Undergraduate Programs

Through its many activities including student exhibitions, Visiting Artist & Scholar Lecture Series, and outreach events, the Department of Art, Art History, and Design is a hallmark of engaged and active learning. An incubator of creativity and innovation, the visual arts contribute significantly to the cultural life of our community, inspire a stewardship of our built and natural environment, internationalize our perspective on issues, broaden our framework of understanding, and increase our capacity to think beyond convention.

The Department of Art, Art History, and Design is dedicated to the creation and historical study of the visual arts. Students are encouraged to develop aesthetic and conceptual awareness, perceptual and creative problem–solving skills, and informed judgment in a learning environment that values the development of personal vision, critical inquiry, and philosophical reflection.

In 2023, The Department Of Art, Art History, And Design Faculty came together to write letters of encouragement to prospective Michigan State University students and their families. The Michigan State University, Department of Art, Art History, and Design is home to five undergraduate degree programs. We offer a BFA and BA in Apparel and Textile Design, Art Education, Art History and Visual Culture, Graphic Design, and Studio Art. Additionally, we offer minors in Art Photography, Art History and Visual Culture, Comic Art and Graphic Novels, and Graphic Design. Our faculty is affiliated with the Experience Architecture BA and the Arts and Cultural Management and Museum Studies Minors.

1931

Department Founded

Although art classes had been taught since the 1890s, this year marked the founding of a department dedicated to the study of art.

6,000+

Alumni

Many of our alumni find careers in the arts, while others apply the skills they learned at MSU to all sorts of pursuits.

10+

Scholarship Endowments

Alumni and other donors have endowed scholarships that are awarded to students at every level, from those entering college to graduating seniors.

Majors

women with blue eyeliner and blue lipstick, wearing a blue veil
APPAREL & TEXTILE DESIGN
canvas covered in paint with paint brushes lying on top
ART EDUCATION
museum with paintings in intricate gold frames
ART HISTORY & VISUAL CULTURE
cluttered desk up against a wall covered in graphics and typography
Graphic Design
Abstract ergonomic sculpture mounted on a wall
STUDio ART

Minors

A light blue background with a dark strip down the center, two colorful angular polygons are on either side of the strip
ART HISTORY & VISUAL CULTURE
a camera with a purple reflection in the lense

Art photograhy

a collection of layered comic books
Comic Art & Graphic Novels
A colorful page spread
Graphic Design

Aligned Programs

Arts & Cultural Management

MINOR

Experience Architecture

BA

Museum Studies

MINOR

Portfolio

 

The Kresge Art Center Gallery 101 & Gallery 114 are located on the first floor of the Kresge Art Center just inside the main entrance of the building off of Auditorium Road. Rotating exhibitions feature the artwork of students in all disciplines across all levels of the Department of Art, Art History, and Design program in solo and group exhibitions.

Throughout the fall & spring semesters, the Kresge Art Center Gallery 101 & 114 is dedicated to a series of exhibitions of artwork from MFA Candidates and BFA Candidates.

The galleries are open Monday through Friday from 8AM – 5PM during the regular academic year.  

600 Auditorium Road
East Lansing, MI 48824

Click here for exhibitions