Art Major

As a student at Cedar Crest College, you will find yourself surrounded by a vibrantly creative and supportive community…and inspirational customized studio spaces in which to cultivate your talents. Each semester, you will create your own works side-by-side with professional faculty-artists, visiting artists, and other student-artists.

During your first semesters here, you will be given the opportunity to explore a wide variety of 2D and 3D media. Later, you will select one or two media in which you will focus your final semesters of work. This will enable you to further develop your skills, your artistic voice, and your own unique style.

Artistic Media at Cedar Crest College

• Book arts
• Ceramics
• Illustration
• Jewelry and metalsmithing
• Painting
• Papermaking
• Printed image
• Sculpture

Within the liberal art setting at Cedar Crest College the Art Major is designed to engage the student in extensive studio practice and art history while combining studies within a chosen discipline outside of the visual and performing arts. Integration within the liberal arts model provides the student with a holistic foundation that guides the evolution of their studio art interests into formative career paths.

By connecting areas of learning across disciplines the Art Major enables the students to become competitive in the art and job market while cultivating the broadest possible venue for learning and personal development. The curriculum set forth through the Art Major best models the experiences artists face in contemporary culture. Some common integrations include:

• Art and business: This focus positions you to work in galleries and museums, work for a nonprofit organization, or to become an entrepreneur and market your own artwork.
• Art and communication: If you would like to pursue advertising, graphic design, and/or public relations work, this focus is for you.
• Art and English: Here you can combine the book arts courses with creative writing and/or poetry, enabling you to write and illustrate your own publications.
• Art and biology: Many organizations require high-quality medical and botanical illustrations, models and other artwork.
• Art and criminal justice or forensic science: The legal and justice systems utilize artists for the production of illustrations of crime scenes, composite sketches, and courtroom scenes.
• Art and psychology: As an alternative to the art therapy major, students interested in both mental health and art can integrate these two disciplines and take art therapy courses as electives. This integration program will also allow you to take more studio courses than the art therapy program requires.

Portfolio Reviews

Portfolio reviews are held once each semester, in the fall and spring, for students with an art therapy major. Art therapy majors will need two portfolio reviews to complete the requirements for the major.

Students present a portfolio of current work created in their studio courses. The purpose of the portfolio review:

• To provide the student with feedback on the progress of their work
• To suggest potential directions the work may take
• To serve as an assessment tool for the art department
• To assist students in the creation of a professional portfolio (Note: Students who are applying to graduate school will be required to submit a portfolio of their work.)

Learn More: 4+1 MBA