Undergraduate Programs
BA in Art
The BA in Art will prepare students for real-world opportunities in today’s creative industries. Whether you’re interested in becoming a professional artist, designer, fabricator, or pursuing graduate studies, this program gives you the technical skills, critical thinking abilities, and hands-on experience to build a sustainable creative career.
New for Fall 2027: BA in Studio Arts
Beginning in Fall 2027, the newly designed BA in Studio Arts will bring the applied design, painting and printmaking, sculpture, and studio art emphasis areas together into one major, offering students greater flexibility to focus on a particular discipline or explore multiple areas of study to create their own pathway within the arts.
Current BA in Art emphasis areas include:
- Applied Design (Furniture Design and Woodworking, Jewelry and Metalsmithing, Ceramics)
- Painting and Printmaking
- Sculpture
- Studio Arts
Emphasis in Applied Design
The Applied Design emphasis prepares students for creative careers through traditional craft techniques and contemporary fabrication processes. You'll work closely with faculty who are professionally active artists and designers, bringing current knowledge and experience into the classroom. Through guided studio practice and independent exploration, students develop portfolio-ready work while gaining skills in ceramics, furniture design and woodworking, and jewelry and metalsmithing.
Painting and Printmaking, Sculpture, and Studio Arts
Develop your individual artistic practice through hands-on exploration, experimentation, and critical inquiry. Students in these emphases build technical and conceptual skills while exploring materials, processes, and ideas within contemporary visual art. These programs prepare students to pursue careers as practicing artists and art professionals, including opportunities in galleries, museums, and other arts and cultural organizations.
BA in Art, Emphasis in Art Education
In Preparation for the Single Subject Teaching Credential
Combine your creative practice with your interest in teaching through the Art Education emphasis. Students will develop their skills as artists while exploring approaches to teaching and learning in the visual arts, preparing them to engage learners through creative practice.
The program leads to a BA in Art and may be used to satisfy some of the application requirements for SDSU’s Single Subject Teaching Credential program. Students pursuing a teaching credential complete additional requirements through SDSU’s College of Education. Learn more about the Single Subject Teaching Credential and credential requirements.
BA in Art History
The BA in Art History at San Diego State University offers a rigorous and expansive study of global art and visual culture, including architecture, craft, and design. Situated on the US-Mexico border and the Pacific Rim, the program foregrounds the art of the Americas, Asia, and the Asian diaspora, while also offering sustained engagement with the arts of the African diaspora and Europe. Students work closely with full- and part-time faculty specialists and take courses spanning diverse periods and geographies across varied styles, media, and thematic concerns.
Grounded in the region’s cultural contexts, the curriculum emphasizes critical art historical methods that engage social and political histories, with particular attention to how art and visual culture are imbricated in the politics of transnational exchange, gender, and decolonial and postcolonial formations, among other concerns. The program prepares majors for careers in museums, galleries, arts organizations, and related fields, as well as for advanced graduate study. Students also benefit from internship and study abroad opportunities, and strong connections to San Diego’s vibrant cultural institutions.
BA in Integrated Design
The BA in Integrated Design (changing to Interactive Media and Graphic Design in Fall 2027) at San Diego State University offers a rigorous and forward-looking study of visual communication across graphic design and multimedia. The program prepares students to plan and produce work for specific audiences and contexts, foregrounding design as both a professional practice and a critical cultural form. Students engage emerging technologies, interactive media, and publication practices while examining how design operates within social, political, and global frameworks.
Working closely with faculty whose expertise spans interactive media, digital art, socially engaged design, and professional client-based practice, students develop a sustained body of original work across diverse platforms and formats. Grounded in critical inquiry and real-world application, the curriculum emphasizes both conceptual depth and technical proficiency. The program prepares graduates for careers in design, media, and related creative industries, supported by comprehensive facilities and strong connections to San Diego’s dynamic creative community.
Students benefit from an active AIGA SDSU/Tijuana student group, which provides opportunities for professional development, networking, workshops, and engagement with the broader design community.
BA in Art, Emphasis in Interior Architecture
Look closely at the spaces around you: they influence how communities gather, how learning shapes, and how culture is expressed. This program prepares you to create these environments with imagination, technical skills, and a sense of responsibility. Through studio practice and coursework, you will explore space, form, material, and texture while engaging with the cultural, social, and environmental contexts that inform design thinking and the design process.
The curriculum combines creative exploration with professional training. You will establish strong foundations in drawing, visualization, critical thinking, human-centered design, and material specification, and develop fluency in industry-standard software, including CAD, 3D modeling, Building Information Modeling (BIM), graphics, and rendering tools. You will also engage with emerging technologies, including augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR), artificial intelligence (AI), digital fabrication, and computational design, supported by hands-on access to fabrication labs equipped with 3D printers, laser cutters, and other advanced tools.
Collaboration and critique define our studio culture, strengthened by undergraduate research opportunities supported by SDSU’s R-1 research infrastructure. Faculty bring diverse professional and interdisciplinary research expertise, mentoring students through design projects spanning residential, commercial, cultural, educational, and civic spaces, and beyond. The program highlights design as a force for innovation and social good, encouraging students to create environments that are inclusive, sustainable, and forward-thinking.
