UCLA Arts: Department of Art

Committed to transformative creativity and critical inquiry in the visual arts.

The top-ranked studio-art program in a public university nationally, the UCLA Department of Art empowers students to reshape their worlds through critical inquiry and transformative creativity. Committed to equity and inclusion in the arts, the Department of Art attracts diverse, gifted, and highly motivated young artists who are driven to speak to society’s challenges and to envision change.

Housed in the Broad Art Center on the UCLA campus and the newly-renovated, award-winning Margo Leavin Graduate Art Studios in Culver City, the Department of Art offers an environment that encourages autonomy and experimentation. Students have the unparalleled opportunity to work closely with a faculty of internationally recognized artists. They are exposed to a broad range of approaches to making and interpreting art, as well as diverse perspectives on the role of art and artists in society. The rigorous studio courses at the program’s core provide students with the tools, facilities, and curriculum to develop skills in the areas of Painting and Drawing, Sculpture, Photography, Ceramics, and the wide range of innovative mediums and methods covered by New Genres and Interdisciplinary Studio.

Students are encouraged to work intensively within and across these areas of study to find their own voices and craft their own practices. Intensive making is augmented by courses in art history and critical theory, as well as liberal arts studies in other academic fields across the UCLA campus. Beyond the UCLA campus, supervised independent research and internships in the greater Los Angeles area provide opportunities for students to develop as artists in one of the world’s leading art centers. The result is a distinguished list of graduates who have played leading roles the development of the visual arts.

Visual artists are responsible for some of the most transformative and enduring expressions of culture. Your generosity helps diverse and gifted young artists gain access to the tools of creative development and change through scholarships and support for research, travel, materials, and more.