Dec 05, 2025  
2025-2026 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2025-2026 Undergraduate Catalog

Art



Associate Professor Melanie Clemmons, Claire Morris Spaht Chair

Professors: Brian Molanphy, Philip Van Keuren
Associate Professors: Melanie Clemmons, Nishiki Sugawara-Beda
Assistant Professors: Emily Budd, Frederico Câmara, Daniel Rodriguez
Assistant Professor of Practice: Martha Poggioli
Visiting Professors of Practice: Dana Buzzee, David Challier, Kerry Maguire

General Information

The Division of Art educates students in the study and practice of art within an interdisciplinary, rigorous, and supportive environment. The program concentrates on technical and conceptual development, studio production and exhibition, and the process of analyzing and interpreting artwork. The curriculum offers production-based studio courses in ceramics, drawing, digital/hybrid media (new media), painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, and interdisciplinary art. Students work across a range of media and engage in artistic exchange with their peer cohort, faculty, and guest artists or professionals working in the arts. Faculty evaluate student progress through formal reviews and exhibitions working toward preparation for professional careers or advanced study in the arts. 

Instructional Facilities

Facilities for the study of art include specialized studios, individual workspaces, and equipment to support all media taught, as well as individual experimentation. Facilities include woodshop, metal shop, foundry, ceramics studio, painting and drawing studios, darkroom and digital photography large format printers, a Mac computer lab, and digital fabrication tools. Additional facilities include the Jordan Student Gallery and the Doolin Gallery for the installation of student artwork in Owen Arts Center, as well as the Pollock Gallery, the primary public exhibition venue of the Division of Art located in Expressway Tower. The division runs an extensive visiting artist program, ranging from visiting artist lectures and workshops to Pollock Gallery exhibitions. Through these programs, artists, critics and curators of note are brought to campus to teach, exhibit, and make artwork. The Meadows School and SMU offer excellent library resources, including the Hamon Arts Library.

The Dallas/Fort Worth area has a large artistic community with rich and varied resources. These include many internationally and nationally significant museums and contemporary exhibition spaces: SMU’s Meadows Museum, the Dallas Museum of Art, the Nasher Sculpture Center, the Crow Museum, the Green Family Art Foundation, the Power Station, the Warehouse, the Latino Cultural Center of Dallas, the Dallas Contemporary, the Kimbell Art Museum, the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, and the Amon Carter Museum. There are also artist-run cooperative galleries and an established and growing commercial gallery system.

Admission and Financial Aid

Students wishing to transfer to the B.A. or B.F.A. degree program from another university must also be accepted by portfolio review and meet University transfer admission criteria prior to admission to study.

Students who were not dually admitted prior to matriculation but wish to major in Art must seek admission to the Division of Art by completing an Art application at https://www.smu.edu/meadows/areasofstudy/art/undergraduatestudies/admissions.

These students are strongly encouraged to enroll in elective Art courses (introductory level courses) prior to Art’s consideration of their application portfolio.

All students who apply for dual admission by the deadline to the University and to the B.A. in Art or B.F.A. degree program are considered for artistic scholarships based on artistic merit. Continuing scholarships are reviewed each year based on satisfactory progress toward the degree. To receive an award for artistic merit, students must submit either a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (www.fafsa.ed.gov) or a waiver, and a CSS/Profile (www.collegeboard.com).

Programs of Study

The Division of Art offers two undergraduate degrees – the B.F.A. in art and the B.A. in art – and minors in art and photography. In addition, the Division of Art contributes to the continuous development and delivery of interdisciplinary courses throughout the Meadows School of the Arts. Art majors may not declare a minor in art or a minor in photography.

Programs

    Major(s)Minor(s)

    Courses

      Sculpture
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