Can anyone shed light on the strength of the studio art programs + facilities at these schools? I’ve only been able to visit Swarthmore, and I’m looking for a school where I can double major in math and visual art, or sociology and visual art. I’m hoping for a program that has a strong major in visual arts, rather than simply some art classes that “round out” a LA degree. (I’m also applying to a few stand-alone art schools, but those are easier to gauge facilities.)
Based on your stated criteria and indicated geographical and selectivity range, look into Williams, Hamilton, Kenyon, Vassar, Smith, Skidmore, Connecticut College, Wheaton (MA) and Scripps. Your impressions of these schools’ studio arts facilities may depend on your interests. Not all are equipped for ceramics, for example.
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I wouldn’t consider Swarthmore or Pomona destinations for visual art. Vassar yes. I don’t know about Northwestern.
My son has a dual visual art and art history degree from Williams. The facilities are brilliant bolstered by synergy with the art history program. (Three world class museums on or near campus.) One of the strongest LACs for math. Also a large sociology department. Double majoring is common.
Others that I would suggest for strong visual arts, excellent math and social sciences and overall superb academics are Wesleyan, Hamilton, Haverford. Plus Vassar as mentioned. These all have made serious funding commitments to their visual art facilities, though their emphasis on individual media may vary.
I would also look at Skidmore, Conn College and Kenyon.
Aside from its joint degree program with RISD, Brown’s own visual art program is very strong as are its math and social sciences.
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Smith is super strong in the arts as well as the hard sciences and social sciences; I don’t know your gender but if you’re a woman, definitely check it out.
If you want a school that’s strong in both areas and has great facilities/studios, then it’s definitely NU. It also has a renowned school of education and social policy (SESP).
Somehow I missed this thread previously. But I just published a similar thread.
Anyhow, in the interest of sharing information, here’s what I know about Pomona and Swarthmore, not that I know anything about anything.
Pomona: They built a new studio art facility in 2014 that looks amazing (online) and at least suggests a commitment to their art program. And more so than other college consortiums, I also think the Claremont consortium makes it very easy to take art classes at schools like Scripps. On the other hand, in 2021, Pomona issued 21 Visual and Performing Arts degrees, but only 3 were in studio arts.
Swarthmore: I’ve seen a couple people online comment that the art program is good, but like Pomona, it certainly isn’t as popular as other majors. In 2021, Swarthmore issued 5 studio art degrees and 4 degrees in film/photography.
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There are a ton of liberal arts colleges that have fantastic majors in art. It’s not just rounding out. These colleges offer a fully fledged art education.
In addition to some mentioned, I’ll add Wesleyan, Amherst, Bates (known as the artiest of the Maine NESCACs), Colby, Dickinson, and Clark U.
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@BentWookie you are not going to see large numbers of studio art majors graduating with art degrees at most LACs. The student population is small, generally speaking. And the applied art departments don’t have hundreds of students majoring in art.
That they are graduating even small numbers of studio art majors shows a commitment to these programs.
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Agreed. But I still think it’s a data point worthy of consideration, especially where there may not be a lot of easily accessible information about a particular school’s program. If nothing else, one can get a sense of (a) how popular it is at a particular school and (b) whether an art student will have many peers. These things may matter more to some and less to others. That said, one can see that most subjects at LACs see only a few degrees per year. Also, it’s not always easy to interpret the data. Some schools simply have a “fine arts” major that seemingly covers a wide range of practices, while others may break it up between studio art, photography, etc. at least on the National Center for Educational Statistics website on which I rely. And I wish I could find a source that’d show degrees awarded over 5-10 years.
This thread is asking about arts at non-arts schools. The colleges mentioned here are offering Majors in art, not just minors. It’s probably safe to assume that the quality of the degree is going to be excellent. All these colleges are exceptional.
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Swarthmore has reportedly drifted away from the humanities in recent years, an aspect of which prospective majors in visual arts may want to be aware.
Reasonable people may disagree, but I think the number of studio art degrees granted is a meaningful consideration in gauging the strength any school’s art department. Part of the strength of any academic program is often the students themselves. If a school averages only 2 students who major in studio art in a given class, those students are going to have fewer peers for support, inspiration, collaboration, discussion, etc. in their chosen field. This isn’t to say that more is always better. But I think many prospective students may reasonably want and/or benefit from some minimum number of peers in their field.
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If you are looking for programs that confer a large number of studio arts degrees…I am going to opine that small LACs might not give you that data point.
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I use Bates as an example because it’s the college I know best.
60 is not insignificant for an LAC. I imagine some other LACs will have reasonably robust numbers.
But if your child wants all arts, perhaps an LAC isn’t for your child. LACs are small for a great reason. There is a lot more individual attention, interaction, and participation from the very start at LACs. (I understand students can sometimes get this at larger colleges too, but typically it’s not from the outset, and that isn’t my point.) There are 2000, maybe close to 3000 at a bigger LAC. It’s the raison d’etre. There are plenty of colleges that offer arts degrees that aren’t LACs. You either want that environment or you don’t.
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Points all well taken. We’re probably belaboring this point by now, but I find it interesting for my own consideration (and the OP hasn’t appeared in a while). Anyhow, it’s not necessarily about large numbers (more is better) but perhaps avoiding schools with miniscule numbers. Personally, I’d put a light thumb on the scale in favor of an LAC that usually graduates, say, 8 students with studio art degrees per year over an LAC that graduates only 2 such students. For me, there’s a meaningful difference between getting an art degree at a school that has 32 “serious” art students (across all grades) and one that has 8 such students. Granted, there’s a fine balancing act between wanting the intimacy of the LAC experience and also wanting a sufficient peer group within your chose field. Everyone will calculate that balance differently.
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As an opinion, I’d place the point of diminishing returns in the low teens.
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I agree the National Center for Educational Statistics website is a terrific source of information, however I would note that its breakdown of majors/programs only lists what they call “first majors.” At a school like Williams where 43% of students double major (meaning they fulfil the requirements for both majors) the figures may be understated.
I would also note that Williams’ figures lump Art History and Art Studio together. Although there’s a good deal of synergy between the two, I’ve never seen a breakdown of history vs studio. I know in my son’s class there were quite a few double majors pairing art studio with other unrelated majors. Same situation with music.
This is probably true of other LACS as well. For a more accurate tally of the number of art studio majors, you may have to contact the college directly.
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