The Art & Visual Culture Department values and nurtures creativity while providing sound training in art analysis, art history, and technical skills for a wide variety of media. The major consists of two concentrations Studio Art and Arts Management.

The Studio Art concentration fuses art criticism and theory with studio production. Instead of segregating skills into lower level classes and concepts into higher level classes, students practice the marriage of the two from the beginning. Students hone their creative skills in a series of conceptual interdisciplinary studio courses while developing a deep understanding of historical and contemporary artists and artworks.

The Arts Management concentration acknowledges that an array of occupations need art-focused, business-savvy people from a liberal arts background who bring creative thinking and cultural awareness to the table–including museums, architecture firms, municipal public art departments, urban planning firms, tech start-ups, and more. The Arts Management concentration equips students with skills in art, communication, visual analysis, marketing, and business administration, while also offering art history and museum curatorial experiences for students wishing to pursue related graduate studies.

Students may also seek to gain additional professional grounding through the Museum Management Program. 

The Art Department's classroom settings are complemented by regular engagement with local and regional artists and exhibitions.

Students may also qualify for financial aid and artistic merit scholarships.