About

The School of Art at the University of Illinois Chicago comprises of artists, scholars, museum workers, educators, and researchers, all thriving within one of the nation’s most diverse public research university. We empower students in the making, experience, study, and interpretation of art, art history, and contemporary culture and prepare them for a professional life of interdisciplinary practice. Affirming that humanity survives and advances through radical imagination and the arts, we educate our students to rigorously engage in art’s vibrant corollaries: dialogue, critique, experimentation, and social justice.

The School of Art was founded on the principle that history, theory and practice are intimately entwined endeavors. Our programs ignite intellectual curiosity and creative innovation, and empower students to expand the boundaries of what is possible, making an impact on the world.

Art students are encouraged to work across the media-specific disciplines of studio arts, photography, moving image, and new media, and to actively engage with departments across the university as well as the larger cosmopolitan city of Chicago. Faculty are equally committed to their research, practice, and teaching, and foster an intense intellectual and creative environment where individual research and studio work are complemented by collaborative efforts and socially relevant public projects and civic engagement. We offer a BFA in Art, a Minor in Art, and an MFA.

The BFA in Art Education provides students with the requirements for Illinois State teacher licensure and the experiences needed for students to become art teachers in Chicago’s diverse public schools and communities. The program cultivates the study and making of art in a variety of ways that are rooted in local cultures and histories of activism and democratic participation in the public sphere. BFA in Art Education students will develop their own artistic practice and learn how to share a rigorous process of art-making with their students.

The Interdisciplinary Education in the Arts (IDEAS) major provides an opportunity for students interested in intermedia, multimedia, and across-college practice and history. Students graduating from this program will earn a BA.

Gallery 400 is a contemporary art gallery located in Art and Exhibition Hall. The Gallery is an important resource for our students, providing culturally transformative experiences through exhibitions and by bringing world-class artists, activists, writers, and scholars to the School.