Art & Design Department Overview
Margaret Park Smith, MFA, Chair
The department offers a wide variety of courses to enrich the student’s understanding and appreciation of art and design. Our mission is to help students create, advocate and appreciate art by valuing creativity and intellectual thinking. Majors in Art & Design and Art Education (P–12) are offered for students who want to consider a career in any number of visual art and art-related fields, through the study and practice of Art. Beyond that, a major in Pre-Art Therapy prepares students seeking a certification in Art Therapy through an accredited graduate program elsewhere.
Asbury University offers areas of concentration in Art History, Ceramics, Drawing, Graphic Design, Painting, Photography & Digital Imaging, and Sculpture.
Minors are offered in Art & Design, Art History, Graphic Design, and Photography & Digital Imaging.
Students who are considering Art & Design, Art Education or Pre-Art Therapy as a major should include in their freshman year schedule (or as early as possible) Creativity Core courses beginning with ART 110, 111, 112, 123. In subsequent semesters, the following should be taken in sequence: ART 231, 254, 292, and 396. Remaining choices for their Concept Core courses should be taken in either the sophomore or junior years if possible, depending on their progress and considered in light of their choice of concentration area. Art minor students should also follow the number sequence.
During the spring of sophomore year, all Art & Design students take ART292: Working in the Visual Arts in which, among other things, they are paired with a Senior to help mount an exhibition. During this course, students must also create a career plan, and submit a portfolio for review by the art faculty for evaluation of progress, and guidance. ART396: Contemporary Art Seminar is typically taken spring semester of the Junior year, and involves experiencing art first-hand in a major city’s (i.e. New York, Chicago, D.C.) galleries and museums. Spring review is repeated in the junior year to plan the location and dates for the capstone Senior Art Thesis to take place in the subsequent year. Upper-level students hone their vision through ART450: Advanced Art Practice, choosing and refining their area of concentration. The Senior Seminar ART475 must be taken in the Fall of the Senior Year. All Art & Design majors must exhibit art work or formally present scholarly research findings (in the case of Art History concentration students) during the senior year through ART477: Senior Art Thesis.