Our Art Education major is perfect for the kind of person who...

  • Loves learning new things and sharing those learnings with others
  • Gets excited about the transformative quality of art
  • Enjoys opportunities for leadership and hand-on experiences 

If this sounds like you, then our Art Education BFA might be the Moore major for you.

Your PA Pre-K Art Teacher license is transferable to 45 other states. Learn more HERE.

WHY CHOOSE AN ART EDUCATION MAJOR AT MOORE?

  • HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE: You don’t have to simply imagine yourself in the classroom—you’ll be there! All Art Education majors get a head start on their careers with fieldwork starting right away in your first semester and culminating with a student teaching experience in your senior year.
  • CUSTOMIZED: Enjoy a studio experience that’s tailored to your own artistic interests, whether you want to pursue painting, printmaking, sculpture, or all of the above.
  • COMMUNITY: Work amongst your peers in a dedicated studio space during your senior year, and join an accomplished cohort—Art Education majors go on to be award-winning teachers who enrich the lives of others. 

KICKSTART YOUR ART EDUCATION CAREER WITH A PAID ART TEACHING EXPERIENCE

100% of Moore Art Education major students receive a paid student teaching in your senior year, and get real-world experience working in the School District of Philadelphia and surrounding suburban school districts.

Simon Gratz High School

Simon Gratz High School

New Hope-Solebury High School

New Hope-Solebury High School

Orchard Valley Middle School

Orchard Valley Middle School

Penn Alexander School

Penn Alexander School

LAND YOUR DREAM ART EDUCATION JOB

Art Education alumni have landed art teaching jobs in school districts, museums and community arts organizations across the nation.

Barnes Foundation

Barnes Foundation

The Clay Studio

The Clay Studio

Keystone Academy Charter School

Keystone Academy Charter School

Neshaminy School District

Neshaminy School District

Northeast High School

Northeast High School

Pennsylvania School for the Deaf

Pennsylvania School for the Deaf

School District of Philadelphia

School District of Philadelphia

Southwest Leadership Academy

Southwest Leadership Academy

IN OUR OWN WORDS

Taylor Anderson ’24, Art Education

“Moore drew me in because of all the experience I would get before my student teaching placement. It definitely prepared me for hands-on classroom experiences like lesson planning and connecting with students I know that when I go into my first year of teaching, I’ll have support from the people who helped me along the way.”

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OUR EXPANSIVE ART EDUCATION FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT

Close up shot of a student working with clay in the Ceramics Studio

Ceramics Studio

Art Educations majors have access to our brand-new studio, located in the VAULT, has nine throwing wheels, a wedging table, slab roller, electric kilns, a gas reduction kiln and a dedicated glaze room 

A student welding in the metal shop

Metal Shop

Get comfortable with everything you need for metal work, using MIG welders, a TIG argon arc welder and oxy-acetylene welding, as well as sheet metal roller, drill press, anvils and forging equipment

Two students working in the Wood Shop

Wood Shop

Two saw-stop table saws, five band saws, two compound miter saws, a scroll saw, combination disc/belt sander, panel saw, drill press, router, planar, jointer, air compressor for pneumatic tools, various hand tools and a dust collection system

A student cutting wire in the Plaster and Mold-Making Studio

Plaster and Mold-Making Studio

Equipped with all the necessary tools for plaster work, including molding, making and casting

A studio cleaning out a screen in the Print Shop

Print Shop

In addition to a brand-new risograph, you’ll have access to two etching presses that can be used to make drypoints, etchings, monotypes and relief prints, and a darkroom with light exposure units, a spray sink and a vacuum table for screenprinting.

A laser cutter cutting out a design in wood in the FabLab

FabLab

Your future favorite place on campus, featuring a laser cutter/engraver, 3D scanners/printers, CNC Router, ceramics decal printer and a digital embroidery machine

MEET YOUR ART EDUCATION MAJOR

Watch our Meet Your Major: Art Education video to take a deeper dive into everything this program has to offer!

NETWORK WITH THE PROS

You’ll also meet guest critics and speakers—seasoned art educators who started out just like you—at special department events. Here’s a glimpse of some of our recent visitors:

Flavia Zuniga-West

Flavia ZuÑiga-West

Zuñiga-West is a West Coast–based art educator, advocate, artist and founder of the nationally renowned Adding Voices conference and symposia. She was the recipient of the 2022 National Art Education Association’s Committee of Multiethnic Affairs In Service Teacher Award and the 2022 National Art Education Association’s Independent School Art Teacher of the Year Award.

Susan Coll-Guedes

Susan Coll-Guedes

Coll-Guedes is speaker, educator and advocate, inspiring communities to create more inclusive schools through Arts Integration and Universal Design for Learning. She is an inclusion facilitator for the NJ Coalition for Inclusive Education and president of the National Art Education Association Special Education in Art Interest Group.

Bets Charmelus

Bets Charmelus

Charmelus is a dedicated facilitator, community advocate and auditory storyteller, and the CEO of ArtistYear, working to expand arts access in Title 1-funded schools across America. He has collaborated with respected entities like the Stockton Rush Bartol Foundation, owan University, Drexel University, TEDx, the Maryland Department of Education and the Philadelphia School District.

Nicole Pollard

Nicole Pollard

Nicole Pollard is an artist, curator, exhibition designer and yoga teacher who is passionate about creating experiences that speak to her interests in both rest and play as core needs for individual and collective well-being. She has worked at Philadelphia Contemporary, Temple Contemporary, No Longer Empty and the Leeway Foundation.

SPECIAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR ART EDUCATION MAJORS

Earn Up to $15,000 for Student Teaching in Pennsylvania

Starting in the 2024–2025 academic year, all Pennsylvania student teachers are eligible to receive up to $15,000 for their student teaching work! Students must agree to remain in Pennsylvania and teach art education for a minimum of three years. All student teachers in the program will receive $10,000 and those who do their student teaching in a “high needs” area may be eligible for a $5,000 bonus.

Click here for more information on this program!

Get Your Art Education MA at Moore in Our 4 + 1 Program

Already thinking about the next step after your Art Education BFA? Why not continue on at Moore and get your Master's degree in Art Education?

Moore's exciting and accessible 4+1 BFA + MA program is open to all Moore undergraduate Art Education students. Students who declare their intent to apply to the program will gain special access to Graduate Art Education conferences and events throughout their senior year. Plus: Each accepted 4+1 student receives a $10,000 graduate scholarship!

Click here to learn more about the 4+1 program and how to apply as a senior!

What You'll Learn

Click the plus buttons below to get an overview of Art Education courses & core curriculum. Further Electives are offered in Art Therapy.

Art Education class

Art Education Core Curriculum

Year 1 is your Foundation year! You’ll get a head start with your bridge-to-major class (Engaging Students in Community Arts) and choose between drawing or design in your second semester.

  • 2D Design
  • 3D Design
  • Engaging Students in Community Arts
  • Foundation Drawing I
  • Visual Thinking
  • Drawing for Visual Communication OR Creative Design
  • Color Theory
  • Writing Workshop I & II
  • Art History I & II

Immerse yourself in your major in Year 2. Classes like Emerging Patterns in Education, Impact of Behavioral Science and ELL (English Language Learning) Through Art Education will give you foundational skills for future work.

  • Drawing into Print
  • Sculpture: Concepts, Materials, Process
  • Painting: Concepts, Materials, Technique
  • Emerging Patterns in Education
  • Impact of Behavioral Science
  • ELL Through Art Education
  • Fine Arts Media Requirements
  • Mathematical Concepts
  • Mathematical Applications
  • Modern & Contemporary Art History
  • Non-Western Art History
  • Gender, Race, Class & Power

In Year 3, explore your options and start to think about your future through electives and Art Methods & Curriculum Development.

  • Art Methods & Curriculum Development I & II
  • Fine Arts Junior Studio
  • Non-Western Art History
  • Art in Special Education
  • Theory, Criticism & Aesthetics
  • Required Studio Courses
  • Creative & Critical Studies Electives 

In Year 4, take your final electives and Student Teaching classes, which includes a $1000 paid internship, and apply the skills you’ve learned to a final thesis collection. Then get ready for your journey to post-graduation success!

  • Lab Experience & Practicum
  • Fine Arts Senior Studio
  • Fine Arts Media Requirements
  • Senior Projects
  • Student Teaching
  • Student Teaching Seminar
  • Required Studio Courses
  • Theory, Criticism & Aesthetics
  • Creative & Critical Studies Electives
  • Open Electives 

Take the next steps!

We're looking forward to meeting you and telling you more about the undergraduate Art Education BFA program at Moore – the only independent are & design college in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.