Programs Overview
Mission
The CSUN Department of Art is committed to providing students with the necessary knowledge, skills, perspectives and understandings associated with the visual arts to succeed in their personal and professional lives.
About the Department
The goals of the Department of Art are to establish and develop for students an inclusive and balanced program in visual art, which encompass three areas of study: art education, art history and visual arts.
Students are taught to experience and value visual thinking and creative problem solving in art, as well as to recognize the concurrent importance of perception, experimentation, innovation and critical thinking. Students will also understand the history and traditions of art, with their relevance to social and community concerns, as well as the art of different cultures.
Primary areas of concentration include animation, art education, art history, ceramics, drawing, communication (graphic) design, illustration, painting, photography/video, printmaking and sculpture.
Undergraduate Art Program
A B.A. in art is valuable because it sets you on the path to developing a career. You will be suited for a career in a variety of creative industries such as illustration, photography, design, fine art, animation, fabrication, public art, and more.
Graduate Program
The graduate faculty is comprised of working artists, including members of the tenured/tenure-track faculty and visiting artists, writers, and critics from the Los Angeles international art community. Together, they form a diverse, experienced, and supportive faculty. Applicants are encouraged to contact the Visual Arts Graduate Coordinator and Area Coordinator(s) for information and questions in addition to the those found below.
Minors in Art
The Standard Art minor complements many majors, including Cinema and Television Arts (Multimedia Production), Family and Consumer Sciences (Apparel Design and Merchandising, Interior Design), and Chicana and Chicano Studies. It provides a foundation in art history and two- and three-dimensional art and encourages exploration in a variety of media, including animation, ceramics, drawing, painting, printmaking and sculpture.
Visiting Artists
The Department of Art is located 20 minutes north of Los Angeles, a major cultural center for the Visual Arts. We take advantage of our proximity to world-class museums, galleries, and artist studios with a rich and diverse visiting artist program. Guests offer lectures, demonstrations, and studio visits with our graduate and undergraduate students.