The Art + Design major at Salem State University offers a surprisingly affordable education in one of most creative cities in Massachusetts. Salem has a world class art museum, lots of creative opportunities, beautiful public murals and many successful design agencies.
Our courses give you an in-depth experience in visual arts and design with an emphasis on studio production and portfolio development. Develop your creativity through discovery while building your observational and critical skills. While you are here you will expand your ability to use verbal, written and visual language effectively. You will engage in interesting creative challenges with both intuition and logic. Most importantly, you’ll get creative right away!
Hear from Chairperson Benjamin Gross
Why Major in Art + Design at Salem State?
Faculty member and chairperson Benjamin Gross on what sets Salem State's art + design department apart, from individual attention to deep Boston and North Shore connections and the McCarthy Scholarship opportunity.
The art + design major is a liberal arts curriculum structured to give the student an in-depth experience in the visual arts with an emphasis on studio production. It encourages students to develop creativity through discovery along with an ability to observe and analyze. Throughout their curriculum students: expand their ability to use verbal, written, and visual language effectively; to develop methodologies; to think logically and solve problems practically; to feel comfortable with new technologies and understand their impact on modern society. In addition, students learn to examine issues in an historical context and develop the ability to make ethical judgments.
The art history concentration provides an opportunity to acquire a broad background in Western and Non-Western art. It prepares the student for graduate study leading to MA and PhD degrees. Upon completion of graduate study, career opportunities in museum work, art restoration, teaching and research are available.
The graphic design concentration prepares the student for a future in commercial art and advertising design, and is committed to the development of both creative thinking and technical proficiency in the field. Facilities include design and production studios, two state of the art Macintosh computer labs with color printers, desktop scanners, and the latest design and illustration software.
The studio art and photography concentration allows students to explore both traditional and new media. As part of a liberal arts degree, students hone their creative, technical, and conceptual skills while connecting their art with the ideas and challenges that are shaping our society today. After completing their foundation courses, students take classes in a variety of media while delving into one in greater depth. Students complete a capstone portfolio class during their senior year, which prepares them for marketing their artwork and graduate school applications.
Our studio art minors offer you an outlet to explore your creative passions while also pursuing an alternative career path. In addition to exploring personal interests, you will learn how the studio arts act as a catalyst to changing hearts and minds by addressing contemporary global, national and regional issues.
Our studio art minors offer you an outlet to explore your creative passions while also pursuing an alternative career path. In addition to exploring personal interests, you will learn how the studio arts act as a catalyst to changing hearts and minds by addressing contemporary global, national and regional issues.
Both the graphic design and interactive multimedia minors enhance your current major by preparing you to integrate design thinking and visual problem solving. Practitioner faculty help you learn the essential design skills to give our career path an extra boost. You will learn in two state of the art Apple computer labs designed with collaboration in mind. Our computers are loaded with the most recent industry-standard software for design, imaging, illustration and motion graphic and coding.
Comprised of both darkroom and digital courses, the photography minor offers you contemporary skills to supplement your current career path. Topics covered in minor courses include studio lighting, alternative darkroom processes and advanced digital image manipulation. The photography minor is an exciting and creative addition to any major at Salem State University.
Most careers today require some engagement with apps, websites, and social media. The User Experience and Interface Design minor integrates psychology, design thinking and visual problem solving to prepare you to develop engaging interfaces for mobile apps and websites. This minor is well suited for students majoring in psychology, media and communications, marketing, entrepreneurship, hospitality management, and international business, but will benefit students preparing for almost any career.
We provide the knowledge students need to be become agile practicing artists and designers in an economy that relies on visual creative thinkers to make sense of a complex and evolving world. The act of creating adds to the richness of material culture though the introduction of pleasurable, aesthetic and useful “things” that surround us every day.
Further, the practice of informed creation encourages a more mindful approach to problem solving generally. Art by it’s very nature is an interdisciplinary act of connecting disparate ideas and images with the end goal of creating something novel. Through the application of learned processes, principles and practices, art + design will help you makes sense of ideas in ways that make a profound impact on the world.
