From The Director

I invite you to create your world here. With an enrollment of over 1200 students, and a nationally recognized faculty of artists, designers, art educators and scholars, we are committed to exploring the convergence of
art, design, and creative inquiry.

Kennesaw State University's School of Art and Design provides a rigorous education, offering a BFA degree in Art with concentrations in Art Education, Art History, Ceramics, Comics & Sequential Art, Graphic Communications, Illustration, Painting and Drawing, Photography, Printmaking, Sculpture, and Textile & Surface Design. We also offer a BFA in Digital Animation, and an MA in Art and Design with concentrations in Art Education, Digital Animation, and Museum Studies. The School of Art and Design is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design.

Our facilities provide students with state-of-the-art resources. The Chastain Pointe facility houses four
large drawing and painting studios and an expansive printmaking area. Two new computer studios in the Visual Arts Building provide industry standard technology for our applied arts disciplines of Graphic Communications, Digital Animation, Illustration and Sequential Art. Two new studio spaces and recently completed computer labs on the Marietta campus support our Textiles program. 

We hope that you will explore our many options and consider studying with us at the School of Art and Design at Kennesaw State University, located in north metro Atlanta. Schedule a tour and let us show you how to create your world here. 

– Geo Sipp

soaad viewbook cover
View/Download our Program Viewbook Apply and submit your SOAAD entrance portfolio (undergraduate)

Are you transferring into the School of Art and Design?
If so, please email artsadmissions@kennesaw.edu for important information on our portfolio requirements.

Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art

The Bachelor of Fine Arts with a major in Art (B.F.A.) is a professional degree program with concentrations in Art Education, Art History, Ceramics, Comics & Sequential Art, Graphic Communications, Illustration, Painting and Drawing, Photography & Video, Printmaking, Sculpture, and Textile & Surface Design. The degree prepares students for a variety of art and art-related careers or graduate school by providing a thorough grounding in fundamental principles and techniques with opportunities for emphasis in one or more arts areas. This degree focuses on intensive work in art or design supported by a program of general studies. 

Art Education

The Bachelor of Fine Arts with a concentration in Art Education (BFA in Art, Art Education) leads to provisional teacher certification in grades pre-­kindergarten through 12 (P-­12). The program provides students with a broad foundation in general education, extensive study in art, professional education, and field experiences. All pre-service art education students take studio art courses, art history, and art criticism while taking upper-­division art education courses. The program is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD) and prepares pre-service students to continue into graduate studies in the KSU Master of Art in Art and Design, Art Education concentration.   


To graduate in 4-years, students need to be aware of the degree map and the Guidelines for BFA in Art, Art Education concentration. It is critically important that pre-service students be admitted to the Bagwell College of Education (BCOE) Teacher Education Program in the fall of the sophomore year. Demand is high for art education teachers. Some of our best students are offered positions before graduation and some BFA in Art students are returning for teacher certification, which presents another challenge. Starting salary for art teachers in Georgia is approximately $42,000-49,000 depending on the district.    

pot full of paint brushes

Art History

Students at Kennesaw State University may choose to concentrate in Art History within the BFA in Art, or to complete a minor in Art History. Students in other disciplines also frequently take art history courses. The Art History program in the School of Art and Design will introduce you to visual culture from a broad range of historical periods, regions, and contexts: from the ancient world to contemporary art; and from Africa to Asia. You’ll learn how to analyze both objects and texts as historical evidence and examine all aspects of art and the art world, including techniques, makers, patrons, viewers, and collectors. Students in art history are encouraged to study at least one ancient or modern language associated with your main area of interest.   
 
The Art History program provides marketable skills in critical thinking, in-depth research, and oral and written communication. Kennesaw State alumni have continued their studies in graduate school, or gone on to careers in museums, galleries, and teaching. A concentration or minor in Art History is also useful for students who plan to enter careers such as business, law, non-profit organizations, professional writing, or publishing. 

painting in progress

Ceramics

Ceramics refers to any kind of art or design that is made from clay and fired into permanent objects. The Ceramics concentration offers students a broad training in all processes of ceramic fine art and design/production including hand-building, wheel-throwing, mold-making, slip-casting, and clay and glaze formulation. Our studio offers all types of firing methods including oxidation, reduction, soda, and raku. Partnerships with local community studios include internships, part-time teaching jobs, and the occasional opportunity to wood fire.  


The Mudslingers student organization gives ceramics students the opportunity to sell work on and off campus, and to plan and lead masterclasses in the ceramics studio for other students. Lower and intermediate classes in the concentration focus on techniques, while advanced classes focus on content, surface, and professional development in the student’s chosen path within ceramics.  


Each student can tailor their education in the upper levels to suit their own unique goals and aspirations, so that we can best prepare them for the specific career of their choice within the broader field of ceramics. The faculty are nationally renowned artists with backgrounds in figure sculpting, wheelthrowing, digital design for ceramic production, and slipcasting. Alumni have gone on to be highly successful international fine artists and designers, local business owners, teachers in both public and private schools, art professors, and owners or managers of community studios in the region. 

bunch of colorful bowls on a table

Comics and Sequential Art

The Comics and Sequential Art concentration for the Art, B.F.A. degree began in 2017. It was founded as part of an articulation agreement with ESA Saint-Luc in Brussels, Belgium. The innovative pedagogy of ESA Saint-Luc influenced the foundation of the concentration in the School of Art and Design.

Students in the Comics and Sequential Art concentration acquire the skills to be dynamic visual story tellers exploring traditional comic art as well as storyboarding, children’s books, self-publishing with zines and many other forms of visual narrative design and development. Students in this concentration learn traditional studio art disciplines along with ample studio time to study sequential media and create their own work. The goal is for students to finish their degree with a strong, practiced style of visual storytelling and a body of work to use towards their portfolio and careers. 

illustration of superheros

Graphic Communications

Our Graphic Communications concentration delivers solid training in the foundations of visual communication, preparing you for a creative career in the advancement of print and digital media.

You’ll study the basics of typography and composition with type, images, colors, and graphics. You’ll immerse yourself with a hands-on experience in publication design, advertising & packaging through research and design thinking. You’ll explore interactive media design, UX/UI design, and motion graphics.

Our advanced courses feature small class sizes, allowing for the thorough study of new graphic technologies with close faculty supervision. We offer the opportunity to exhibit your work both on- and off-campus. Numerous internship opportunities are also available. 

bee branded soap packaging

Image Credit: Shannon Gaskin, "BeeWell Soaps", Soap Branding and Package Design, printed paper product, 8.25”x10.75” magazine ad, 2022. 

Illustration

The Illustration concentration for the Art, B.F.A. degree began in 2017. It was founded as part of an articulation agreement with ESA Saint-Luc in Brussels, Belgium. The innovative pedagogy of ESA Saint-Luc influenced the foundation of the concentration in the School of Art and Design.

The Illustration concentration represents a confluence of the traditional studio disciplines of painting and drawing with more commercial applications of image design and development. The applications of studying illustration include preparing for traditional markets like editorial and commercial illustration as well as entertainment media and digital venues. 

Students studying Illustration are engaged with visual problem solving and image creation. The goal is to produce a strong portfolio with a distinct personal style and rich visual vocabulary.

drawings of star trek characters

Painting and Drawing

The painted or drawn image remains a basic tool of self-definition and understanding of the human condition. The Painting and Drawing emphasis in the School of Art and Design supports the investigation of diverse approaches, histories, and forms of painting and drawing. The program views art-making as a process of inquiry that is continually sharpened by experience, knowledge, and practice. A diverse faculty brings a broad range of voices to individual study.  


Painting and Drawing is a comprehensive studio area within the School of Art and Design. It recognizes and is informed by the deep roots of its history as applied to contemporary methods and concepts. Painting and Drawing continues to play a significant role in contemporary culture.  


Painting and Drawing are viewed as independent but overlapping disciplines. The area provides a wide range of courses designed for students of all levels, backgrounds, and interests.  We have a sustained history and continuing priority of integrating visiting artists, critics, and curators, as well as scholars, into the core of its instruction. By enabling the development of painting and drawing as a means of individual expression, reflection, and communication, we encourage our students to cultivate their own points of view. 

bunch of paint tubes on paint pallet

Photography and Video

The Photography and Video concentration develops skillsets in the following photographic disciplines: fine art, editorial, commercial, and videography. Students work with everything from traditional films and papers to state-of-the-art digital cameras, lighting equipment, large format printers, and the extensive Adobe suite of software.  
 
Our new facility will have a dedicated shooting studio with cyclorama wall, green screen, background papers, and both continuous and strobe lights for a variety of applications. We work with several galleries, studios, arts centers, professional photographers, and videographers for student internship possibilities. These give students the opportunity for real world job experience and to be able to see the tools and techniques used by leaders in the field. We also work with the Georgia Film Academy to allow students the opportunity to learn skills directly related to the growing Film Industry in Atlanta. Our program gives students the technical and conceptual skills to be strong competitors in the dynamic industry of Photography and Video Production.  

photo student with camera taking picture

Printmaking

The Printmaking concentration offers professional courses to help meet the demands of today’s marketplace. Students receive solid training in the foundations of art and opportunities to explore diverse kinds of media within the printmaking concentration. Students will take advanced courses in Printmaking that include all contemporary medium as well as traditional processes.

Within the printmaking curriculum we offer Book Arts/Papermaking and Letterpress from the basics through advanced techniques. Our small class sizes allow for intense courses offerings with close faculty interaction. Students have the opportunity to exhibit your work both on- and off campus and build a valid resume for their career. Numerous internship, scholarship and study-abroad opportunities are available. 

letterpress type in drawer

Sculpture

Our sculpture program provides a practical education in three-dimensional design and conceptualization, hands on contemporary and traditional tool use, fabrication, and professional practices.   
 
Beginning level classes teach students how to work with a broad array of materials, from wood and metal to silicone resins and plastics.  Throughout the course of the program students learn safe ways to work with tools from handsaws and chisels, to table saws, bandsaws, welders, laser cutters, 3D printers and CNC routers.  In mid-level classes students have the opportunity to focus entirely on methods of metal fabrication including plasma cutting, welding, mold making and metal casting.  Students can design and fabricate permanent public works for the city of Kennesaw by taking classes in the Master Craftsman Program, which, counts towards their degree.  Upper-level classes offer students the opportunity to engage in an intensive study within their chosen area of specialization.  It encourages them to consider what kind of work they want to make, how to create in an efficient and well-crafted way, why their work is important and how that work fits into real world applications.   
 
This program offers small class sizes where students work closely with their professors.  During their studies students go on field trips to material suppliers, fabrication companies, and the studios of professional sculptors.  Students may join the Sculpture Club, which affords them the time and space to make and sell work, and attend conferences and workshops. Internships with fabrication companies such as ID3 Group and AFX Studios are available for upper-level students, which, can lead to employment with those companies or companies that need employees with a similar skill set.  Students may also go on to become studio assistants to nationally recognized sculptors, work in the burgeoning film industry, become wood workers, professional welders or sculptors that creating and sell public works. 

multan metal being poured

Textile and Surface Design

Textiles & Surface Design is focused on preparing students to work in the regional flooring and surface design industries, while also cultivating students’ creativity and skills to serve fashion design.


You’ll be exposed to courses that include the textile foundations, computer aided design, color and trend forecasting, sewing constructions, printmaking and surface manipulation, technical development and drafting, weaving and textile industry.  


The core of the textiles and surface design program emphasizes aesthetics and creativity, two-and three-dimensional textiles and surface design skills, design technologies, the historical and cultural aspects textiles, sustainable design, and the role of textiles and surface design in a global context. 

mood wall with ideas inspiration and textile samples

Bachelor of Fine Arts in Digital Animation

The Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) with a major in Digital Animation prepares you for various animation and animation-related careers or graduate school by providing a thorough grounding in fundamental principles and techniques. This degree focuses on intensive work in digital animation supported by a program of general studies.

Digital animation includes all animation techniques that are designed exclusively with the use of computers. With digital animation, you can create both 2D (two-dimensional) and 3D (three-dimensional) animation. The five forms of animation are:

  • Traditional Animation
  • 2D Animation
  • 3D Animation
  • Motion Graphics
  • Stop Motion

Digital Animation foundational coursework includes the basics of two and three-dimensional design, color theory, computer applications in art, and concept, creativity, and studio practice. Upper-level coursework includes electronic illustration, foundation animation, character development as well as other digital animation courses.

learn more
student drawing character poses

Master of Arts in Art and Design

The Master of Arts in Art and Design prepares leaders in artistic industries with embodied professional practice and pedagogy, as well as local and global engagement. You will engage in collaborative inquiry with disciplinary experts to solve problems at an advanced level. This interdisciplinary/integrated degree mirrors our desire to break free of the limits of discipline-specific constraints.

When you complete this graduate degree program, you will demonstrate competencies in: critical inquiry, research and creative practice; innovative techniques and technologies to work in art and design; transferring skills and knowledge base across disciplines to think critically and to connect research to problem-solving in creative activity; diverse historical, contemporary culture and contexts; and collaborate on our core values for the development of personal narrative that intrinsically values art.

Learn More