Design your own program to align with your interests and passions, and even pursue a special options degree program that allows you to take classes in studio art, music performance, or music composition.
Enhance your experience by exploring the offerings on campus and in the surrounding areas – you’ll discover galleries, museums, theaters, music venues, and cultural festivals. Expand your horizons with a semester or summer abroad.
About VPA
Home to the visual and performing arts at Syracuse, VPA supports the creative process and professional development. The College is divided into six areas: the School of Art; the Department of Communication and Rhetorical Studies; the School of Design; the Department of Drama; the Rose, Jules R. and Stanford S. Setnor School of Music; and the Department of Transmedia.
Learn more about the fine arts program.
Courses
Sample courses for fine arts majors include:
- Introductory Music Theory
- Arts and Ideas
- Performance Live
- 19th Century American Art
- Modernism and Post Modernism
View official major requirements.
Practical Experience
Seize opportunities for community volunteering and professional internships – on campus, off campus, or internationally. Academic counselors and faculty advisors will guide you in aligning your interests and academic path with opportunities for growth.
The College of Arts and Sciences’ Center for Innovative Learning (iLEARN) can help complement your traditional classroom and laboratory work with enhanced out-of-classroom learning experiences.
There are more than 350 student organizations at Syracuse University, and you can get involved with any of them. Explore themes like art, entertainment, advocacy, government, media, religion, and service.
Study Abroad
Fine arts majors are especially encouraged to engage in an experience abroad. Syracuse Abroad features more than 100 programs in 60 countries. You can choose semester, summer, short-term, and yearlong options for international study.
Fine arts majors most often go abroad to the Syracuse University London Center. Summer programs of interest may include Italian Renaissance Art (Florence) and Arts of Spain: Paintings, Architectures, Cities (Madrid).
Life After Syracuse University
As a College of Arts and Sciences graduate with a major in fine arts, you can explore careers such as:
- Secondary or higher education
- Gallery or museum exhibit designer
- Art director
- Conservator
- Curator
- Recreational therapist
You can also pursue graduate training in such areas as architecture, education, art therapy, business, and more. Recent graduates of the program have attended some of the top graduate schools in the U.S.