Art and Design | Springfield College

Art and Design

Major
Bachelor of Arts
About This Program
Program Contact
Curriculum and Delivery
  • Our Experiential Major Map helps you visualize and design your journey
  • Courses offered on campus in Springfield, Mass.
  • Tracks in Studio Arts or Design
  • Receive one-on-one mentoring and constructive feedback from your professors
  • Take advantage of more than 20,000-square-feet of open, well-equipped studio space
  • Gain valuable work experience through internships with design studios, galleries, and museums
  • Customize your academic experiences and develop a professional portfolio
  • Sample Schedule
Career Opportunities

What You Can Do

  • Art Director
  • Arts Administrator
  • Community Artist
  • Creative Director
  • Curator
  • Editorial/Publication Designer
  • Environmental Designer
  • Fine Artist
  • Gallery and Museum Technician
  • Graphic Designer
  • Illustrator
  • Motion Graphics Designer
  • Multimedia Designer
  • Package Designer
  • Studio Assistant
  • Teacher
  • User Experience Designer
  • User Interface Designer
  • Web Designer
Paying for Your Education

Save money on your course art supplies by letting us cover most of the cost!

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Upcoming Events

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Students work during an art and design studio drawing course with professor Jessica Poser in Blake Hall

Embrace Your Creativity.

The Art and Design major at Springfield College provides an opportunity for you to learn to creatively combine practical, conceptual, and critical skills to engage with the challenges of an ever-changing and increasingly visual contemporary world. You are encouraged to develop a personal vision through guided exploration in the studio arts and design in parallel with a comprehensive foundation in art and design history. 

Through diverse coursework, the major provides you opportunities to develop your creative skills in a variety of visual arts and design approaches. As you mature as an artist and designer, you become visually literate, skilled in creative problem-solving, and aesthetically sensitive. 

Once the core requirements of the major have been met, you can choose a focus:

  • Studio Arts: Choose from an exciting array of introductory and advanced-level courses in drawing, painting, ceramics, photography, sculpture, and mixed media. Exploration and development in different areas of studio arts are informed by an experimental approach, one that supports risk taking and innovation. Through a solid foundation, students are prepared for advanced study and professional opportunities in the arts.
  • Design: Develop skills in areas of graphic design, web design, multimedia and communication design, motion graphics, exhibition, packaging, and environmental design. An innovative blend of the creative and the technological, the design focus prepares students to enter the workforce with experience, strong portfolios, and the knowledge gained from an evolving curriculum that reflects a rapidly changing field. Students explore these areas utilizing computer software, 3D printers, virtual reality, and emergent technologies. The flexibility and expansive understanding of design prepare students to pursue a variety of exciting creative careers. 

"My ability to connect and network with people will serve me well as I enter the “real world.” The friends I’ve made and the advice I was given will be things that will guide me through the rest of my life." Michael Ott, Class of 2025
Michael Ott - Springfield College
"I have taken courses such as Embedded Systems in Robotics, Experiential Web Development, Data Science, etc., that I am very passionate about. I have been able to gain some real-world experiences through the school, which I am grateful for." Prashant Timalsina, Class of 2024
Prashant Timalsina - Springfield College

What You Will Learn

Visual, practical, and technical skills in a variety of media

  • Explore themes of aesthetic, technical, and conceptual complexity while developing a visual language for creative expression. 
  • Exercise the expressive qualities of each medium, making thoughtful connections between medium and content.

Critical, creative, and innovative thinking

  • Cultivate the ability for divergent and flexible thinking and cultivate intellectual and creative curiosity in your work. 
  • Employ experimentation and risk-taking with medium, technique, and content.

Traditional and current practice in visual art, design, and culture

  • Develop an awareness of the diversity of expression in art and design and the importance of this diversity in local and global cultures. 
  • Examine the roles that art and design play in culture, history, and society.
William Simpson Fine Arts Series

Celebrate the arts

The William Simpson Fine Arts Series entertains and inspires. Experience the arts with magnificent work from artists and performers from both inside and outside the Springfield College community. Attendees will be dazzled by dance performances and theater presentations, captivated by art exhibitions and thought-provoking film, and delighted by concerts and literary events.

William Simpson Fall 2019 Program
INSIDE THE MINDS OF OUR STUDENTS

Virtual Art Show

Our students have created some pretty impressive work. The knowledge, skills, and experience they gain from this allows them to put experience on their resume before graduation and develop an established profile to show employers.

Conceptual image of student
“To say I enjoyed my time as an art and design student at Springfield College would be an understatement. I continually felt supported by my professors and peers in my choice to pursue a career in the arts. The professors are not only excellent instructors, but also working artists that offer professional expertise, artistic knowledge, and consistent encouragement. For my senior show, I had the opportunity to create six-foot-tall abstract paintings, which was an exciting way to culminate all that I had learned in my undergraduate experience. My time in this major was very impactful on my growth as an artist, student, and person.” Heidi Schuman ’22
Incoming first year Springfield College students participate in June Orientation on Alden Street
Core Curriculum

Our curriculum is designed in faithfulness to the Springfield College mission and to further strengthen the Humanics philosophy of educating students in spirit, mind, and body.

Student at the Learning Commons
Career Center

The Career Center’s mission is to educate, inspire, and empower students and alumni to effectively make well-informed career decisions. The staff is committed to student learning and development, and offers a variety of opportunities and programming for students and alumni.

The Academic Success Center offers readily and easily accessible services including support in writing, mathematics, science, subject area tutoring, learning strategies and time management counseling, and assistance for students with documented disabilities.
Academic Success Center

The Academic Success Center offers readily and easily accessible services including support in writing, mathematics, science, subject area tutoring, learning strategies and time management counseling, and assistance for students with documented disabilities.

Studying Art and Design At Springfield College