The Art Department at Queens College

Welcome to the Art Department! Our department is composed of 4 majors: Art History, Design, Photography & Imaging, and Studio Art. Our programs equip students to meet the creative challenges of the 21st century through creative exploration, rigorous coursework, and exposure to a wide array of practices. We are a close-knit department within a large university, so our students grow from building relationships with their faculty and classmates while getting the opportunity to take courses in a variety of other departments. Located in the heart of Queens, the department combines the benefits a liberal arts campus with all the vibrancy and culture that New York City has to offer. Students benefit from the proximity and resources of the city while receiving the space and community they need to flourish.

Whether your interests lay in academic pursuits, honing traditional techniques, or exploring new frontiers, we offer many areas of study for both undergraduate & graduate students.

Interested in Declaring an Art Major or Minor?

Complete a Major/Minor Declaration Formand email art@qc.cuny.edu with your signed document. Please make sure you have reviewed the major/minor requirements in your respective program before submitting. 

The mission of the Art Department is to increase knowledge of, and interest in, the visual and applied arts among a variety of student constituencies. In line with the College’s mission to engage students in learning, knowledge creation, and cocurricular activities that broaden their minds while giving them tangible skills to succeed in careers and life,  foster “an environment in which students learn the underlying principles of the humanities and the arts,” we aim to provide non-majors with a general introduction to the techniques, principles, and theory of art making and design skills; to the broader cultural significance of the arts in an increasingly global society; and to the history of human artistic expression in as broad a spectrum of modern and historical civilizations as possible. 

We want those students who go no further than our introductory courses to acquire an appreciation of a universal human activity that will enrich their lives as liberally educated adults, able to enjoy and contribute to the ongoing development of their own culture. For our undergraduate majors, we aim to provide a thorough concentration in the skills, vocabulary, and concepts of their specializations, at a level of excellence that will qualify them for employment as artists, designers, art historians, curators, and related arts professions, or for pursuit of graduate education.