Carnegie Mellon School of Art

The Carnegie Mellon School of Art at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is a degree granting institution and a division of the Carnegie Mellon College of Fine Arts. It offers a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with concentrations in three major fields: Painting, Drawing and Printmaking (PDP); Electronic Time-Based Work (ETB); and Sculpture (SIS). The school emphasizes Postmodern, conceptual, and abstract art making instead of classical training.

Most faculty members are working professionals that continue to exhibit work at major venues and galleries. The School of Art also runs a lecture series which invites art professionals to speak at the school, weekly. Notable recent guests have included Marina Abramovic, Andrea Fraser, Steve Kurtz, Sadie Benning, and Mona Hatoum.

Programs

The Bachelors requires two years of foundation studio courses in various media from painting and woodworking to video editing and metal casting. The first four semesters also demand art history and general breadth courses. By the junior year, undergraduate students are finally allowed to select advanced courses categorized under the different media types (PDP, ETB, SIS). Completing 6 studio courses under a particular media counts as a concentration in that medium. Students must complete 2 semester-long senior projects in their senior year.

The School of Art also includes a highly ranked Masters program. Only 5 to 6 applicants are admitted to this graduate program, yearly.

In addition, The School of Art teams with other academic departments within Carnegie Mellon to offer joint degrees: Bachelor of Humanities & Arts (B.H.A.), Bachelor of Science & Arts (B.S.A.), and the Bachelor of Computer Science & Art (B.C.S.A.). These interdisciplinary degrees demand credits from two chosen majors (one from the College of Fine Arts and one from another department).

Facilities

Most classes taught in the Art program are held in classrooms on the 3rd floor of the College of Fine Arts Building. The Art School office is also located on this floor. Sculpture classes are typically held in the C and B levels of Doherty basement, which feature the Art School's metalshop, woodshop, and printing studio.

The Carnegie Mellon School of Art also benefits from the surround Pittsburgh art scene, which includes museums like the Carnegie Museum of Art and the Andy Warhol Museum.