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Messiah College, a Christian college in PA Admissions

Studio Art (B.A.)

Studio Art Major (B.F.A or B.A.)

School of the Arts

Department of Visual Arts


Develop your creative skills as you prepare for an exciting career as an artist in our accredited program!

At Messiah College, you’ll prepare for an exciting career in studio art by choosing from one of our three concentrations:  graphics and technology, three dimensional design, or mixed media studies. Our program’s flexibility encourages you to take minors or double majors, such as history, or marketing, so you can shape the studio art major according to your own specific areas of interest. 

You can also study off-campus at places including our Philadelphia campus, the Gordon Orvieto Program in Italy, or Wesley College in Sydney, Australia. Or you may even qualify for a semester at Temple's Rome program. The breadth and depth of our studio art major provide countless opportunities for you to test your creativity and hone your skills in graphic design, printmaking, papermaking, drawing, ceramics, sculpture, textiles, and more!

As a Studio Art major at Messiah College, you’ll be able to:

  • Learn from noted artists through our Art Forum Lectureships.
  • Study with faculty who are practicing artists and have had their work featured in shows and publications across the country and throughout the world, and with an art historian has worked in major museums and published extensively.
  • Display your creative works regionally.
  • Show your work at our yearly juried student art exhibition.
  • Be well-prepared for graduate school (B.F.A. program).
  • Have the opportunity to participate in a practicum.
  • Participate in the departmental honors program and/or independent study. opportunities for in-depth research and study.
  • Study in a culturally rich, vibrant urban environment at Messiah College’s Philadelphia Campus (MCPC) at Temple University.
  • Build a solid body of creative work in preparation for your capstone senior art exhibition.
  • Have a dedicated studio space in the Warehouse (senior students).
  • Take our annual field trip to a major U.S. city to explore museums and galleries.

Concentrations in the B.F.A. Major:

Concentrations in the B.A. Major:


Minor Requirements:

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Studio Art Photo

Messiah’s studio art major is accredited by the National Association of Art and Design (NASAD)

Department of Visual Arts
Learn more about this department
Well-equipped facilities including a variety of art studios, an art gallery, an art history classroom with specialized digital image projection and a darkroom.
Graphics and technology suite with twenty G5 Macs.
Art education major provides a strong curriculum and thorough training in the arts within the framework of a liberal arts education and with commitment to a Christian world-view.
Accredited by the National Association of Art and Design (NASAD).
Department sponsors a complete exhibition calendar as well as annual lectures attended by the Messiah community and residents of the Harrisburg area.
The department takes semi-annual trips to museums in New York City and other nearby cities.
Graduates have received advances degrees from respected graduate schools across the country. Many graduates now work in fields that include careers in galleries, graphic design firms, Internet businesses, product design firms and publishing companies.
Art faculty regularly participate in juried national exhibits and have won national design awards.
Art faculty helped create and direct the national organization of Christians in the Visual Arts (CIVA).