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In our 16 diverse departments and programs, you will explore emerging and traditional mediums.

Academics

You'll collaborate with exceptional faculty and students from across the world.

Community & Campus

You will push your creative boundaries to create innovative work.

The Work

And you'll graduate with credibility as an artist and professional, with a nationally recognized degree.

About VCUarts

Departments & Programs

Art Education

B.F.A., M.A.E., Ph.D.
Art Education gives you the skills necessary to train the next generation of artists. You will engage as both artist and educator with art-based service-learning, visual culture studies, critical thinking, exhibition, assessment, curriculum, critical theory and emerging digital technologies. Once you graduate, you’ll be eligible for teacher licensure in pre-kindergarten through grade 12. Our alumni work in schools, communities and museums across the country and around the world.

• Bachelor of Fine Arts in Arts with a concentration in art education
• Master of Art Education
• Ph.D. in Education with a concentration in art education

Art History

B.A., M.A.
As an Art History major, you will study, interpret and analyze artwork. Your exploration of art history will be interdisciplinary, theoretically informed and grounded in close historical and visual analysis. Hands-on experience with galleries, museums and local art collections will build your skills in curatorial studies and exhibition organization. The skills you hone in this program will help you prepare for a career in academia, museums or galleries.

• Bachelor of Arts in Art History | Accelerated 4+1 M.A. In Art History
• Minor in Art History
• Master of Arts in Art History with a concentration in historical studies
• Master of Arts in Art History with a concentration in museum studies

Cinema

B.A.
Our Cinema program is a hands-on, collaborative experience covering the entire scope of narrative filmmaking and what it’s like to work on a film crew. You’ll shoot on location with auditioned actors, follow industry practices and use professional equipment. You’ll gain experience with each step of the process, including screenwriting, directing, editing and distribution.

• Bachelor of Arts in Cinema

Communication Arts

B.F.A., Minor
Explore the powerful and timeless relationship between art, design and storytelling. You’ll develop your skills in your chosen area of focus, whether that’s observational drawing, digital illustration, character design, concept design, comics and graphic novels, storyboarding, visual effects or mixed-media illustration.

• Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communication Arts
• Bachelor of Fine Arts with a concentration in visual effects
• Minor in visual effects

Craft/Material Studies

B.F.A., Minor, M.F.A.
Students in the Craft/Material Studies department explore the potential of materials and create objects through both ancient and cutting-edge processes. Honing skills between five main areas of focus—glass, fiber, clay, metal and wood—your work will range from functional to conceptual. A degree in Craft/Material Studies gives you the skills to create a career focused on entrepreneurship, studio work and more.

• Bachelor of Fine Arts in Craft and Material Studies
• Minor in Craft and Material Studies
• Master of Fine Arts in Fine Arts with a concentration in jewelry/metalworking
• Master of Fine Arts in Fine Arts with a concentration in glassworking
• Master of Fine Arts in Fine Arts with a concentration in furniture design
• Master of Fine Arts in Fine Arts with a concentration in fibers
• Master of Fine Arts in Fine Arts with a concentration in ceramics

Dance + Choreography

B.F.A., Minor
This pre-professional program will train you in modern and contemporary dance forms, offering courses including ballet, jazz, tap, improvisation and much more. As a Dance + Choreography major, you will have access to eight dance studios with floor-to-ceiling windows and a fully-staffed theater designed for dance. You’ll study both dance and choreography and learn from faculty who are critically acclaimed and recognized in their fields.

• Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance and Choreography
• Minor in Dance and Choreography

Fashion Design + Merchandising

B.F.A., B.A., Minor
This program offers two distinct tracks. In the design concentration, you will hone your creativity, practicing garment processes from conception to execution. In the merchandising concentration, you will further your analytical skills through the lens of the fashion world’s global perspectives. We also offer an accelerated program, in which students can earn a B.A. in Fashion with a concentration in fashion merchandising and an M.S. in Business with a concentration in marketing management in a minimum of five years.

• Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fashion with a concentration in fashion design
• Bachelor of Arts in Fashion with a concentration in fashion merchandising | Accelerated 4+1 M.S. in Business
• Minor in fashion merchandising

Graphic Design

B.F.A., M.F.A.
In this program, you will explore design methods, processes, materials and language; broaden your understanding of design practices; and gain experience with collaboration, research, making and cultural literacy. You’ll customize your education while you experiment with modes of making on-site, with letterpress facilities and an in-house production facility (with high-capacity printers, a Risograph and binding equipment) available to you from day one.

• Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design
• Master of Fine Arts in Design with a concentration in visual communications

Interior Design

B.F.A., M.F.A.
As a student in one of the nation’s first interior design programs, you will have an intellectually rigorous studio-based experience and explore the connections between people, culture and the spaces they occupy. You’ll challenge conventional understandings of space and advocate for the betterment of communities through design. Our relationships with design practitioners across the nation offer opportunities and access to professional critiques, visting designers and site visits.

• Bachelor of Fine Arts in Interior Design
• Master of Fine Arts in Design with a concentration in interior environments: post-professional option
• Master of Fine Arts in Design with a concentration in interior environments: professional entry-level option

Kinetic Imaging

B.F.A., Minor, M.F.A.
Use both analog and digital technologies to learn traditional and experimental 2D and 3D animation techniques and gain experience with video production tools, sound recording and manipulation. Your interdisciplinary work can venture into web technologies, projection mapping, virtual reality, programming, interactivity or multichannel sound. A degree in Kinetic Imaging prepares you to create art at the cutting edge of technology using both tested and experimental methods.

• Bachelor of Fine Arts in Kinetic Imaging
• Minor in animation
• Minor in sound design
• Master of Fine Arts in Fine Arts with a concentration in kinetic imaging

Music

B.M., B.A., Minor
In the Music department, you can customize your experience. Whether you want to refine your abilities on a specific instrument, prepare to teach tomorrow’s musicians, collaborate with other skilled chamber or jazz musicians, or make music a foundation for other career goals, you’ll study under faculty who are leaders in their fields. You will also have access to acclaimed visiting artists and alumni who regularly visit campus for concerts, masterclasses and clinics.

• Bachelor of Arts in Music
• Bachelor of Music with a concentration in performance/guitar
• Bachelor of Music with a concentration in performance/jazz studies
• Bachelor of Music with a concentration in performance/piano
• Bachelor of Music with a concentration in performance/strings
• Bachelor of Music with a concentration in performance/winds and percussion
• Bachelor of Music with a concentration in performance/voice
• Bachelor of Music with a concentration in music education/instrumental
• Bachelor of Music with a concentration in music education/vocal-choral
• Bachelor of Arts in Music with a concentration in Media Scoring
• Minor in music

Painting + Printmaking

B.F.A., Minor, M.F.A.
As a Painting + Printmaking student, you will explore painting, drawing and printmaking and learn socially engaged practices, creative coding, video, performance and more. You will be part of a large, diverse and vibrant community of artists, scholars and students, and have access to lectures and studio visits with artists, curators, and critics; exhibitions; and open studios.

• Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting and Printmaking
• Minor in painting and printmaking
• Master of Fine Arts in Fine Arts with a concentration in painting and printmaking

Photography + Film

B.F.A., M.F.A.
This program offers two distinct tracks. In the Photography concentration, you will have access to a darkroom, digital cameras and lighting equipment, providing you experience with fine art, studio and location photography. In the Film concentration, master the art of moving image production. You will work with various films and cameras to study, write, produce, and edit independent fiction, documentary and experimental films.

• Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography and Film with a concentration in photography
• Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography and Film with a concentration in filmmaking
• Master of Fine Arts in Fine Arts with a concentration in photography and film

Sculpture + Extended Media

B.F.A., Minor, M.F.A.
As a Sculpture + Extended Media student, you will explore the edges of the art world in a highly flexible, interdisciplinary curriculum. You will have an individual studio space where you can create work through both time-tested techniques like mold making, woodworking and welding and new media like video, performance, sound, installation and 3D digital modeling.

• Bachelor of Fine Arts in Sculpture
• Minor in sculpture
• Master of Fine Arts in Fine Arts with a concentration in sculpture

Theatre

B.A., B.F.A., Minor, M.F.A.
In the Theatre program, students train in the fields of performance; design and technology; and theatre pedagogy. You’ll have the opportunity to participate in award-winning improv teams, make professional connections, work on our mainstage productions and in our student theater. You may pursue a concentration in Costume Design, Lighting Design, Musical Theatre, Performance, Scene Design/Technical Production or Stage Management.

• Bachelor of Arts in Theatre
• Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre with a concentration in performance
• Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre with a concentration in stage management/technical production
• Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre with a concentration in scene design/technical production
• Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre with a concentration in lighting design/technical production
• Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre with a concentration in costume design/technical production
• Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre with a concentration in performance/musical theatre
• Minor in Musical Theatre
• Minor in Theatre
• Master of Fine Arts in Theatre with a concentration in pedagogy/performance

The Art Foundation Program

Building a strong first-year experience
The Art Foundation Program (known as AFO) is a one-year immersive program for all visual arts and design majors. It provides an intellectually rigorous, studio-based experience in the fundamental issues of art and design. Students are challenged to try new materials, strategies and ideas as they expand their skills and set their direction at VCUarts.

Creative Research

VCUarts breaks down the walls of rigid arts practices and education.
Here, you will blend traditionally isolated practices and explore the innovative possibilities of purposeful experimentation and creativity to confront real-world challenges through interdisciplinary arts research. Explore some of the stories and work defining research at VCUarts.

Pen to Print is an ongoing collaboration between VCUarts graphic design graduate students and Richmond Young Writers, a local non-profit organization that creates space for kids ages 9–18 to harness the power of their authentic voices.

Magnaforma is a large-scale, award-winning, multi-university arts research exhibition designed to harness the power and precision of a large industrial robotic arm whose movement over time will physically create the entire surface topography of Mars here on Earth.

How can we design a preschool that encourages children to engage deeply with natural environments through year-round outdoor and indoor activities, fostering experiential learning and environmental education?

Pen to Print

Pen to PrintPen to Print is an ongoing collaboration between VCUarts graphic design graduate students and Richmond Young Writers, a local non-profit organization that creates space for kids ages 9–18 to harness the power of their authentic voices.

Magnaforma

MagnaformaMagnaforma is a large-scale, award-winning, multi-university arts research exhibition designed to harness the power and precision of a large industrial robotic arm whose movement over time will physically create the entire surface topography of Mars here on Earth.

Dune Dynamics-A Nature-Based Preschool

Dune Dynamics-A Nature-Based PreschoolHow can we design a preschool that encourages children to engage deeply with natural environments through year-round outdoor and indoor activities, fostering experiential learning and environmental education?

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