School of Fine Arts

Our Dramatic Arts department is the home of UConn’s puppetry program, the nation’s leader in puppet arts.

Many School of Fine Arts graduates have distinguished careers as performers, artists, scholars, arts administrators and teachers.

School of Fine Arts

Looking for a distinguished career as a performer, artist, scholar, arts administrator or teacher? UConn’s School of Fine Arts is your choice, offering the most effective environment to foster your creative, intellectual and personal growth

With programs in art and art history, dramatic arts, which include puppetry, and music, we have achieved national recognition as a superb incubator for students pursuing a career in the arts.

Art

Study with highly creative artists who are successful in their fields, then exhibit your work in the Bachelor of Fine Arts Exhibition as a senior.

Art History

Intern in the region’s museums and art galleries and study abroad in Florence, London, Paris, Greece and Australia.

Dramatic Arts

Immerse yourself in acting, costume design, directing, lighting, movement, scenic design, technical theatre and voice.

Music

Receive intensive instruction, often one-on-one, culminating in recitals, a portfolio of compositions or a senior project in history or theory.

Our $14.5 million music building houses a vastly expanded Music and Dramatic Arts Library and offers new equipment, rehearsal facilities, teaching studios and a state-of-the-art recording studio. Other first-rate resources include:

High-tech classrooms
5 computer laboratories (85 work stations)
Fully equipped photo labs

Printmaking studio
Sculpture facilities
Painting and drawing studios

In addition to the Contemporary Art Galleries and von der Mehden Recital Hall, School of Fine Arts facilities include:

2,500-seat Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts
Harriet S. Jorgensen Theatre, home to the award-winning Connecticut Repertory Theatre
229-seat Nafe Katter Theatre, featuring a 3-sided stage offering intimate audience interaction
Jorgensen Gallery, which hosts annual local and regional art exhibitions

Available Majors

Art

Communication Design
Illustration
Individualized
Painting
Photography
Printmaking
Sculpture/Ceramics

Art History

Dramatic Arts

Acting
Design/Technical Theatre
Puppetry
Theatre Studies

Music

Education
History
Performance
Theory

Distinguished Faculty

Fine Arts Faculty - 01

Kangho Lee, associate professor of music, is a sought-after soloist and chamber musician who made his orchestral debut with the Seoul Philharmonic at age 12. An active chamber musician, he has collaborated with members of the St. Louis, Pittsburgh and Boston symphonies and the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Fine Arts Faculty - 02

Gus Mazzocca, professor of art and art history, has exhibited his work in numerous solo and group installations at galleries and museums in Europe and the United States. He has created several international exchanges between printmakers from UConn and artists in Poland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

Fine Arts Faculty - 03

Oluchukwu Oguibe, professor of painting and African American studies, is a prolific author and exhibiting artist whose work has been shown in museum, galleries and biennials around the world. He has also curated exhibitions for the Tate Modern; the School of the Art Institute, Chicago; and the City Museum in Mexico City.

Fine Arts Faculty - 04

Karen Ryker, professor of acting and voice, is a professional actress, director and voice coach. She also has 30 years of experience teaching in respected institutions across the country. Her areas of specialization include Shakespearean performance, in which she trains actors to use their voices fully.

Fine Arts Faculty - 05

Bette Talvacchia, professor of art and art history, is a Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor specializing in Italian Renaissance art with an emphasis in gender studies. She has been a Fellow at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Successful Alumni

Fine Arts Alumni - 01

Daniel Campolieta (’08, B.M., Organ; ’08, B.M., Music Education) is an organist and accompanist for rehearsals and all worship services at his 2,000-member church. While at UConn, he led the Dan Campolieta Trio, the Modern Chamber Ensemble and was a member of the UConn Jazz Ensemble.

Fine Arts Alumni - 02

Laurel J. Carpenter (’04, M.F.A.) is an assistant professor of fine arts at Alfred University in New York where she teaches courses in 3-D foundations and performance art. She also presents and participates in national and international performance and installation art projects.

Fine Arts Alumni - 03

Mike Hansen (’98, B.F.A., Theatre Design) helped expand New York City-based Tim Hunter Design into a business that has designed sets and lighting for 5 TV studios, including The Golf Channel, College Sports Television, Outdoor Life Network and News 12 Long Island.

Fine Arts Alumni - 04

Meg Hunt (’05, B.F.A., Art with a concentration in illustration and printmaking) is self-employed as an illustrator, comic artist and printmaker. She creates images for national clientele in books and magazines and markets her own prints and comics. As a student, she was a co-founder of the UConn Artist's Collective.

Fine Arts Alumni - 05

Tim Lagasse (’92 B.F.A., Puppetry) is a professional puppeteer, designer, puppet builder and filmmaker. He works on many children’s TV programs, including shows for PBS, HBO, the Disney Channel and Nickelodeon. His puppets have appeared on Comedy Central's “The Chappelle Show” and he performs worldwide live and on TV.