At the University of Connecticut, the School of Fine Arts is where creativity meets impact. The School balances artistic and cultural legacies with innovative approaches, preparing artists, creators, and leaders to shape culture, industries, and communities worldwide.
In doing so, it serves students in both their educational and professional development. As a cornerstone of our teaching philosophy, the School is committed to fostering connections between academic study and the many professional industries related to our disciplines. This approach emphasizes experiential learning and includes faculty and institutional engagement with the professional arts world beyond the university.
The outstanding faculty across our four academic departments, Art and Art History, Digital Media and Design, Dramatic Arts, and Music, are committed to providing rigorous professional education, with all programs offering undergraduate and graduate degrees. Our arts ecosystem also includes vibrant presenting venues such as the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry, Connecticut Repertory Theatre, the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts, von der Mehden Hall, the William Benton Museum of Art, and the Alexey von Schlippe Gallery of Art at the Avery Point campus. Together, these contribute to an exceptional UConn experience for both the campus and the broader regional community.
History of SFA
The School of Fine Arts at the University of Connecticut was established in 1961. Since its founding in 1881, UConn has encouraged artistic and cultural development among its students, faculty, staff, and the broader community. Rooted in the early formation of glee clubs, orchestras, drama clubs, and other artistic organizations in the late 1800s, the arts have flourished—growing in both visibility and importance across campus.
More than 2,000 graduates from the past decade are making an impact across 36 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and seven countries, including Australia, Canada, China, Iceland, the Netherlands, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. Alumni work as freelance artists, musicians, actors, and designers, while others apply their creative skills at companies such as Disney, Apple, Universal Studios, Adobe, Audible, Salesforce, YouTube, ABC, NBC, ESPN, IBM, Electric Boat, and Netflix—or have launched their own businesses.
Regionally and beyond, they present their own work and amplify the work of fellow artists at renowned institutions such as the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. They also create for major sports organizations, including the New York Jets, Florida Panthers, New England Patriots, the National Hockey League, and Major League Baseball. Alumni contribute to arts education by teaching and supporting programs at institutions such as the Royal Academy of Music, Brown University, Columbia University, the University of Michigan, Harvard University, Yale University, New York University, and Berklee College of Music. Even before graduating, students in the School of Fine Arts and the Neag School of Education’s interdisciplinary Music Education program provide more than 44,000 hours of instructional support annually to K–12 students across Connecticut.
BECAUSE OF UCONN and the School of Fine Arts, the arts truly are everywhere.