Art Education BA

Art education is the second largest area in the art department. Our art education program prepares students to teach art to children in kindergarten through twelfth grade and in a variety of community settings, such as museums and afterschool programs. Unlike students in most other universities offering art education degrees, UW Oshkosh art education majors receive a Bachelors of Fine Art (BFA) rather than a BA or BS degree. The BFA provides students extended opportunities to both deepen and broaden their studio knowledge and skills as well as their understanding of art history and developments in contemporary art practice.

In addition to studio and art history courses, art education majors complete three methods classes in which they explore the historical and theoretical foundations of art education, identify and apply a wide range of age-appropriate teaching methods, examine current issues in art education, and gain hands-on, real-world teaching experience in school (K-12 public and private schools) and community settings (such as the Paine Art Center, Boys and Girls Club of Oshkosh, Evergreen Retirement Community, and the UW Oshkosh High School Art Day). The capstone of the art education program is an 18-week student teaching experience, which includes nine weeks in an elementary school and nine weeks in a secondary placement.

The art education program actively encourages students to be engaged in professional organizations, such as the Wisconsin Art Education Association and the National Art Education Association, and to take leadership roles in the arts integration organization — ArtsCore Student Organization (ASO).