You are employable with an Arts degree!!

Arts degree graduates are really in high demand in the jobs market with well-paying positions. Lets take a look at the most commons myths about getting a degree in Art...

Myth 1: A Bachelor of Arts degree is not enough to find a well-paying, interesting job. You need to go to Law School, the Faculty of Education, or a technical training institute to be competitive for professional employment.

Fact 1: Based payscales.com salary survey conducted, average salary for bachelor's arts degree graduates in various job fields at United States are ranging from $32,000 to $55,000 annually, without having any further college or university study.

Myth 2: A Bachelor of Arts degree will get you a job of flipping burgers.

Fact 2: Based recent job survey conducted by a well-known survey company, arts graduates are often employed in a professional or managerial capacity (50 - 81%). This compared favorably with those in Commerce (60%) and those with technical or vocational diplomas from colleges and technical institutes (24 - 35%).

Myth 3: A Bachelor of Arts degree is a waste of time and money and does not earn as much money as a bachelor degree in science and technology.

Fact 3: According to a job survey report from "Express News" of University Alberta, Those with a general arts degree do well in the long term, although initially they may not make as much as graduates of professional faculties, what's really striking is the gains they make over five years, the gap starts to close. This is because Arts graduates emerge with highly developed research, communication, creative problem-solving and critical thinking skills that are in high demand because they are difficult to teach in the workplace. Many employers want this type of well-rounded employee, who can be trained for more specific skills.

How much do arts graduates earn?         Where do artists reside?          How satisfied are arts alumni with their education?          How many arts alumni have graduate degrees?           More questions about Art degrees?

The Strategic National Arts Alumni Project (SNAAP) has created a unique website to frame a clearer picture of arts alumni in America. This is just the beginning. Each year more and more survey respondents provide priceless information for the next generation of arts students.

         Strategic National Arts Alumni Project Website

Department of Art students are back to school!

 After a quiet winter break, Porter Hall is filling up with students and the rumblings of future art works. Classes started yesterday, Tuesday January 17th.

Congratulations to James Oliver!!

James Oliver (on right), Painting faculty

As the new year starts, we have one more bit of news from 2011. Congratulations again to James Oliver. James was one of the two recipients of the 2011 PSU Arts and Sciences Excellence in Teaching Award. 

" James Oliver has been on the faculty of Pittsburg State University’s Department of Art since 2000. His time at Pittsburg State University has shown him to be an educator of exceptional ability and character. James’ excellence in teaching goes far beyond the confines of the classroom.  He provides thoughtful academic advisement and mentoring, strong long-term planning related to his duties as an Undergraduate Advisor and as Graduate Student Coordinator, and a personable approach to students, his fellow faculty and contemporaries.

He is the perfect model for a faculty in the College of Arts & Sciences. He is a highly dedicated and dynamic communicator who knows how to motivate his students to strive for excellence. James is committed to making art and always conveys an excitement about being able to share his extensive knowledge of the subject with others, his students in particular. The student comments often describe him as an outstanding teacher with the ability to grab their undivided attention and leave them with the satisfaction of, in the words of one student, “having truly learned and understood the material thanks to the accessibility of his lectures”.

Innovative teaching and mentoring requires continuous advancement of a faculty’s current discipline specific knowledge and also investigating new methods of teaching and learning. From the use of smart media in his studio courses to taking additional coursework that expand his knowledge of advisement; James is always seeking new ways to grow as an educator

I do hope that the foregoing will give you and your committee some indication of the pure excellence, which James Oliver brings to our University. He is most worthy of the award for which he is being awarded."

- Rhona Shand, Department of Art Chair

Fall semester finals...

Heidi Kuehn

Department of Art students are finalizing portfolios and end of the semester projects this week. We will keep you posted with some fantastic artwork as they submit throughout the week. Images in this post are from the Commercial Art II course's concept art/ polymer project.

Kelsey Wilson, Zachary Stoppel & Heidi Kuehn

Zachary Stoppel

Paul Morris Exhibition comes to a close..

The Paul Morris ceramics exhibition, "Sustaining Persistence" concluded today. The exhibition ran from November 8 - December 8th. PSU students and community members had a wonderful opportunity to meet and hear from the artist when the exhibition opened in early November. For those folks unable to make it out to the exhibition we have posted some amazing pictures of the work.

Better Homes and Bathrooms Exhibition Pictures

Better Homes and Bathrooms Exhibition Opening this Thursdsay!

A collaboration between Nicole Meyer-Foresman’s Advanced Art Class from Girard High School and PSU’s S. Portico Bowman’s DesignII class will be on view in Porter Hall Thursday December 8 from 5:00 – 8:00 pm during the Art Department Holiday party.  

The GHS students have been working since October building a bathroom out of giant pieces of foam inspired by the imagination of Dr. Seuss, whereas the PSU students have been building kitchen appliances out of cardboard after the work of British sculptor Chris Gilmour.  PSU students have been in communication with Mr. Gilmour who will at the end of the semester decide if “he likes their work.”  If he does a portion of the final project points that students can be earned will increase.


                                                                  Chris Gilmour Website

BIKES (installation view) cardboard and glue 2003© Chris Gilmour

The Girard High School students and their objects are: Sarah Valentine/Karley Kindberg: Toilet Cassidy Verska/Leah Rogers: Shower Sydney Kindberg/Courtney Page: Sink

And the PSU Design II class students and their objects are: Jennifer Clark: Mixer, JD Dryden: Fridge, Darin Keen: Margarita Mixer Elysia Kim: Blender, Abby McCoy: Meat Grinder, Ross Schartel: Coffee Maker Jenna Spencer: Stove, Emily Westhoff: Microwave