Art Education

Building a Collaborative Art Education Community.

Creativity and passion are at the heart of art making and of teaching. Being an art educator is wonderful combination of personal creative practice and contributions to future generations. If you are excited about making art, then you can excite and encourage others to experiment and experience the joy of being an artist. Giving young artists the opportunity, skill and confidence to create is not only rewarding, but it is a career that makes a difference in the lives of many young students, whatever career path they may follow.   

Art Education provides students with a strong foundation in art studio and art history, along with the theory and practice of teaching art in K-12 schools. The B.A. program is nationally accredited and state certified. Students may choose to become licensed teachers in the Commonwealth of Kentucky or pursue a number of related fields including art therapy, art studio practice, museum education, among others. More than 65% of undergraduate majors in Art Education double major in Art Studio. We also offer a certificate for art educators in digital media design.

Art Therapy Option

If teaching in K-12 schools is not right for you, many art education majors are interested in careers in art therapy. To qualify for graduate art therapy programs, students should take in addition to their required coursework in art education and art studio a minimum of 12 hours (four classes) in psychology. These hours must include coursework in developmental psychology and abnormal psychology. The combination of studio coursework and psychology courses meet the national standards for an undergraduate degree in art therapy set by the American Art Therapy Association and is sufficient to qualify for graduate programs leading to professional careers in art therapy. 

The School of Art and Visual Studies also offers a Master of Arts (M.A.) in Art Education. We provide in-service training, professional development, and consultation services to the schools of Fayette County and the Commonwealth of Kentucky.   

Opportunities are available for students to study abroad while taken art studio and art history courses. Student teaching abroad is also an option – recent graduates have taught in Ecuador and Italy. 

We encourage all art education majors to become members of the Art Education Student Chapter at UK, affiliated with the Kentucky Art Education Association and the National Art Education Association. This group engages in service-learning, attends community arts events, and attends conferences, all contributing to student leadership and collaboration.