About Art & Design

A creative life grows out of inquiry, is nurtured through diversity, and strives to engage the world, reinventing and renewing itself over time.

At the Department of Art and Design, we understand the creative life. We aim to stimulate and provoke students as independent thinkers and creators who explore various media and methods, under the mentorship of distinguished faculty who – like a mosaic – become a whole comprised of many distinct, yet connected parts. We can show you how to reinvent and renew yourself over a creative lifetime beginning with coursework that will challenge you and prepare you for careers limited only by your own imagination.

The Department of Art and Design is a leading multidisciplinary program offering a broad range of majors in graphic design, studio arts, art education and art history, which promotes student and faculty excellence.

UMD Department of Art & Design virtual tour

Our Vision

The Department of Art and Design will respond to changes in global visual practices in order to help shape a diverse cultural environment on campus, in the community, the upper Midwest and beyond.

We will:

  • Foster a challenging and innovative learning environment that supports creative and academic endeavors
  • Build relationships between department and community
  • Offer students a comprehensive range of programs that inspire them to be global citizens and life-long learners
  • Seek opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration
  • Provide a selection of liberal education courses and minors

Meet our faculty

Art & Design majors

Art & Design minors

Program sheets & 4-year sample plans:  2020-21 requirements   older 

Â