College of Visual Arts & Design (Formerly School of Visual Arts) Overview

The college

UNT's College of Visual Arts & Design (Formerly School of Visual Arts) is one of the nation's most comprehensive visual arts schools at a public university, and it is considered one of the best in the Southwest. The college occupies 150,000 square feet of space in five buildings on campus with specialized classrooms, studios and computer labs. Other educational assets include the University Art Gallery, the Visual Resources Collection, the Cora Stafford Gallery, the North Texas Institute for Educators on the Visual Arts, the Print Research Institute of North Texas and the Texas Fashion Collection.

The College of Visual Arts & Design (Formerly School of Visual Arts) is ideally situated for graduate study. The Dallas-Fort Worth region has many museums, such as the African American Museum, the Amon Carter Museum, the Dallas Museum of Art, the Kimbell Art Museum, the Meadows Museum, the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, the Nasher Sculpture Center and the Women's Museum in Dallas, as well as numerous galleries and design firms. The rich cultural and design opportunities in the region provide excellent exhibition and research opportunities for you and the faculty.

Department of Art Education and Art History

The Department of Art Education and Art History brings together two related disciplines that investigate the production and interpretation, as well as the dissemination and use of visual culture. The faculty has a broad range of specializations in the history of art, art education and museums, and faculty members have distinguished themselves among students and colleagues in their fields through quality teaching, research and numerous publications and presentations.

The department offers you a master of arts degree with a major in art history, and master of arts and a doctoral degree with a major in art education. Postbaccalaureate certification in art museum education is also available. For information on these programs, call 940-565-4777, fax 940-565-4717 or e-mail: aeah@unt.edu.

Department of Design

The Department of Design encompasses the professional disciplines of communication design, fashion design and interior design. The master of fine arts degree focuses on pedagogical concerns as well as current issues that influence the field of design. Professionally active faculty members bring current trends into the classroom as they prepare you for a career in design education or their respective industries.

For information on these programs, call 940-565-3621, fax 940-565-4717 or e-mail: design@unt.edu.

Department of Studio

The Department of Studio offers master of fine arts degree programs that provide sustainable studio practices in ceramics, drawing and painting, fibers, metalsmithing and jewelry, photography, printmaking, sculpture and watercolor. The studio faculty consistently achieves high levels of distinction at regional, national and international venues, and is dedicated to quality teaching, service and outstanding professional achievement. Through a comprehensive approach that is critical and technical, you develop your own individual aesthetic voice. There is an extensive visiting artist program, an active gallery program, dynamic faculty and a challenging environment for visual and intellectual research. The studio curriculum embraces a wide range of teaching methodologies and offers a focused path toward professional achievement.

For information on these programs, call 940-369-7671, fax 940-565-4717 or e-mail: studio@unt.edu.

Admission requirements

You must meet the admission requirements of the Toulouse School of Graduate Studies, in addition to individual program requirements. Program admission requirements are specific to the degree sought. In general, you are evaluated on the basis of your previous grade point average, GRE scores, portfolios of your work and/or samples of writing, statement of intent and letters of recommendation. You are encouraged to contact the department office of your intended major for additional admissions information.

Resources

Galleries

The College of Visual Arts & Design (Formerly School of Visual Arts) houses two outstanding galleries devoted to the exhibition of a wide range of works that support instruction and research. The University Art Gallery is in the Art Building and boasts more than 2,500 square feet of exhibition space. The Cora Stafford Art Gallery is in Oak Street Hall and provides another 2,200 square feet for exhibitions. The Light Well Exhibition Space and the Union Gallery in the University Union augment these two galleries.

North Texas Institute for Educators on the Visual Arts (NTIEVA)

The North Texas Institute for Educators on the Visual Arts was established through grants from the Getty Education Institute for the Arts to research and develop the implementation of comprehensive arts education. The institute continues to function as a collaborative effort with area museums and school districts to improve the quality of visual arts instruction for young people. NTIEVA offers competitive scholarships through the Priddy Foundation Fellowships Program.

Print Research Institute of North Texas (PRINT Press)

PRINT Press is a fine arts, limited edition printing facility, under the direction of a master printer. The master printer works through invitation to bring outstanding artists to the campus to share their knowledge, expertise and produce editioned prints. You are invited to participate and learn from the many visiting artists who come to explore and produce in a wide range of print media.

Texas Fashion Collection

The Texas Fashion Collection is a treasure trove of historic dress that spans from 1820 to the present. Initiated in 1938 by brothers Stanley and Edward Marcus of Neiman Marcus fame, the collection was moved to UNT in 1972. Since that time it has grown to more than 15,000 historic garments and accessories housed in a 4,500-square-foot storage facility in Scoular Hall. The collection is a valuable resource available to fashion designers, teachers and students.

Visual Resources Collection

The Visual Resources Collection provides the visual materials that faculty and graduate students need for presenting lectures in their graduate seminar classes, as well as for the classes they may teach as teaching assistants and fellows. The collection consists of 35mm slides, videotapes, interactive CD-ROMs and a growing digital image collection.

Computer facilities

The College of Visual Arts & Design (Formerly School of Visual Arts) computer facilities include state-of-the-art hardware and software to serve your and faculty members' instructional and research needs. The facilities are designed to contribute to your creative and emotional expression. The labs are equipped with the latest PCs and Macs, and combined have one of the most expansive peripheral inventories and ranges of printing possibilities on campus. Software is available for 3D modeling, computer-aided design, digital imaging, multimedia, page layout, web design and word processing.

Library system

The UNT libraries house an art collection that is rich in scope, consisting of more than 41,000 books, 256 periodicals and numerous electronic resources covering all disciplines in the visual and applied arts.

The libraries' holdings extend to more than 5.9 million cataloged items, more than 30,000 serials and 3.2 million microforms supporting the various graduate programs. The libraries also take great pride in providing excellent research assistance to you.

Financial assistance

The College of Visual Arts & Design (Formerly School of Visual Arts) offers financial assistance to graduate students on a competitive basis with teaching assistantships and fellowships and area assistantships. Levels of appointment and positions vary from semester to semester. Students awarded half-time appointments are eligible to receive state-paid health insurance for themselves, a reduced rate on insurance for spouses and children, and out-of-state tuition waivers.