What is Art?
The Department of Art at CSUS introduces students to the expressive
world of the fine arts. A wide variety of approaches based on both
Western and Non-Western cultures are integrated into courses that
are oriented toward creativity, imagination and critical thinking.
Students are able to explore art through courses in art education,
art history, ceramics, electronic art, drawing, metalsmithing/jewelry,
painting, printmaking, photography, and sculpture.
The Department's undergraduate program offers courses in three general areas, two of which may be taken as concentrations within the Art major (Art History and Art Studio), while the third prepares students to pursue a teaching credential (Art Education, a variation of the Art Studio concentration).
Undergraduate students also may earn a Bachelor of Arts in Photography by taking courses in the Departments of Art and Design. The Department of Art's graduate program leads to an MA degree in Studio Art.
The Art History curriculum provides a range of courses in Western and non-Western art, criticism, and visual culture from pre-history to the present and from many perspectives, both formal and contextual. These courses produce college-level visual literacy, multicultural awareness, art historical skills, and an understanding of art-making practices. Studio Art experiences develop the creative and artistic skills necessary for mastery of established styles and for exploration of new ones. They also reward students with an introduction to a lifetime appreciation of the arts. Courses in Art Education provide an understanding of the behavioral aspects of art, with regard to the creator, the viewer, and the developing person.
Courses, programs, and exhibitions sponsored by the Art Department serve to engage students in the fine arts within a liberal arts context and to promote appreciation of the fine arts in the general student population. Fieldwork experiences can be arranged with the Crocker Art Museum, California State Archives, Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission, and other public and private art institutions and galleries in the Capital region. Opportunities to study art and art history abroad are available through the Office of Global Education at CSUS and the California State University International Program. University credit can be obtained for a semester to a year of study at college and international centers in Britain, Europe, Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Australia.
California State University, Sacramento is an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Art and Design.
