Undergraduate Program
Art education is a major within the Art Department in the School of Fine and Performing Arts. Students who major in Art Education must first be admitted to the Art Department, and Art Education students make up over one-third of the Art Department student body. Art Education students take studio courses with art studio majors in the areas of drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, graphic design, sculpture, ceramics and metal.
The Art Education program at SUNY New Paltz develops artist-teachers who have a strong sense of artistic thinking and practice, knowledge of contemporary and historical art ideas and issues, and an understanding of the diverse cultural contexts of young people, schools, and society. It prepares teachers to make exciting and meaningful connections between the world of art and the world of children and adolescents. To do so, teachers must understand the content of, and possibilities in, visual arts practice and study, as well as the needs, interests, and capabilities of the young people they teach and the cultural and political communities of the schools in which they work.
Graduate Program
For over 50 years, the Art Education Program at SUNY New Paltz has prepared artist/teachers for work with young people in schools and alternative education settings. The Graduate Programs in Visual Arts Education challenge beginning and experienced art teachers to look reflectively and critically at their own artistry and teaching practice. Through course work in studio art, art criticism and history, and art education, students refine their own studio practice, their understanding of contemporary and historical art ideas and issues, and their insights about effective art pedagogy. The Art Education Program encourages students to develop classroom practices that reflect meaningful, authentic, and current art content.
The Art Department at SUNY New Paltz has offered a Master of Arts in Art Studio (MAAS, 30 credits) and a Master of Science in Education in Visual Arts Education (MSEd, 33 credits) for many years. Seeking to create more cohesive and coordinated programs for a diverse population of graduate students, the MAAS and MSEd programs have shifted the majority of their course work to two consecutive summers in order to develop more collaborative opportunities. In addition to satisfying professional certification in New York State for public school art teachers, the joint programs offer alternatives for students who seek a rigorous and focused graduate program in the visual arts, but cannot pursue full-time graduate studies during the academic year.
The MSEd and MAAS degrees share a core of common course work that balances art studios, critical theory, art history, and liberal arts. During the academic year, independent, online, and faculty-mentored work is distinctive for each program leading to different thesis projects for the two degrees.
