The Department of Art bases our mission on this premise: that art is at the core of the humanities. Art derives its cultural value and meaning from various histories and communities. We support a wide variety of approaches to art practice and scholarship and are committed to the encouragement of artistic awareness and student conceptual acumen growth. To this end, our goal is to instruct and mentor students at all levels of development in the means and methods of contemporary art practice and scholarship. Creative expression of students is fostered with the highest standard of artistic and critical engagement, pedagogical rigor, and professional practice. Central to our program is creative artistic work of high quality. We encourage excellence, and an experimental and interdisciplinary approach to artmaking across four areas of study: Drawing, Painting, and Printmaking Interdisciplinary Art and Social Practice Photography and Moving Images Sculpture and Ceramics