What Can I Do With a Degree in Art?

Discovering your future career with an art degree is not always a straight forward path. While your mind may immediately gravitate towards marketing your own work as a fine artist, many other career options exist. The flexibility of our degree allows our majors to double major, and 90% of them do!

Our majors may choose between Art History and Studio Art for their coursework; however either path incorporate classes from both degrees of study.

You will develop a capacity to communicate orally and visually, develop and portray your ideas, work collaboratively, and problem solve. A skill art majors cultivate is the ability to take and give criticism, a useful ability in the workforce. You will spend much of your time working with other students in the studio, fostering professional relationships for years to come.

Many art majors go on to work in fashion, graphic design, marketing, education, screenwriting, museum curation, photojournalism, grant writing, interior design, animation, fine art, video gaming industries, or media. Due to the nature of our well-rounded, liberal arts approach to academics, our students are also accepted and sought over by esteemed graduate programs.

Are you wondering about opportunities to exhibit your work? At Furman, you will get a chance to present your work at the Senior Art Exhibition, held in the spring. The Thompson Art Gallery showcases the work of our seniors, which is the culmination of a year’s worth of pieces centered around a certain theme.

While working on your degree, be sure to create a portfolio you build on during your time in undergrad. The studio seminar will provide an excellent opportunity to create and refine elements of your portfolio. If you can, make sure to network and maybe opportunities will arise for commissions. Look to showcase your work at every opportunity; it will help you gain exposure and get your name out there!

Contact us to learn more about potential career paths as an art major. We would love to provide any guidance we can.