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Art Education - B.F.A.

Kent State's Art Education B.F.A. program prepares art educators to engage their students in real-world learning and inspire a love of the visual arts as a way to problem solve and for personal expression. With experienced faculty, advanced coursework and hands-on experience, you will be prepared to teach the visual arts in a variety of settings and make a difference in the lives of your students. Enroll now and take the first step towards a fulfilling career in art education.

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College of the Arts
School of Art
www.kent.edu/art

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About Art Education

This focus on the "art" in art teacher is only the beginning of what sets us apart. Animated and enthusiastic instruction in Art Education with class sizes under 25 students provides you with personal attention and feedback on your growth and learning. Equally important, you will get out in the field early and often in your college experience. We exceed the state-mandated number of field experience hours. From teaching community young people in art enrichment classes on campus, to teaching detained youth at area detention centers and students with special needs, as well as working directly with area art educators in their classrooms, you will be well-prepared to move on to your 12-week student teaching experience. As a Liberal Arts college, Kent State University prides itself on our well-rounded and truly educated graduates. You will take courses in a variety of academic disciplines that will complement your art studies.

Program Information

Program Description
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Full Description

The Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Art Education prepares students to effectively teach visual art by applying a learner-centered pedagogy to embrace the many dimensions of human intelligence and aesthetic education.

Art educators understand child development to successfully engage learners in the complete artistic process of thinking—perceptual, imaginative, formative, expressive and communicative—by combining a range of subject matter, symbols and ideas. They organize and evaluate teaching activities for creating and analyzing works of art and design from contemporary and past cultures. This involves using a variety of media, technology and community resources and making connections between visual art and other disciplines, as well as assessing the learning outcomes of their students.

In addition, art educators are prepared to meet the needs of all students with an understanding of the value of diversity. They create safe and equitable learning environments in which to nurture lifelong skills in problem solving, critical thinking, collaboration, creativity and constructing meaning.

Graduates of the degree program will be eligible to be certified for pre-K-12 visual art teacher licensure.

Study Abroad/Away Opportunities:

  • Travel opportunities to New York City and Paris
  • Study abroad through Kent State's Florence program in Florence, Italy (full semester or summer art and design experience)
  • Ohio Art Education Association and National Art Education Association Travel Studies

Professional Licensure Disclosure

This program is designed to prepare students to sit for applicable licensure or certification in Ohio. If you plan to pursue licensure or certification in a state other than Ohio, please review state educational requirements for licensure or certification and contact information for state licensing boards at Kent State's website for professional licensure disclosure.

Admissions

Admission Requirements

The university affirmatively strives to provide educational opportunities and access to students with varied backgrounds, those with special talents and adult students who graduated from high school three or more years ago.

First-Year Students on the Kent Campus: First-year admission policy on the Kent Campus is selective. Admission decisions are based upon cumulative grade point average, strength of high school college preparatory curriculum and grade trends. Students not admissible to the Kent Campus may be administratively referred to one of the seven regional campuses to begin their college coursework. For more information, visit the admissions website for first-year students.

First-Year Students on the Regional Campuses: First-year admission to Kent State’s campuses at Ashtabula, East Liverpool, Geauga, Salem, Stark, Trumbull and Tuscarawas, as well as the Twinsburg Academic Center, is open to anyone with a high school diploma or its equivalent. For more information on admissions, contact the Regional Campuses admissions offices.

International Students: All international students must provide proof of English language proficiency (unless they meet specific exceptions) by earning a minimum 525 TOEFL score (71 on the Internet-based version), minimum 75 MELAB score, minimum 6.0 IELTS score or minimum 48 PTE Academic score, or by completing the ELS level 112 Intensive Program. For more information, visit the admissions website for international students.

Transfer Students: Students who have attended any other educational institution after graduating from high school must apply as undergraduate transfer students. For more information, visit the admissions website for transfer students.

Former Students: Former Kent State students or graduates who have not attended another college or university since Kent State may complete the reenrollment or reinstatement form on the University Registrar’s website.

Admission policies for undergraduate students may be found in the University Catalog's Academic Policies.

Some programs may require that students meet certain requirements before progressing through the program. For programs with progression requirements, the information is shown on the program's Coursework tab.

Learning Outcomes

Program Learning Outcomes

Graduates of this program will be able to:

  1. Construct lesson plans that reflect learner-centered pedagogy that is culturally responsive, inclusive and developmentally appropriate.
  2. Incorporate the use of evidence-based instructional strategies, resources and instructional technology as part of the learning activities aligned with goals, objectives and/or standards in the lesson plans. 
  3. Apply evidence-based instruction to meet a diversity of students’ needs. 
  4. Practice reflective teaching in the classroom to accommodate all students using effective strategies, resources, materials and accommodations to adapt instruction to meet the needs of individuals and groups of students.
  5. Implement formative and summative assessments that align conceptually to the lesson objectives and are designed to be appropriate to address individual student differences and minimize bias. 
  6. Demonstrate professional teaching dispositions.
  7. Apply creative, technical, procedural and interpretive skills through a range of studio art and design experiences.
Coursework
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Program Requirements

Major Requirements

Major Requirements (courses count in major GPA) (min C grade required in all courses)
ART 100222D COMPOSITION 3
ART 100233D COMPOSITION 3
ART 10024DIGITAL MEDIA 3
ARTE 31001ART EDUCATION: FOUNDATIONS AND CONCEPTS - ELEMENTARY 3
ARTE 31092ART EDUCATION :TEACHING PRACTICUM (ELR) 3
ARTE 41002ART EDUCATION: FOUNDATIONS AND CONCEPTS - SECONDARY (ELR) 3
ARTE 41004PRE-KINDERGARTEN-12 DESIGN EDUCATION 3
ARTE 41009ART EDUCATION MAJOR REVIEW 1
ARTE 41192ART EDUCATION: FIELD EXPERIENCE (ELR) (WIC) 13
ARTE 41525ART EDUCATION: INQUIRY INTO PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE 3
ARTE 41592ART EDUCATION: STUDENT TEACHING AND SEMINAR (ELR) 9
ARTH 22006ART HISTORY: ANCIENT TO MEDIEVAL ART (KFA) 3
ARTH 22007ART HISTORY: RENAISSANCE TO MODERN ART (KFA) 3
ARTH 32066ART AND THEORY SINCE 1940 3
ARTS 14000DRAWING I 3
ARTS 14001DRAWING II 3
ARTS 24010INTRODUCTION TO FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY 3
or ARTS 44011 DIGITAL FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY
ARTS 24040INTRODUCTION TO PRINT MEDIA 3
ARTS 24061INTRODUCTION TO PAINTING 3
ARTS 25400CERAMICS I 3
ARTS 34061INTERMEDIATE PAINTING 3
Art (ART), Art Education (ARTE), Art History (ARTH) or Studio Art (ARTS) Elective1-3
Art (ART), Art Education (ARTE), Art History (ARTH) or Studio Art (ARTS) Upper-Division Elective (30000 or 40000 level)3
Art History (ARTH) Upper-Division Elective (30000 or 40000 level)3
Additional Requirements (courses do not count in major GPA)
CI 47330READING AND WRITING IN ADOLESCENCE/ADULTHOOD (min C grade)3
COMM 15000INTRODUCTION TO HUMAN COMMUNICATION (KADL) 3
CULT 29535EDUCATION IN A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY (min C grade)3
EPSY 29525EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY (min C grade)3
ETEC 39525EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY (min C grade)3
PSYC 11762GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY (DIVD) (KSS) 3
SPED 23000INTRODUCTION TO EXCEPTIONALITIES (DIVD) (min C grade)3
UC 10001FLASHES 101 1
Kent Core Composition (min C grade)6
Kent Core Mathematics and Critical Reasoning3
Kent Core Humanities3
Kent Core Social Sciences (must be from two disciplines)3
Kent Core Basic Sciences (must include one laboratory)6-7
Kent Core Additional3
Minimum Total Credit Hours:120
1

A minimum C grade must be earned to fulfill the writing-intensive requirement.

Progression Requirements

  • Students must meet all professional requirements for admission to advanced study. Students will meet with an academic advisor to discuss the application for advanced study.
  • Students must have a minimum 2.500 overall GPA and 2.500 major GPA for admission to advanced study, student teaching and graduation.

Graduation Requirements

Minimum Major GPA Minimum Overall GPA
2.500 2.500
  • Students must receive a rating of “satisfactory” on selected works exhibited during their portfolio review.
  • Students must complete over 120 field hours through a variety of teaching experiences (i.e., when they are out in schools or other educational settings) within their teacher education program.
  • Student must satisfy all professional disposition assessments at least three times throughout their teacher education program, which includes student teaching. Professional dispositions are the professional attitudes, values and beliefs demonstrated through both verbal and non-verbal behaviors as educators interact with students, families, colleagues, faculty and communities.
  • Students must pass ARTE 41009, a course that examines the student's knowledge, proficiency and ability to apply concepts in art and visual arts education.
  • Students must pass the Kent Summative Teacher Education Project (K-STEP) designed to develop and evaluate their ability to plan for instruction, use instructional strategies and assess student learning during their final student teaching experience.
  • Students must successfully complete student teaching, the culminating experience in the preparation of the student teacher candidate.
  • ARTH 12001 is designed for non-art majors, and will not fulfill major requirements for art majors.

Licensure Information

Candidates seeking Ohio licensure are required to pass specific assessments in order to apply for licensure. The following Ohio Assessment for Educators (OAE) examinations are required for licensure: OAE 004, the visual art content assessment; and OAE 006, the pre-K-12 multi-age visual arts pedagogy assessment. See Ohio Department of Education-Educator Preparation website for more information on assessments specific to licensure type. Taking and passing the licensure tests prior to graduation is encouraged, but not required.

Roadmap

Roadmap

This roadmap is a recommended semester-by-semester plan of study for this major. However, courses designated as critical (!) must be completed in the semester listed to ensure a timely graduation.

Plan of Study Grid
Semester OneCredits
ART 10022 2D COMPOSITION 3
ARTS 14000 DRAWING I 3
UC 10001 FLASHES 101 1
Kent Core Requirement 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
 Credit Hours16
Semester Two
ART 10023 3D COMPOSITION 3
!ARTE 31001 ART EDUCATION: FOUNDATIONS AND CONCEPTS - ELEMENTARY 3
ARTH 22006 ART HISTORY: ANCIENT TO MEDIEVAL ART (KFA) 3
ARTS 14001 DRAWING II 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
 Credit Hours15
Semester Three
Required: minimum 2.500 GPA  
ARTE 31092 ART EDUCATION :TEACHING PRACTICUM (ELR) 3
ARTS 24061 INTRODUCTION TO PAINTING 3
ARTS 25400 CERAMICS I 3
COMM 15000 INTRODUCTION TO HUMAN COMMUNICATION (KADL) 3
CULT 29535 EDUCATION IN A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY 3
PSYC 11762 GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY (DIVD) (KSS) 3
 Credit Hours18
Semester Four
Required: minimum 2.500 GPA  
ART 10024 DIGITAL MEDIA 3
ARTE 41004 PRE-KINDERGARTEN-12 DESIGN EDUCATION 3
ARTH 22007 ART HISTORY: RENAISSANCE TO MODERN ART (KFA) 3
EPSY 29525 EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
 Credit Hours15
Semester Five
Required: minimum 2.500 GPA  
!ARTE 41002 ART EDUCATION: FOUNDATIONS AND CONCEPTS - SECONDARY (ELR) 3
ARTS 24010
or ARTS 44011
 INTRODUCTION TO FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY
or DIGITAL FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY
3
ARTS 24040 INTRODUCTION TO PRINT MEDIA 3
SPED 23000 INTRODUCTION TO EXCEPTIONALITIES (DIVD) 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
 Credit Hours15
Semester Six
Required: minimum 2.500 GPA and admission to advanced study  
!ARTE 41192 ART EDUCATION: FIELD EXPERIENCE (ELR) (WIC) 3
ARTH 32066 ART AND THEORY SINCE 1940 3
ARTS 34061 INTERMEDIATE PAINTING 3
Art (ART), Art Education (ARTE), Art History (ARTH) or Studio Art (ARTS) Elective 1-3
Kent Core Requirement 3
 Credit Hours13
Semester Seven
Required: minimum 2.500 GPA  
!ARTE 41009 ART EDUCATION MAJOR REVIEW 1
!CI 47330 READING AND WRITING IN ADOLESCENCE/ADULTHOOD 3
ETEC 39525 EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY 3
Art (ART), Art Education (ARTE), Art History (ARTH) or Studio Art (ARTS) Upper-Division Elective (30000 or 40000 level) 3
Art History (ARTH) Upper-Division Elective (30000 or 40000 level) 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
 Credit Hours16
Semester Eight
Required: minimum 2.500 GPA  
!ARTE 41525 ART EDUCATION: INQUIRY INTO PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE 3
ARTE 41592 ART EDUCATION: STUDENT TEACHING AND SEMINAR (ELR) 9
 Credit Hours12
 Minimum Total Credit Hours:120
Program Delivery
  • Delivery:
    • In person
  • Location:
    • Kent Campus
Accreditation

National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD)

Goals

Learner-Centered Pedagogy

Graduates effectively teach visual art by applying a learner-centered pedagogy to embrace the many dimensions of human intelligence and aesthetic education. Graduates are prepared to meet the needs of all students with an understanding of the value of diversity.

Creating and Analyzing

Graduates understand child development to successfully engage learners in the complete artistic process of thinking—perceptual, imaginative, formative, expressive, and communicative--by combining a range of subject matter, symbols and ideas. They organize and evaluate teaching activities for creating and analyzing works of art and design from contemporary and past cultures. This involves using a variety of media, technology, and community resources, making connections between visual art and other disciplines, as well as assessing the learning outcomes of their students.

Skills for Life-Long Learning

Graduates create safe and equitable learning environments in which to nurture life-long skills in problem solving, critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, and constructing meaning.

NAEA Student Chapter

Through our vibrant KSU Student Chapter of the National Art Education Association, you will have the opportunity to not only participate in both the national and the state annual conventions, but will also make friendships and establish mentoring relationships that can help in your career search as well as graduate school possibilities. The NAEA Student Chapter at KSU is known for its outreach activities, which include numerous opportunities to volunteer in the surrounding community, teaching art in both traditional and nontraditional contexts.

Art Education Faculty

As one of the largest art education programs in Ohio, we have four full-time faculty members. Therefore, you will learn under the direction and guidance of faculty with backgrounds in a variety of research areas in our field, providing you with the opportunity to develop your own personal teaching philosophy. Current faculty research interests range from design education, diversity, social justice education, gender studies, teaching art to students with autism, and local art education.

Linda Hoeptner Poling Headshot

Linda Hoeptner Poling
Associate Professor and Program Coordinator
lhoeptne@kent.edu
Phone: 330-672-7895

Linda Hoeptner Poling, Ph.D., is an associate professor of Art Education at Kent State University and holds a certificate in Gerontology. She is past president of the National Art Education (NAEA), Association Women’s Caucus (now Coalition for Feminisms in Art Education), a Distinguished Fellow for the Ohio Art Education Association (OAEA), a member of the Kent State Brain Health Research Institute, the 2018 OAEA Ohio Art Teacher of the Year, and the 2021 recipient of the NAEA Women’s Caucus Maryl Fletcher De Jong Service Award. She was recognized at Kent State in 2022 with a Distinguished Teaching Award. Hoeptner Poling is a co-editor of the 2021 anthology, National Art Education Association Women’s Caucus Lobby Activism: Feminism(s) + Art Education (Taylor and Francis & NAEA), and is co-editor of the forthcoming Art Education and Creative Aging: Older Adults as Learners, Makers, and Teachers of Art (Routledge & NAEA). She co-authored four editions of the VSA Teacher Resource Guide: A Series of Visual Art Lesson Plans Designed to Engage Students with Disabilities (Kennedy Center) in addition to the Educator Resources for TEXTURES: The History and Art of Black Hair, focusing on equitable and inclusive art curricula for PreK-12. Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) work centers Hoeptner Poling’s service and scholarship. She is a member of the Kent State/University of Akron Gerontology Certificate Advisory Council and served as a Provost Faculty Associate for the Division of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at KSU for two years (2016-2018). Hoeptner Poling is also an HERS Institute Alum, class of 2018.

 
Koon-Hwee Kan

Koon-Hwee Kan
Associate Professor
kkan@kent.edu
Phone: 330-672-9508

Koon-Hwee Kan is an Associate Professor of Art Education at Kent State University School of Art. Koon earned her Doctor of Education and Master of Arts degrees in Art Education from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. Her dissertation, an ethnographic case study entitled, A Story Told Visually: The Singapore Secondary School Art Style, won several awards. Her research interests include intercultural, distance, and continuing education through interactive technology and preservice art teacher education as well as qualitative methodology, especially visual narrative inquiry. 

Koon has published more than 20 articles in art education journals such as the Studies in Art Education, Journal of Museum Education, Art Education, Visual Arts Research, and International Journal of Education & the Arts. She has presented her scholarship locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally. Funding for Koon’s research has been provided by the Kent State University Research Council and Kent State University College of the Arts Catalyst Interdisciplinary Project Grants, as well as the University Moulton Scholar Program Scholarship, Marilyn Zurmuehlen Award for Distinguished Research in Art Education, and Baker-Nord Center for the Humanities Seminar Fellowships.

Her recent scholarship emphasizes the engagement of diverse, worldwide communities dedicated to successful global and local connections through the visual arts. In addition to teaching myriad graduate and undergraduate classes for the School of Art, Koon has served as coordinator for the KSU Art Enrichment for Young People program for 17 years. She regularly exhibits works in local and regional juried shows. Her favorite art medium include mixed medium watercolor and digital photo collage.

 
Robin Vande Zande

Robin Vande Zande
Professor and Division Coordinator
rvandeza@kent.edu
Phone: 330-672-7866

Robin Vande Zande has taught art in a variety of settings, including elementary, middle and high school as well as higher education at Kent State University. She received her Ph.D in urban education with a concentration in art education at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Her research area is design education for K-12 students, with publications on teaching sustainable design and urban planning, design education and brain-based principles, design education as community outreach, the design process of problem-solving, and teaching aesthetics through everyday objects. She has been a guest speaker at national and state events, speaking on the advantages of teaching design as it relates to social responsibility and the economy.

Dr. Vande Zande is chair of the Design Issues Group of the National Art Education Association and a member of the Board of Trustees Education Committee of the National Building Museum in Washington, DC.  She is a co-founder of the organization DESIGN-ED.  See link for more information.  She has been a consultant for the Frank Lloyd Wright Wescott House Museum, Springfield, Ohio, and the Design Lab Early College High School, a design-based Cleveland Public School.

Missy Higgins-Linder

Missy Higgins-Linder
Associate Lecturer - Art Education
mpaxson@kent.edu

Melissa (Missy) Higgins-Linder is passionately curious about the impact of the arts on how and why people learn, which has served her well throughout her career as an educator, leader, and advocate in arts and museums. She began her career as a K-12 art teacher in Akron Public Schools before shifting her focus to museum education. As Director of Education at the Akron Art Museum and Senior Director of Learning and Engagement at the Cleveland Museum of Art, she led teams of inspired colleagues guided by a unifying mission to use the transformative possibilities and power of art to instigate inquiry and discovery for learners of every age, stage, and ability. Her research experience includes studies of art museum-based professional development for K-12 art teachers and work as Project Manager for a national study on the impact of single-visit art museum programs on K-12 students co-sponsored by the National Art Education Association (NAEA) and Association of Art Museum Directors.

In addition to her professional work, Missy has served as the Ohio Art Education Association’s (OAEA) Museum Division Chair; chair for OAEA’s statewide student writing competition, the Jerry Tollifson Art Criticism Open; and Coordinator for the NAEA Women’s Caucus annual, juried exhibition. She received the OAEA Museum Education award in 2011 and the NAEA Western Region Museum Education award in 2019. Missy is proud to be a Kent State University Alumni with a B.A. and M.A. in Art Education. Outside of work, you will find her making food and art with her two inquisitive kids, trying to convince her patient husband to adopt more pets, rearranging the house to make room for more books, or hanging out by the water in Northeast Ohio. 

Guidance and Support

Guidance through the entire process with several advisors from Art Education and the School of Art, an advisor at the College of the Arts and an advisor in the College of Education, Health and Human Services assist you in making choices that will help you reach your goals. At the completion of your course of study our Career Exploration and Development office will work with you to secure your first teaching position. The Center has a staff whose specific focus is on the placement of KSU education graduates. This support is available throughout your life as an alumna of KSU.

Admission to the School of Art does not require a portfolio submission. If you have a scores of 4 or 5 on the Studio Art Advanced Placement (AP) exam through The College Board, you can receive credit for ARTS 14000 Drawing I, ART 10022 2D Composition or ARTS 10023 3D Composition. Students with a score of 3 on the Studio Art AP exam can receive art elective credit.  

The School of Art offers a limited number of scholarships for incoming art majors; the Scholastic Art Award is made through the competitive high school competition held each January on the Kent State University at Stark campus. In addition, the School of Art awards scholarships for enrolled students from the general scholarship fund each year. Dates for submission of materials for competition are announced each spring and awards made to enrolled students at any undergraduate level. For additional scholarships and awards available through the School of Art, visit the Financial, Billing and Enrollment Center.

Art majors who also enroll in the Honors College (qualifying by meeting certain grade and ACT/SAT criteria) may apply for the Creative Artist Awards.

Examples of Possible Careers and Salaries

Examples of Possible Careers
  • High school teachers in traditional, special needs and technical schools, plus museums, community and enrichment programs
  • Middle school teachers in traditional, special needs and technical schools, plus museums, community and enrichment programs
  • Preschool and elementary teachers in traditional, special needs and technical schools, plus museums, community and enrichment programs
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