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 Studies
Painting
Photography
Printmaking
Sculpture/Ceramics

Art History

Dramatic Arts

Acting
Design/Technical Theatre
Puppetry
Theatre Studies

Music

Composition
Education
History
Performance
Theory

Distinguished Faculty

Fine Arts Faculty - 01

Michael Bradford, associate head of theatre studies and associate professor of playwriting, is considered one of the most promising African American playwrights today. His work has been produced Off-Broadway and elsewhere in New York, as well as regionally.

Fine Arts Faculty - 02

Tim Hunter, professor of digital media, lighting & stage design, shares his expertise in the areas of digital animation design & production, lighting design, scenic design and video projection design. His professional skills are sought by Broadway, television, Madison Square Garden, dance troupes, and theme parks.

Fine Arts Faculty - 03

Margo Machida, associate professor of art history & Asian American studies, is a scholar, independent curator and educator specializing in contemporary Asian American art and art history. Her research examines the meanings and functions of art as a social object.

Fine Arts Faculty - 04

Kathryn Myers, professor of painting, primarily bases her current figurative paintings, photographs and digital works on research in the art and culture of India.Her work has been exhibited in the U.S., Europe and Asia.

Fine Arts Faculty - 05

Louis Hanzlik, assistant professor of trumpet and chamber music is an accomplished chamber musician, and orchestral player. He is a member of the Grammy Award-winning Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and Atlantic Brass Quintet. He promotes the inclusion of chamber music within a student’s curriculum and professional life.

Successful Alumni

Fine Arts Alumni - 01

Daniel Campolieta (’08, B.M., Organ; ’08, B.M., Music Education) is an in-demand accompanist for classical and Broadway singers, choirs, ensembles, and solo instrumentalists. He is an avid composer of jazz music and classical chamber music. His work has been performed in North America and Europe.

Fine Arts Alumni - 02

Sarah Ann Boyd (’06, B.A., Art History) is the Associate Registrar for Exams and Long-Term Loans at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.As a student, she was an intern at the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, CT.

Fine Arts Alumni - 03

Kathryn Guthrie Demos (’06, B.M.) This promising young soprano contributes her exposure to wide diversity to the music she performs. She brings captivating interpretations to her artistry. Her operatic talents have been showcased in both the U.S. and Europe.

Fine Arts Alumni - 04

Dan Rousseau (’08, B.F.A, Design/Technical Theatre) is a Lighting Director for The Lighting Design Group, NYC. He is currently assigned to projects at CNN's NYC studios including Anderson Cooper 360 and HLN's Showbiz Tonight.

Fine Arts Alumni - 05

Austin Stowell (’07, BFA, Acting) is starring in Dolphin Tale with several acclaimed actors. Austin has a recurring role on Secret Life of the American Teenager and guest starred on 90210, NCIS: Los Angeles, and Secret Girlfriend. He credits UConn’s CRT for helping lay the foundation for his successful acting career.