintained facility located on the 1st floor of the Visual Arts


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A close up of a SoVA student using a hand-held cutting saw to cut and smooth a piece of metal tube in the SoVA Wood & Metal Shop.

Zoller Gallery

Located on the entrance level of the Visuals Arts Building, the Edwin W. Zoller Gallery is a 2,200 square foot exhibition space. Founded in


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A large scale painting of a face in distraught in different shades of vibrant blue diplayed in the undergraduate juried show at Zoller Gallery.
SoVA student working on adding black fabric to her metal sculpture.
A student taking a photo from her phone of a display of matted artwork on a shelf at the Palmer Museum of Art.
A jar of clear neon green liquid with meticulously sculpted patinaed teeth at the bottom diplayed in the undergraduate juried show at Zoller Gallery.
SoVA student Zexi Zhang demonstrates the interactive game she created.
A student kneeling on the floor taking a photograph of students working in the SoVA Wood & Metal Shop.
A sculpted head made out of clay sitting on the floor in the SoVA Ceramics Studio.
A photography student explaining her photos, entitled Black Girl Magic.
A student wearing VR eyewear and using handheld controls, experiencing a virtual reality rich environment during a Penn State VR hackathon event.
A wide shot of Zoller Gallery displaying various works of students during the undergraduate juried show at Zoller Gallery.
A student throwing pottery on an electric pottery wheel.

See what we mean?

From photography and printmaking to sculpture, drawing, painting and other studio arts to digital and dimensional, the range of visual arts at Penn State is stunning!

Faculty Spotlight

Fragile religious mural painted by Christianized Maya artists in Yucatán, Mexico
Fragile religious mural painted by Christianized Maya artists in Yucatán, Mexico
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Amara Solari

Associate Professor of Art History

Amara Solari teaches courses in Latin American art from the pre-Columbian through the colonial period. Her research focuses on processes of cultural, visual, and theological interchange between indigenous groups and Spanish settlers of New Spain. She recently received a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities in support of her research project, “Maya Christian Murals of Yucatán: Indigenous Catholicism in Early Modern New Spain,” which focuses on fragile religious murals painted by Christianized Maya artists in Yucatán, Mexico, between 1550 and 1750.

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Amara Solari
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Sep 1

NOMAS Meet & Greet: Welcome to Stuckeman

 All new and returning Students of Color in the Stuckeman School are invited to attend this virtual welcome event, sponsored the Penn State chapter of

Events

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SOM - Bach's Lunch

UP: CSED All Faith Chapel
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Sep 3

Voice Jury Honors Voice students with superlative performances at their end-of-semester performance final sing a program of best songs and arias. "Bach's Lunch" is a


SOM - Bach's Lunch

UP: CSED All Faith Chapel
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Sep 10

Sophomore Showcase Sophomore voice performance majors sing a showcase of songs and arias as a precursor to entrance to upper level study. "Bach's Lunch" is


SOM - Bach's Lunch

UP: CSED All Faith Chapel
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Sep 17

MM Voice Students Graduate students in Voice Performance and Voice Performance & Pedagogy degrees present a program of favorite songs and arias. "Bach's Lunch" is


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News from A&A

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Locke's essay published in Field Language: The Painting and Poetry of Warren and Jane Rohrer
Nancy Locke’s essay, “Work, Labor, Matter: Warren Rohrer’s Abstraction,” appears in Field Language: The Painting and Poetry of Warren and Jane Rohrer.

Nancy Locke’s essay (coauthored with Christopher Campbell), “Work, Labor, Matter: Warren Rohrer’s Abstraction,” appears in Field Language: The Painting and Poetry of Warren and Jane Rohrer, edited by Julia Spicher


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New media artist and academic leader named next director of Penn State School of Visual Arts
Vagner Mendonça-Whitehead, chair of the Department of Visual Arts at Texas Woman’s University, has been appointed director of the Penn State School of Visual Arts.
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Stuckeman School introduces virtual exhibit of award-winning student work
The Penn State Stuckeman School has launched its first-ever virtual student awards gallery to celebrate the award-winning work the School’s students have produced over the past aca
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