About Our Department

The art history major provides a dynamic and diverse pathway for studying the arts and the historical contexts in which they were produced. Art history is a truly multidisciplinary major, one where students learn and work within the tenets of history, philosophy, sociology, psychology and anthropology, among others.

As an art major, you will develop critical and analytical thinking skills, enhance oral and written communication skills, develop a broadened worldview and historical perspective, and more.

Majors will discover that a wide variety of career options are available to them thanks to the skill set with which they will leave UNCW.

The studio art major offers a multidisciplinary view of current art practice.

You will be exposed to a range of media in small classes with individual attention. Through technical skill and creative thinking, students are encouraged to develop a personal, disciplined direction with an understanding of their place in art history and contemporary art.

The curriculum provides studio experiences in drawing, painting, sculpture, ceramics, photography, printmaking and graphic design.

Exhibiting artists in the Cultural Arts Gallery and visiting artists are a regular presence in the department and enhance student learning through lectures, collaborative projects and studio visits.

The Digital Arts program at UNCW is an interdisciplinary major lying at the intersection of Art and Computer Science. Students in this program will be trained to have a deep understanding of both individual fields as well as the fusion of the two. You will develop technical, aesthetic, analytical, and problem-solving skills.

The B.A. in Digital Arts is designed to prepare students to work in computer-art and design-related fields such as mobile-application and web design, game development, visual effects, film, interactive media, and other emerging opportunities at the cross-section of computer technology and the arts. Students will also acquire the background needed to pursue research at the graduate level in areas such as graphics, virtual reality, simulation, and human-computer interaction.

The program steps students through fundamentals in programming, art history, mathematics, data visualization, and elements of art. It then continues to the more application-specific areas of graphic design, web development, computer graphics, animation, and interactive-media programming. Digital Arts educational objectives focus on equipping students with an interdisciplinary understanding of aesthetics, design, programming, and graphics to succeed in today’s digital art and media application development fields.