Skip to Main Content

Art Education – Bachelor of Fine Arts Dual Concentration in Art Education/Studio Art *No new applications are being accepted*

Additional Art Education, Studio Art and Graphic Design Degree Programs


Program Overview:

Art Education Program Goal

The Bachelor of Fine Arts Dual Concentration in Art Education/Studio Art is an approved degree pathway to New York State Initial Certification in Art Education, grades P-12. What makes our program unique is the emphasis on artistic development at an advanced level, as well as rigorous art education coursework. Our goal is to prepare you to be an exemplary artist as well as a creative teacher, and to successfully place you in the teaching field soon after graduation.

Teaching art is not just a job - it is a calling. As an Art Education graduate and certified teacher you will communicate the powerful and unique role that art plays in the world and in the future lives of your students.

Rigorous and Fulfilling Curricula

BFA Dual Concentration in Art Education/Studio Art: Students earning a BFA degree in Painting & Drawing, Sculpture, Printmaking or Photography have the option of completing the courses necessary for Initial Certification in Art Education plus a BFA in one studio area, or split between two studio areas.

Students pursuing a BFA degree in studio are required to take 12 credits in Art or Art History electives, depending upon their area of studio concentration. Students who are enrolled in the BFA with Dual Concentration in Art Education/Studio Art will fulfill 12 credits of electives through their Art Education pedagogy requirements.

Students in the BFA with Dual Concentration in Art Education/Studio Art program complete their student teaching during a ninth semester.

Note: All art education majors are enrolled in the BS in Art Education program until the end of sophomore year. By the end of sophomore year, students with a 3.0 average or above in their area(s) of studio concentration may apply for admission to the BFA Dual Concentration in Art Education/Studio Art program by submitting an application form that includes the signatures of faculty in the student’s area(s) of studio concentration. Forms can be found in The Center for Art and Design Office. Faculty who sign in support of a student are indicating the student is accepted into the program. Once accepted, the student must maintain a 3.0 average or above, overall and in the major, to remain in the BFA Dual Concentration Art Education/Studio Art program.

Studio Art majors may also change their major to Art Education any time before the beginning of their junior year.

Studio: To become the best art teacher you must also be a strong artist with a passion to share your knowledge of art with children. Enjoying the same standards, expectations, and studio courses required of studio majors, you will progress through our curriculum to develop a body of artwork that demonstrates independent creative thinking and artistic maturity, and be prepared to pursue an MFA at the graduate level.

Field Experience: Our program places you in direct contact with students in every art education course. This includes a minimum of 90 hours in an actual art classroom during the school day, as well as 10 hours of teaching in after school art programs, before you progress to student teaching. In the last semester before student teaching, you will teach your own group of students at one grade level in a local school, during a 20-hour lab teaching experience. You will be challenged to research, write, plan, reflect, and to consider teaching as an extension of your own creative thought process. Progressing from lab teaching to full-time student teaching, you will be mentored by the best teachers in the field.

NYSTCE Pass Rates: The art education program at The College of Saint Rose, housed within the Center for Art and Design, boasts a very high pass rate among its students on the newly revised New York State Teacher Certification Examinations (ALST, EAS, and CST); and a 100% pass rate on the Visual Arts edTPA. Sixty percent of those taking the Visual Arts edTPA so far have achieved Mastery level.

The required professional preparation and ethical expectations of NYSED, NCATE, and NASAD guide the outcomes of our art education programs. In addition, all education-related programs at The College endorse the Professional Education Candidate Learning Outcomes, also known as the "CSR 8." The following outcomes integrate the CSR 8 with an art education focus.

Candidates in the professional art education programs at the Center for Art and Design are expected to:

  1. Acquire and apply the knowledge, skills and dispositions of disciplines relevant to the making of art; and to the teaching of art to all students, PK-12.
  2. Apply principles and theories of lifespan human development and learning in all of its diversity to art education service learning and classroom practice; and demonstrate the capacity and disposition to continuously update that knowledge, and practice according to the best emerging research in the field.
  3. Plan and implement art education practice that is rigorous, comprehensive, inclusive, creative and motivating; inviting students’ analytical and creative skills; and promoting their dispositions to be lifelong learners and/or supporters of the visual arts.
  4. Ensure that evaluation and decision-making are informed by qualitative and quantitative data, produced through multi-faceted, collaborative and recursive assessment; and align instructional goals, practice, assessments, and standards.
  5. Develop and demonstrate personal and professional values that foster the highest ethical standards of the profession; intellectual curiosity and open-mindedness; understanding and responsiveness to multiple social and global perspectives; and collegiality and collaboration among partners in the educational process that involve children, families, community members, and other professionals.
  6. Promote optimal learning opportunities and environments for all individuals in the context of their experiential, cultural, and/or racial/ethnic backgrounds, including, but not limited to learners who are speakers of non-English languages; or who are gifted, have disabilities, are educationally challenged; or who have different interests, ambitions or sexual orientations.
  7. Demonstrate in their practice that oral and written language is a functional, as well as social and artistic tool for communication and thought; and reflect the multiple visual literacies of local, national and global cultures.
  8. Integrate a variety of technological methods and programs to enhance pupil learning and practitioner effectiveness, facilitate acquisition of technological skills, and the dispositions to use them in experiencing and making art.

Special Requirements

  • GPA: Art education majors must ordinarily achieve a minimum grade point average of 3.0 in both their major and their overall cumulative average to be admitted to ART 475 Methods of Teaching Art, and must maintain a minimum 3.0 GPA to remain in the program.
  • NYSED Teacher Certification Exams: To be recommended for Initial Certification, in addition to completing their degree requirements, candidates must pass four New York State Teacher Certification Examinations. The Academic Literacy Skills test (ALST), and fingerprinting clearance must be passed before being placed in ART 486 Student Teaching. The Teacher Practice Assessment (edTPA) is done as part of student teaching; and the Content Specialty Test (CST) and Educating All Students test (EAS) may be done before or during student teaching.

Application Process:

For purposes of evaluation and placement, transfer students seeking credit for a studio course taken at another institution will need to include additional work to represent the content covered in each class for which the student is applying for transfer credit.


Program Contacts:

Program Webpage: www.strose.edu/art-education/ 

Program Requirements:


ART 100Foundation Seminar

1

ART 110Two-Dimensional Concepts

3

ART 112Three-Dimen Concepts

3

ART 113Drawing 1

3

ART 213Drawing 2

3

ART 215Painting 1

3

ART 220Sculpture 1

3

ART 225Screen Printing 1

3

or

ART 226Intaglio 1

3

or

ART 228Relief Printmaking 1

3

ART 232Photography 1

3

*Must be in same area as Studio 1 courses


ART 216Painting 2

3

ART 221Sculpture 2

3

ART 233Photography 2

3

ART 325Screen Printing 2

3

or

ART 326Intaglio 2

3

or

ART 328Relief Printmaking 2

3

ART 301Junior Review

0

ART 323Critical Concepts

3

ART 4XXPainting & Drawing, Photography, Printmaking, or Sculpture

18

ART 489Senior Studio Seminar

3

ART 496Senior Exhibition

0 or 1

ART 275School Experiences in Art

0

ART 374Devel in Art & Literacy

4

EPY 244Child & Adolescent Development

3 to 4

ART 375Art Curriculum and Assessment

4

EPY 350Educational Psychology

3

ART 475Methods of Teaching Art

3

ART 476Methods of Teaching Art Lab

1

SED 225Includ Stud w/Disabilities

3

ART 477Adv Methods of Teaching Art

3

ART 486Stdt Tch in El & Sec Schools

12

EDU 102Violence Prevention

0

EDU 103Child Abuse Prevention

0

EDU 106Aids/Com Dis Wrks

0

EDU 111Dignity for All Students

0

EPY 337Subst Abuse Wksp

0

AHI 208Intro to Art History

4

AHI 247History of Modern Art

4

AHI 200Earth, Air, Fire, Water

4

AHI 211Pre-Columbian & Latin Amer Art

4

AHI 238History of Art & Dance

4

AHI 280Special Topics in Art History

4

AHI 285Renaissance Art

4

AHI 295Medieval Art

4

AHI 390Women in Art

4

AHI 399SpTop:Ital Renaiss Art w/StAbr

4

AHI 300Topics:Art Hist w/StudyAbroad

4

AHI 344History of Art since 1945

4

AHI 366History of Photography

4

AHI 388Art Now

4

AHI 498Art History Seminar

4

  • Due to intensive program requirements in art education, electives are difficult to schedule. However, art education students can make room for electives if they are careful about scheduling courses according to the prescribed sequence and maintain a strong GPA. Art education service learning, studio, gallery management, studio assistantship, and art history electives are available through The Center for Art and Design; as well as liberal education and service learning offerings outside of the department.
  • Taking an elective in Art History will allow the student to complete a minor in Art History (19-20 credits). 

Internship/Field Experiences/Study Abroad/Service:

Prior to student teaching, art education students fulfill over 100 hours of hands-on art experience with school age children. They act as an aide in an art classroom, and work with children and young teens in an after-school program.

They will also spend an entire semester teaching an assigned grade level at a local school that does not have an art program. By participating in this component of the program, students learn valuable teaching skills while opening the world of art to children who may not otherwise experience learning in art.

A full semester (15 weeks) of student teaching is required, where those pursuing certification through our program will work with students at both elementary and secondary levels.

Opportunities to student teach throughout New York State as well as out of state can be arranged. Because of the rigor of New York State certification requirements, teaching certification can be transferred easily to other states. Students interested in certifying in a state other than New York, or in multiple states, can meet with the art education program faculty to verify and plan additional or alternative requirements, such as required teacher examinations.

Opportunities for service learning in art are available in local after school programs with K-8 children, children of refugees, and/or students at risk, and in museum education. Students who wish to include service learning in art in their program should work with faculty to research the opportunities at least one semester in advance.


Culminating Academic Experiences:

ART 477Adv Methods of Teaching Art

3

ART 486Stdt Tch in El & Sec Schools

12

ART 489Senior Studio Seminar

3

ART 496Senior Exhibition

0 or 1

Professional Accreditation:

Career Opportunities and Graduate Studies:

Graduates of our art education programs are highly sought after candidates for teaching positions, both statewide and nationally, including public, private, and charter schools in the Capital Region, Hudson Valley Region, Westchester, New York City, Long Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Florida, Maine, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Virginia.

While a graduate degree is required for Professional Certification in New York State, you may begin teaching immediately after graduation in order to gain experience while pursuing a master’s degree. After earning your BFA in Art Education/Studio Art from Saint Rose, you will have a high-quality portfolio that will serve you well when applying to master’s programs in studio art or art education. Students with a BFA are also eligible to apply to MFA programs at the Graduate level.

Many of our art education graduates are enrolled at some of the top art or art education graduate programs, including those at:

  • Alfred University
  • Boston Museum School
  • Cranbrook Academy of Art
  • Kent State University
  • New York University (NYU)
  • Rhode Island School of Design
  • Rochester Institute of Technology
  • St. John's University
  • State University of New York at New Paltz
  • Syracuse University
  • University at Albany
  • University of the Arts (Philadelphia)

Minor(s):

Admissions and Financial Aid Information:

Additional Art Admissions Information:

  • 50% Drawing: Fifty percent of the portfolio should be drawing and approximately half of these drawings should reflect work from direct observation, not from photographs. Examples could include still–life, interior space, landscape and figure drawing.
  • Concerning media and style: A variety of media may be represented. Be sure to include finished drawings in your portfolio. This means work that demonstrates refinement, development of detail and time invested. However, including a few examples of more quickly produced work, such as contour or gesture drawings, is helpful in assessing efficiency when working within a time limitation.
  • 50% Personal strength: This component of the portfolio is your chance to showcase your personal style and creativity. You may choose to present a series of works in a single discipline or explore a variety of techniques, media and concepts. This is your opportunity to showcase your unique vision.
  • Independent or Experimental work: Consider including examples of working outside of your comfort zone as an opportunity to discuss ideas and creative goals.
  • Sketchbook or Journal: A sketchbook is an important addition to your portfolio. The sketchbook demonstrates your creative process and information gathering methods, as well as providing insight into your visual editing skills and intuitive approach to art making.


Find Out More: