Uncovered Spaces, an exhibition of women and LGBTQIA+ artists

School of Art and Design

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School of Art and Design

Mission

The School of Art and Design serves the artistic and educational needs of South Texas’ rapidly growing transnational and culturally diverse population. Our School creates, preserves, and transmits knowledge that advances the region, state, and nation. Through cross-disciplinary teaching, creative activity, and public service, the School of Art and Design prepares students to be socially conscious citizens and transformative leaders. It is the mission of the School of Art and Design to develop individual direction among students, personal expression in art, and art historical perspective. This will be accomplished by increasing student visual perception, technical skills, knowledge of current art trends, and multicultural art fluency.

Vision

Through cross-disciplinary teaching, creative activity, and respect for individual expression, the School of Art and Design prepares students to be socially conscious artists, visually and analytically astute.

SOAD Director

Director, Ed Pogue

Raised amongst the cotton fields of northern Arkansas along the banks the Mississippi river delta, Ed attended Arkansas State University as a first generation college student, received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1985. Ed attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale graduating with the Master of Fine Arts degree in 1989. His primary research is oriented around the use of 3D technologies and the development of cast and fabricated sculpture within public and intimate spaces. Ed has exhibited his work in Utah, Tennessee, California and Illinois galleries throughout his career. He was Chair of the Department of Art and Digital Media at Bethany College Kansas for several years, Assistant Director of the Sculpture Center at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, and Director of the California Sculpture Center. Ed also worked in New Jersey for New York City sculptors, Joel Shapiro and Julian Schnabel. He worked in Illinois for Ernest Trova, to name a few. Ed travels to the desert southwest each summer and is heavily influenced by the art of indigenous peoples and their lands.

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
School of Art & Design
(956) 665-3480
Brownsville • Edinburg • Harlingen

Academic Programs

Bachelor's

Student working on clay sculpture in art studio

Bachelor's Degree

Art (BFA)

Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art

Program Modality: Campus

The Bachelor’s degree in Art provides students with an opportunity to express themselves using a variety of creative disciplines and methods within the visual arts. Students are prepared for such fields as Museum Studies, Gallery Management, Teaching, Studio Art, Art Therapy, Fashion, Marketing, and Graduate Studies in Architecture. The program offers several concentrations.

Bachelor's Degree

Art - Teacher Certification (BA)

Bachelor of Arts in Art - Teacher Certification

Program Modality: Campus

The Bachelor’s degree in Art (with EC-12 Teacher Certification) trains students to become certified art teachers skilled in relevant studio techniques, artist processes, art curriculum design, and classroom strategies. The EC-12 program produces practicing artists who are trained to teach in a variety of settings including K-12, community arts, galleries, and museums. UTRGV is approved by the Texas Education Agency to recommend students who complete all requirements of this degree for teaching certification.

Bachelor's Degree

Visual Communication Design (BFA)

Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Communication Design

Program Modality: Campus

The Bachelor’s degree in Visual Communication Design focuses on visual communication, typography, and graphic design. Students who graduate from the program are equipped with a broad range of practices in the design field, including advertising, information design, branding, editorial design and illustration, motion graphics, animation, type design, interaction design, user-centered design (UX/UI), and cross-disciplinary design fields.

Master's

Master's Degree

Art (MFA)

Master of Fine Arts in Art

Program Modality: Campus

The Master’s degree in Art is designed for those who desire to pursue advanced studies in art. The program provides art students with the opportunity for concentrated study in their major area; the concentrations allow them to expand their expressive capabilities for personal, professional, and academic reasons.

Student looking at painting in a gallyery exhibit

Master's Degree

Art History - Interdisciplinary Studies (MAIS)

Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies - Art History

Program Modality: Campus

The Master’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration in Art History is designed for candidates who want to advance their careers with a degree tailored to their areas of interest.

The best art history programs are interdisciplinary. During the program, students take courses in art history, as well as two focus areas of their choice such as Anthropology, Mexican American Studies, Women's Studies, History, Communications, Music, Modern Languages, Literature, etc.

Galleries

Visit our three galleries located in Edinburg and Brownsville

Art and Design Online Collection Database

Search and access uploaded UTRGV art and design collections

Accreditation

Nationally accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP).

UTRGV Arts Calendar

Check out our current events and exhibitions!

School of Art and Design