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Home › Prospective Students › Careers in Art

Careers in Art

WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH AN ART MAJOR?

I can’t tell you how often I get this question. It is passion that draws us to the arts, and those who know that passion can’t imagine a world without it. However, the desire to pursue an education in the arts is often tempered by practical considerations. Images of the artist as isolated and destitute permeate our culture, and so it is hard to overcome the anxiety that this is what awaits us upon graduation.

However, there is good news! Despite what the cliches suggest, the data shows that those who pursue a major in the arts fare quite well. Their unemployment rate is almost the same as the average for those with a college education (about 4% — much lower than those without a college degree), and, what’s more interesting, their satisfaction with the careers they’ve chosen tends to be higher than those those from other majors.

Graduates from the School of Art here have gone onto a range of prominent careers. Below are a few examples.

However, it is worth keeping in mind that art majors acquire a set of highly desirable skills even if they move into a career outside the arts. For example, a prowess with visual communication (we live in a world where image is everything), creative problem solving, critical thinking, dealing effectively with ambiguity, problem solving through experimentation, inventing new ways to work within existing systems. In short, art majors possess the ability to take any given situation and look at it not for what it is, but what it could be. Any employer would put these qualities high on a list of things they look for in an employee, and these are all things that come second-nature to a student in the arts. In fact, in a recent survey of 1500 CEOs that was conducted by IBM, creativity was ranked as the #1 quality needed for successful leadership. Who better understands creativity than art majors?

Thus, it is no surprise to learn that our graduates have seen great success in careers outside the arts as well as inside.

So when asked what you can do with an art major, the true answer is simple: anything you want.
– Colin Blakely, Director, School of Art

Jobs in the arts our alumni hold:

  • Art Director/Coordinator
  • K-12 Art Teacher
  • Art History Educator
  • Visual Arts Educator
  • Exhibition Curator
  • Freelance Artist
  • Freelance Designer
  • Freelance Illustrator
  • Interior Designer
  • Marketing Communications Manager
  • Multimedia Specialist
  • Marketing Communications Manager
  • Museum Education Specialist
  • Museum Director
  • Museum Registrar
  • Museum Preparator
  • Photographer
  • Photography Technician
  • Strategic Design Manager
  • Tattoo Artist
  • Videographer

Jobs outside the arts our alumni hold:

  • Editorial Assistant
  • Event Planner
  • Forester
  • Freelance Writer
  • Lawyer
  • Merchandising Specialist
  • Office Manager
  • Sales Professional
  • Software Developer
  • Summer Camp Director
  • Talent Agent
  • Technical Publications Specialist
  • University Administrator
  • Web Developer

Prospective Students

  • Why UofA School of Art
  • Tour the School!
  • Areas of Study
  • Degrees
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  • Scholarships & Financial Aid
  • Careers in Art

CFA Student Services

Lindsay Clark Coordinator, Recruitment
linds@email.arizona.edu Slonaker House, Room 201
520-621-9430

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University of Arizona School of Art

6 days ago

University of Arizona School of Art

“Inside, Outside” is an impressive series of collages by School of Art student, Breanna Romero.
.
Growing up I had a slight obsession with collecting Teen Vogue publications as well as anatomy textbooks. I was always drawn to the editorials within the magazines, but also the detailed and meticulous illustrations within the textbooks. This obsession would lead to myself finding beauty within the human body, its ability to contort and take numerous forms. Created through scans of my old magazines and textbooks, I wanted to combine the similarities I found into a photo spread of my own publication that meets in-between fashion magazine and informative medical textbook.
- @icedchaiwithoatmilk
... See MoreSee Less

“Inside, Outside” is an impressive series of collages by School of Art student, Breanna Romero.
.
Growing up I had a slight obsession with collecting Teen Vogue publications as well as anatomy textbooks. I was always drawn to the editorials within the magazines, but also the detailed and meticulous illustrations within the textbooks. This obsession would lead to myself finding beauty within the human body, its ability to contort and take numerous forms. Created through scans of my old magazines and textbooks, I wanted to combine the similarities I found into a photo spread of my own publication that meets in-between fashion magazine and informative medical textbook. 
- @icedchaiwithoatmilkImage attachment
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University of Arizona School of Art

2 weeks ago

University of Arizona School of Art

This gorgeous manipulated digital photograph is titled "Triangular Melons," and is by recent @uarizonaphoto MFA Alumna, Leah Netsky!
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My work considers the growing interaction between animal and plant life, science and technology. I use physical and digital manipulation of subjects to explore the human drive to edit, define, and control the organic. I have recently been working on a series of "future fruit" which play on genetic modification in fruit production. This image imagines how melons might be designed in the future.
- @leah_netsky
... See MoreSee Less

This gorgeous manipulated digital photograph is titled Triangular Melons, and is by recent @uarizonaphoto MFA Alumna, Leah Netsky!
.
My work considers the growing interaction between animal and plant life, science and technology. I use physical and digital manipulation of subjects to explore the human drive to edit, define, and control the organic. I have recently been working on a series of future fruit which play on genetic modification in fruit production. This image imagines how melons might be designed in the future.
- @leah_netsky
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University of Arizona School of Art

2 weeks ago

University of Arizona School of Art

These beautiful photographs are from Tamrin Ingram who received her MFA from the Photography, Video and Imaging program here at the UArizona School of Art!
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These two photographs contain the shadow of my granny.
In one she photographs her youngest daughter (my mother, now passed) on a swing set, and the shadow of mother and daughter is cast on the background. In another the same shadow of Granny is cast upon the freshly dug grave of her husband. I was struck by these self-shadow portraits of her, both photographs are quite plain yet both seem to whisper something about heartache, parenthood, and loss. In one, a wife documents the final resting place of newly dead husband, in another a mother documents her daughter just after the death of father and husband, and on the edge of it all is myself, daughter and granddaughter left with only shadows and dirt and two haunting photographs, seeing them at a time long before they ever saw me.
... See MoreSee Less

These beautiful photographs are from Tamrin Ingram who received her MFA from the Photography, Video and Imaging program here at the UArizona School of Art!
.
These two photographs contain the shadow of my granny.
In one she photographs her youngest daughter (my mother, now passed) on a swing set, and the shadow of mother and daughter is cast on the background. In another the same shadow of Granny is cast upon the freshly dug grave of her husband. I was struck by these self-shadow portraits of her, both photographs are quite plain yet both seem to whisper something about heartache, parenthood, and loss. In one, a wife documents the final resting place of newly dead husband, in another a mother documents her daughter just after the death of father and husband, and on the edge of it all is myself, daughter and granddaughter left with only shadows and dirt and two haunting photographs, seeing them at a time long before they ever saw me.
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University of Arizona School of Art

4 weeks ago

University of Arizona School of Art

This fantastic illustrative piece is called SIMPLIFY by School of Art student, Caroline Berkey!
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“I would hope my illustrations speak more for themselves than any written statement would. I also wouldn't want to discourage any viewer from applying a personal meaning to my work, especially since the nuance of visual narrative is so special. This piece means a lot to me. I made this piece while experiencing the worst artist block I've felt, to my memory. I made this piece when I didn't want to make anything at all. I made this piece at the beginning of a global pandemic, when all of my goals and plans were flipped upside down, and I ashamedly felt relieved. I made this piece because I think it's funny and honest. S I M P L I F Y.” @caro.carlitos
... See MoreSee Less

This fantastic illustrative piece is called SIMPLIFY by School of Art student, Caroline Berkey!
.
“I would hope my illustrations speak more for themselves than any written statement would. I also wouldnt want to discourage any viewer from applying a personal meaning to my work, especially since the nuance of visual narrative is so special. This piece means a lot to me. I made this piece while experiencing the worst artist block Ive felt, to my memory. I made this piece when I didnt want to make anything at all. I made this piece at the beginning of a global pandemic, when all of my goals and plans were flipped upside down, and I ashamedly felt relieved. I made this piece because I think its funny and honest. S I M P L I F Y.” @caro.carlitos
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University of Arizona School of Art

1 month ago

University of Arizona School of Art

Congratulations to Alex Turner for his recognition in the 2020 Lens Culture Black and White Awards. Alex placed 1st in the Single Image Category for his beautiful image, “29 Humans (Smugglers) and 12 Horses , 1-Week Interval, Patagonia Mountains, AZ, 2019” from the series “Blind River”! ... See MoreSee Less

Congratulations to Alex Turner for his recognition in the 2020 Lens Culture Black and White Awards. Alex placed 1st in the Single Image Category for his beautiful image, “29 Humans (Smugglers) and 12 Horses , 1-Week Interval, Patagonia Mountains, AZ, 2019” from the series “Blind River”!
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University of Arizona School of Art

1 month ago

University of Arizona School of Art

Beautiful acrylic portrait from School of Art student Sara Al Dabbagh. This work features her rendition of a Sumerian Noblewoman in the desert of Sumer, located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
Sara is a third year Bachelor of Fine Arts student majoring in Studio Art with emphasis in Two-Dimensional studies.
“I am a woman from Iraq, and I have always desired to have myself be represented in art and modern culture. I made this piece, to show the beauty of Iraq.” @artist.sakalda
... See MoreSee Less

Beautiful acrylic portrait from School of Art student Sara Al Dabbagh. This work features her rendition of a Sumerian Noblewoman in the desert of Sumer, located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. 
Sara is a third year Bachelor of Fine Arts student majoring in Studio Art with emphasis in Two-Dimensional studies. 
“I am a woman from Iraq, and I have always desired to have myself be represented in art and modern culture. I made this piece, to show the beauty of Iraq.” @artist.sakalda
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School Of Art

P.O. BOX 210002
1031 N. Olive Rd.
J. Gross Gallery Rm 101d
Tucson, AZ 85721-0002

Email: artinfo@cfa.arizona.edu

Phone: 520.621.7570

Fax: 520.621.2955


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College of Fine Arts

P.O. BOX 210004
1017 N Olive Rd.
Music Bldg, Rm 111
Tucson, AZ 85721-0004

Email: finearts@cfa.arizona.edu

Phone: 520.621.1302

Fax: 520.621.1307

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