Art Education All Grade (BS)

The University offers a bachelor of science (BS) in art education that prepares students to become licensed as teachers of the visual arts in kindergarten-12, and to supervise art programs at these levels.

The Art Education Program is designed to develop broad and versatile creative abilities while providing a highly professional education that prepares students for teaching careers as well as future graduate study.

Students are encouraged to think and work creatively, and to become engaged members of a variety of artistic and scholarly communities. Each student receives professional guidance and participates in annual department assessment reviews that serve to enhance his or her scholastic and creative development.

Coursework includes three components:

• The productive component, or studio area, teaches students basic concepts and skills and technical proficiencies.
• The appreciative component, including aesthetics, art history, and art criticism, gives students philosophical, historical, and critical bases for viewing art of the past and present.
• The professional component provides students with the knowledge and abilities related to education in general and art education in particular. This is done through classroom laboratory and clinical experience in creative abilities in the classroom. It also cultivates confidence in students as educators who can effectively teach a comprehensive art curriculum.

Students gain teaching skills through classroom and field experiences in the Bayh College of Education and the College of Arts and Science—and through their required student teaching experience.

The Art Education Program is distinguished by the smallness of its classes and a curriculum that strikes a balance between traditional art-making processes and cutting-edge technology. Spacious studios and ample equipment enhance hands-on experiences.

Courses are conducted in over 70,000 square feet of professionally equipped and maintained space. The Fine Arts Building houses the graphic design and computer art studios, classrooms, the art education facility, and departmental offices. Studios for painting, photography, printmaking, papermaking, and drawing are located in historic Fairbanks Hall. The Fine Arts Annex houses ceramics and sculpture.

Students gain exposure to artists of national and international significance through a regular schedule of exhibitions and lectures in the University Art Gallery. The Bare-Montgomery Gallery provides students with the opportunity to exhibit their own work or to curate exhibitions of student work. Other gallery spaces provide students with additional opportunities to view or exhibit artwork. Art Education students also have learning opportunities through hands-on and other experiential work with ISU’s Permanent Art Collection. The department enjoys a strong collaborative relationship with the Swope Art Museum, nationally recognized as a major regional museum.

The department offers a number of student organizations, including the student chapter of the Art Educators Association of Indiana and the Omega Chapter of the Kappa Pi International Honorary Art Fraternity. In addition, students may participate in community activities such as the Terre Haute Street Fair, work with the Community School of the Arts, or the Summer Youth Art Program at the Swope Art Museum.