Undergraduate Study
All of our concentrations share the common objectives of engaging, stimulating and equipping our students to become articulate and critically aware artists, educators, designers and scholars. Through work in a variety of media, the curriculum is structured to provide a rich and professional experience in the visual arts with access to the resources of a large, urban university. This combination enables students to graduate from our school with the variety of skills necessary to pursue graduate study or a career in the arts. Though students graduate with a concentration specialization, our school encourages interdisciplinary work and cross-pollination amongst the areas. For more information on the portfolio submission process, visit our portfolio guideline page.
Explore Our Programs
Foundation Program
The Foundation Program in the School of Art and Design consists of four required classes for all students seeking to major in one of the nine studio art concentrations or Art Education. These classes are Drawing I, Introductory Studio, 2-D Design and 3-D Design. The premise of the Foundation Program is to serve as an introduction to and a preparation for the student’s major area of study.
This program, which is the core of all studio concentrations, offers the opportunity to investigate a broad range of ideas, approaches and issues in art, challenging the student to think and work in new ways. Rather than promote any single discipline, the program is founded upon intensive studio investigation of techniques, methods, and concepts common to all areas of creative production.
Experiential Learning
The program presents many challenges designed to help students develop the confidence and skills to push their creative work beyond the obvious and familiar. Although it is essential that students spend time refining existing knowledge and skills, it is also important for them to explore new materials, techniques, and ideas.
In all Foundation studio courses, relevant conceptual and critical issues are introduced and discussed alongside each practical assignment. This integrated approach promotes a balance between developing technical and intellectual skills and places equal emphasis on both the process and the product of artistic investigation. Students begin to develop personal vocabulary and content by considering subjects and ideas from various frames of reference.
Form + Theory
Students take courses in specific mediums, but also design basics, art fundamentals, and art history, to lend context and conceptual backing to the work they produce.
A typical course sequence for incoming freshmen or transfer students into the School of Art and Design would be Drawing I and 2D Design in the first semester followed by Introductory Studio and 3D Design the second semester. Because the courses have no pre-requisites, they may be taken in any order.
In addition, first-year studio majors are required to take two sections of Art History Survey courses. This intensive first-year experience lays the foundation for the School’s diverse studio disciplines and reflects the School’s commitment to the professional preparation of its students for careers in visual communication.
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Administration & Staff
School Director: Michael White
Associate Director: Tim Flowers
Business Manager: Candiss Addison
Public Relations Coordinator: Jac Kuntz
Administrative Coordinator: Liz Flamming
Gallery Director: Cynthia Farnell
Foundations Coordinator
Neill Prewitt
Graduate Director
Wesley Harvey
Room 124 Art & Humanities Bldg.
Office/Delivery Address
10 Peachtree Center Avenue SE
Art & Humanities Building
Suite 117
Atlanta, GA 30303
USPS Mailing Address:
Georgia State University
Ernest G. Welch School of
Art & Design
P.O. Box 3965
Atlanta, Georgia 30302-3965