School of Visual Arts

Administration

Lynne Allen, BS, MA, MAT, MFA, Director

Lynne Cooney, BA, BFA, MFA, Exhibitions Director

Michael Greenblatt, Technical Associate

Jeannette Guillemin, BA, MS, EdM, Assistant Director

Logen Zimmerman, BA, MS, Fiscal Coordinator

Alana Silva, BA, Administrative Coordinator

visuarts@bu.edu

The School of Visual Arts was established as a professional school at 波士顿大学 in 1954. With a faculty composed of practicing professional artists, the School offers an intensive program of studio training combined with liberal arts studies leading to the Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA), Master of Fine Arts (MFA), and Master of Arts (MA) degrees. Courses at the foundation level, as well as in advanced fields of concentration, prepare the student for future study or professional practice in art education, graphic design, painting, or sculpture. Studio classes are limited in enrollment to ensure a high degree of student-faculty contact in the courses.

Required courses must be completed before declaring a major. These courses offer an intensive foundation in the studio disciplines of drawing, painting, and sculpture. This broad base of experience provides students with a solid introduction to the visual arts disciplines before they elect major areas of specialization.

Students concentrate in areas of specialization, and are given the opportunity, through elective courses, to continue in other studio areas—printmaking, glassblowing, photography, ceramics, multimedia design, and animation—as well as in liberal arts studies.

In addition to the regular curriculum, students can broaden their learning experience through a program with distinguished visiting artists and lecturers and a widely varied schedule of exhibitions in the 波士顿大学 Art Gallery, the Sherman Gallery, the 808 Gallery, and Gallery 5.

The School of Visual Arts at 波士顿大学 College of Fine Arts offers degree programs in painting, graphic design, sculpture, museum education, studio teaching, and art education. Each discipline offers students an intimate learning experience within the College’s larger community of artists, performers, musicians, and scholars. Graduate admission is highly selective and limited class sizes ensure that students get individual attention from faculty mentors.

Visits from distinguished artists and lecturers as well as a widely varied program of exhibitions broaden and enrich each student’s educational experience. Four on-campus galleries—the BU Art Gallery, the Commonwealth Gallery, the 808 Gallery, and the Sherman Gallery—provide exhibition opportunities for graduate students and alumni. The Artist Development Series jump-starts students’ art careers by providing panel discussions by prominent arts professionals and offering a range of workshops, from how to write a grant to how to build a professional online gallery.

Facilities available for graduate students include a computer lab, media room, welding shop, wood shop, art education resource repository, and painting, drawing, printmaking, ceramics, and photography studios. All graduate painters and sculptors have individual studios.

波士顿大学, situated in the heart of the city, encourages students to take part in one of the nation’s most vibrant arts communities. The intellectual and cultural resources of BU and other leading universities in town, combined with internationally renowned art museums, galleries, theatres, and orchestras, make for a stimulating, challenging, and inspiring environment. Graduate students do not merely observe the Boston art scene, but work in the midst of it, redefining it with their perspective, vision, and energy.

Message from the Director

What is it about the School of Visual Arts at 波士顿大学 that is so special?

We are a close community within a large research university. Our students revel in the program’s intimacy, of knowing their professors and working day and night with like-minded people, while enjoying the advantages of the larger world of BU and Boston.

Our programs are rigorous. Students understand quickly that being an artist demands a consistent studio practice and a willingness to constantly improve. Along with our faculty of artist-teachers, strong visiting artists provide critiques in an atmosphere of open discourse and dialogue.

Our students have a passion to be the best they can be. They work hard. And our faculty is equally passionate about teaching. Their commitment and dedication are obvious when you walk the halls and galleries at BU and see the work by their students.

There is also an easygoing playfulness, because our students and faculty are doing what they love. I invite you to visit us and witness the nurturing environment of the School of Visual Arts.

Lynne Allen, Director, School of Visual Arts, Professor of Art