• <a href="/live/image/gid/60/width/650/86482_Art_main_image_2.jpg" class="lw_preview_image lw_disable_preview" tabindex="-1"><picture class="lw_image lw_image86482"> <source type="image/jpeg" media="(max-width: 500px)" srcset="/live/image/gid/60/width/500/height/479/crop/1/86482_Art_main_image_2.rev.1607645090.jpg 1x, /live/image/scale/2x/gid/60/width/500/height/479/crop/1/86482_Art_main_image_2.rev.1607645090.jpg 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/60/width/500/height/479/crop/1/86482_Art_main_image_2.rev.1607645090.jpg 3x"/> <source type="image/jpeg" media="(min-width: 501px)" srcset="/live/image/gid/60/width/720/height/690/crop/1/86482_Art_main_image_2.rev.1607645090.jpg 1x, /live/image/scale/2x/gid/60/width/720/height/690/crop/1/86482_Art_main_image_2.rev.1607645090.jpg 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/60/width/720/height/690/crop/1/86482_Art_main_image_2.rev.1607645090.jpg 3x"/> <img src="/live/image/gid/60/width/720/height/690/crop/1/86482_Art_main_image_2.rev.1607645090.jpg" alt="Studio Art majors get to explore their creative side and ponder key critical questions and themes about artistic practice. " width="720" height="690" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/60/width/720/height/690/crop/1/86482_Art_main_image_2.rev.1607645090.jpg 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/60/width/720/height/690/crop/1/86482_Art_main_image_2.rev.1607645090.jpg 3x" data-max-w="3200" data-max-h="3066" loading="lazy"/> </picture> </a><div class="hero-split_image_caption collapsable-caption"> Studio Art majors get to explore their creative side and ponder key critical questions and themes about artistic practice. </div>

Why Choose a Degree in Art?

We are committed to helping you achieve the visual literacy that is increasingly essential to negotiating the world today. You will be prepared to pursue advanced degrees in graduate school; for careers as visual artists or in galleries, museums, or arts administration; and for a life enriched by the visual arts. Our students graduate with an art degree, plus the ability to think creatively and critically, both through the art they produce and in the way they analyze and discuss past and contemporary art.

What You’ll Study

The department offers two majors (studio art and art history) and one minor (art and art history). Our studio art program is supported by outstanding facilities and dedicated faculty, who have a commitment to their craft and the skills to introduce students to the key critical questions and themes in artistic practice today. Our art history program exposes students to a wide variety of art from around the globe and throughout human history. Faculty offer rigorous introductions, advanced courses in specific periods in art history, and thematic seminars that consider art in the context of ideas rather than simply by chronological order.

Many of our students study art and earn course credit while on an overseas or off-campus program. In addition to general cultural programs that are open to all students, there are programs designed and led by art faculty to England and New York City.

Outside the classroom, our annual senior exhibition showcases the work of our graduating majors in the professional space on campus, the Ronna and Eric Hoffman Gallery of Contemporary Art. Many of our students have been awarded numerous arts-related internships in Portland. Our visiting artist lecture series features nationally and internationally recognized artists working in a broad range of disciplines.

Curriculum

Complement Your Education With One of These Minors

The most popular minors for our art majors are English, entrepreneurial leadership and innovation, and any of our world languages and literatures sections.


What Students are Saying about Lewis & Clark

  • Through my internship, I have gained applicable skills that I can use to pursue a career in the arts.

    Mackenzie Kirkpatrick BA ’19
    Art History | Evanston, Illinois
    More about Mackenzie
  • I find it fascinating and quite liberating how the teaching of art history at L&C breaks out of the box of fine arts and leaves space for much-needed critique and analysis.

    Mithila Tambe BA ’25
    Art History | Pune, Maharashtra, India
    More about Mithila
  • My favorite class has been Professor Benjamin David’s Ovid and the Visual Arts. This class introduced me to the intertextual and intervisual matrixes of allusion, which hold tremendous sway over artists of the past and present. Though couched in history, this class continues to be relevant to the way I view and move through the modern world. 

    Apollo Beaber BA ’25
    Art History | Denver, Colorado
    More about Apollo

What Can You Do With a Degree in Art?

Our alumni use their BA in art to pursue a wide range of careers within academia, nonprofits, arts production and administration, and beyond. While some students pursue a studio practice with their bachelor’s degree, others apply their critical thinking, research and writing skills, creativity, and visual literacy to many areas other than art and art history.

Dedicated Faculty

Our expert professors are your expert mentors. You will learn directly from faculty (no graduate assistants here!) that are nationally recognized in their fields of study and who love to work with and learn from their students. Your professors will inspire you to be a thoughtful and passionate participant in a diverse world. Your small classes will support you as you explore new ideas, find your voice, and speak your truth.

Art faculty are some of the most engaged working artists in the Pacific Northwest. They are fellowship winners, run nationally recognized arts nonprofits, and have had their work supported through residencies, foundations, and grants. Our art faculty produce events annually, often bringing students on as assistants or collaborators.

Meet the Professors

  • 54 

    nationalities represented in our undergraduate student body

  • 125 

    of our undergraduate students are Third Culture Kids.

  • 47 

    U.S. states represented in our undergraduate student body

  • 12:1 

    Lewis & Clark College has a student-to-faculty ratio of 12:1.

  • 96% 

    Within six months of graduation, 96% of the Lewis & Clark Classes of 2018–2022 were already changing the world through employment (76%), continuing studies (19%), and service work (1%), like the Peace Corps.

Invest in Yourself

A private liberal arts education is often more affordable than you think. Last year, Lewis & Clark distributed over $74 million in assistance from institutional, federal, state, and private sources. Additionally, we’re so confident that our first-year students will graduate with their bachelor of arts degree in four years that if you don’t, we’ll cover the extra semester of tuition.

There are two art-specific scholarships available. The Kent Swanson Jr. Memorial Scholarship for Ceramics is awarded annually, and benefits students who have demonstrated financial need and interest in the outdoors, environmental conservation, and ceramics. The Barbara Scheidler Bartholomew Memorial Scholarship is awarded annually to a faculty-nominated studio art major of exceptional merit and financial need.

Find Your People

The Art Club is an entirely student-run organization that coordinates lots of extracurricular art opportunities including art exhibitions, visiting artists, and the annual Art Week. Our campus also has a few student-run art and creative spaces, like the Platteau and the Coop. Incoming students can take advantage of our Creative PDX New Student Trip, which gives them the opportunity to get to know the Portland arts scene and connect with the vibrant arts programs at L&C, all before classes start.


Where Lewis & Clark Will Take You

  • The theory I learned in class and the practical work experience I was able to get were a really great introduction to the work I’m doing now.

    Hannah Stubee BA ’21
    Studio Art (painting concentration)
    More about Hannah
  • L&C encouraged curiosity in me to see and cultivate new perspectives of the world, to listen, and to observe.

    Spencer Byrne-Seres BA ’13
    Studio Art
    More about Spencer
  • The biology and art programs gave me both real world and conceptual practice experience. My majors were extremely thorough and provided me with a great foundation.

    John Carr BA ’21
    Biology and Studio Art (double) | Los Angeles, California
    More about John

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