Program Overview

Turn your passion into your profession! Since prehistoric times, ceramic materials have had significant roles. Fine artists advance professionally as their work circulates and they establish a reputation for their particular style. Many of the most successful artists continually develop new ideas, and their work often evolves over time.

Why Earn a Studio Art Degree with a Concentration in Ceramics?

We believe clay is a means of expression, a tool for communication and a conduit for critical thinking.

The Ceramics program is an engaged and inclusive community of undergraduate and graduate students, technical staff and accomplished faculty who promote excellence in the field. Students work in the new $10 million Art Annex with the oldest of nature's materials while practicing contemporary methods of fine art, craft, technology and design.

The Studio Art B.F.A. with a concentration in Ceramics offers knowledge, aesthetics, technical approaches and invention through hands-on experiences with raw materials and technical processes. We strive to have a diverse and inclusive outlook on contemporary ceramic art history and theory which also encompasses non-western art and craft. In the classroom, we cover current issues of social practice, sustainability and interdisciplinary practices which reflect the current cultural landscape.

Students in the Ceramics program have active contact with the faculty and technical staff who provide critical and rigorous mentorship while encouraging exploration and guidance in professional practices.

Throughout the curriculum, students are taught traditional methods, such as hand-forming, wheel-throwing and mold making alongside contemporary methods of computer-aided design, digital fabrication and industrial production. All students engage in the preparation of clay bodies and glazes, kiln stacking procedures, firing processes — electric, gas, wood, raku, primitive and soda — and surface techniques. The studio environment is one where functional and sculptural aesthetics are both equally valued.

Whether interested in the entrepreneurial aspects of the ceramics industry or developing a fine art career, the study of Ceramics offers a variety of possibilities for a fulfilling future.