Our Fine Arts major is perfect for the kind of person who...

  • Loves perusing the paint section at the art supply store
  • Has the constant itch to create beautiful objects with your hands
  • Could spend an entire day strolling through art galleries

If this sounds like you, then a Fine Arts BFA might be the Moore major for you. 

Check out more student work!

WHY CHOOSE A FINE ARTS MAJOR AT MOORE?

  • CUSTOMIZED: The Fine Arts courses & curriculum can be tailored to your interests, whether you’re interested in painting, printmaking, sculpture, or all of the above. Pursue a more traditional focus or create expansive multimedia or installation projects—your path is up to you.
  • EXPERIENCE: You’ll venture out into the art world thanks to exciting field trips and meet with professionals at places like Dia Beacon, Mass MoCA and the Hirshhorn Museum, just to name a few! Plus, you’ll learn on industry equipment in various maker spaces, like the new ceramics and plaster studios in the VAULT.
  • COMMUNITY: Fine Arts majors are the only students to get dedicated studio space in their junior AND senior years! In addition to the connections you’ll make during your paid internship, you’ll show off your work and network with members of the broader art community at our annual Open Studios event.

KICKSTART YOUR CAREER WITH A FINE ARTS PAID INTERNSHIP

100% of Moore Fine Arts BFA students receive a paid internship between junior and senior years, and get real-world experience working with companies and organizations like:

The Barnes Foundation

The Barnes Foundation

Icebox Project Space

Icebox Project Space

Mural Arts Philadelphia

Mural Arts Philadelphia

Philadelphia Museum of Art

Philadelphia Museum of Art

LAND YOUR DREAM JOB

Fine Arts alumni have landed jobs at companies and organizations like…

Anthropologie

Anthropologie

The Clay Studio

The Clay Studio

Eastern State Penitentiary

Eastern State Penitentiary

Fabric Workshop & Museum

Fabric Workshop & Museum

Locks Gallery

Locks Gallery

Museum of Fine Arts Boston

Museum of Fine Arts Boston

Please Touch Museum

Please Touch Museum

Taller Puertorriqueño

Taller Puertorriqueño

IN OUR OWN WORDS

Grace Netti ’26, Fine Arts

"When I was looking at colleges, I wanted to go somewhere located in a city with a large museum culture. Moore was perfect, being right into the museum district. I can walk a couple blocks and look at paintings I've learned about in my art history classes."

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OUR EXPANSIVE FINE ARTS FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT

The clay studio in Moore's VAULT

Ceramics Studio

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 Moore's 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 

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

Plaster and Mold-Making Studio

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

A student cleaning out a silk screen

Print Shop

In addition to a brand-new risograph, Fine Arts majors 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.  

The laser cutter in Moore's FabLab at work

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 FINE ARTS MAJOR

Watch our Meet Your Major: Fine Arts 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—fine artists, curators and critics who started out just like you—at special department events. Here’s a glimpse of some of our recent visitors:

Karyn Oliver

Karyn Oliver

Olivier is an internationally exhibited, award-winning creator of sculptures, installations and public art, and a professor of sculpture. In 2024 and 2025, she will unveil two memorials in Philadelphia, honoring a former slave at Stenton House, and commemorating more than 5,000 African Americans buried at Bethel Burying Ground. 

Lauren Mabry

Lauren Mabry

Known for her bold, dynamic glazes and inventive use of material, color, and form, Mabry creates ceramic vessels, objects and dimensional paintings that question the boundary between abstract painting, minimalist sculpture, and process art.

Erin M. Riley

Erin M. Riley

A Brooklyn-based artist whose work focuses on the struggle of finding ones own identity, Riley works primarily in hand-woven, hand-dyed wool tapestries and has exhibited throughout the world, including a 2022 solo show at Art Basel Miami.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

Click the plus buttons below to get an overview of our Fine Arts BFA core curriculum, and also choose from a variety of exciting electives like: 

  • Projects in Ferrous Metals: express yourself through processes of welding, cutting and 3D fabrication
  • Make It Big: explore the relationship between painting and site and work with fellow painters on a large-scale mural project
  • Etching: discover the world of intaglio printmaking and create dynamic works of art
  • Beyond Green: Art and Sustainability: learn how artists are working toward sustainability and confronting climate change
  • Drawing Into Print: link your love of drawing to new discoveries in the world of printmaking

Fine Arts professor and students discussing a project.

Fine Arts Core Curriculum

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

  • 2D Design
  • 3D Design
  • Printmaking
  • Foundation Drawing I
  • Visual Thinking
  • Color Theory
  • Drawing for Visual Communication OR Creative Design
  • Writing Workshop I & II
  • Art History I & II

Immerse yourself in your major in Year 2. Classes like Painting, Sculpture, Drawing and Digital Tools will give you foundational skills for future work.

  • Painting: Concepts, Materials, Technique
  • Sculpture: Concepts, Materials, Process
  • Drawing: Concepts, Materials, Methods
  • Digital Tools
  • Drawing as a Contemporary Practice
  • Fine Arts Media Requirements
  • Modern Art History Course
  • Non-Western Art History
  • Gender, Race, Class & Power

In Year 3, go further in Idea Lab and Junior Studio, and start to think about your future through electives and Professional Development, which will prepare you for an exciting $1,000 paid summer internship.

  • Fine Arts Junior Studio
  • Idea Lab
  • Fine Arts Media Requirements
  • Professional Development I
  • Creative & Critical Studies Electives
  • Studio Electives

In Year 4, take your final electives and Senior Studio and Thesis classes, and apply the skills you’ve learned to a final thesis project. Then get ready for your journey to post-graduation success!

  • Fine Arts Senior Studio
  • Critical Discourse
  • Fine Arts Senior Thesis
  • Professional Development II (Internship)
  • Critical & Creative Studies Electives
  • Fine Arts Media Requirements
  • Open Electives

Take the next steps!

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