Studio Art
About Studio Art
Our Program and Courses
Wondering what a studio art course is like? Take a look at our course catalog to see the depth and breadth of what’s available to you.
Learning Outside the Classroom
Art Shows and Exhibitions
See what your work looks like gracing a gallery wall. Each spring semester, F&M holds a student art show juried by a local guest artist, featuring works by all F&M students. Student work is also often exhibited in F&M’s Winter Visual Arts Center, the Shadek-Fackenthal Library, and the Phillips Museum of Art. Studio art majors are also required to take a studio seminar in the spring of their senior year, producing works that are displayed in our annual senior art exhibition.Research and Independent Study
Every student at F&M has extraordinary opportunities to engage in independent or faculty-led research. Advanced art majors are encouraged to undertake independent study courses, which may result in bodies of work for solo exhibitions or projects for departmental honors. You also have the flexibility to pursue research, whether you want to dive into a particular artist, time period, or cultural movement, or explore how art connects with politics, religion, pop culture, and more.Explore research at F&M
Off-Campus Study
What inspiration awaits you abroad? How will your art evolve beyond U.S. borders? F&M’s off-campus study program offers many options to broaden your artistic studies. Sophomores who declare a major in art history or studio art also may apply for the Sophomore Summer Foreign Travel Award in Studio or Art History. This award, established by the late Dean of the College, Bradley R. Dewey, offers funding for students to spend a summer studying outside of the U.S.Explore off-campus study at F&M
Field Trips
The convenient location of F&M’s home city of Lancaster allows for trips to museums and galleries in Philadelphia, New York City, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. Lancaster itself is also a nationally recognized art center, featuring dozens of independent galleries in the heart of downtown. Many F&M students, faculty and staff are involved in this rich artistic landscape, displaying their works in art galleries or creating public art installations or murals.Our Facilities and Resources
Winter Visual Arts Center
The Susan and Benjamin Winter Visual Arts Center (WVAC) provides an inspiring space for the making and study of visual arts. The WVAC is the home of art, art history, and film, as well as several art studios, a digital lab, an art gallery, a cinema, and more. The building earned The Architect’s Newspaper 2020 Best of Design Award in the institutional / higher education category.Studio art students in particular will enjoy:
- The Gipson Grand Forum
- Jonathan E. Babkow ’88 & Maia Rubin Film & Media Studies Digital Lab
- Ann Boyd Barshinger W’43, H’17 Painting Studio
- Thomas A. and Georgina T. Russo Family Foundation Gallery
The Phillips Museum of Art
Located in F&M’s Steinman College Center, the Phillips Museum of Art fosters an understanding and appreciation of the arts, including contemporary, historical and multicultural materials. The museum often partners with academic departments — including studio art — to offer opportunities for faculty and staff to extend the walls of their classrooms and engage students in tours, object-based learning workshops, and research opportunities that draw from the museum’s permanent collection, changing exhibitions, and visiting artists.Explore the Phillips Museum of Art
Degree Partnerships
Through this shared initiative, up to 10 F&M graduates admitted to Heinz College’s master’s degree programs annually will receive scholarships that reduce tuition by at least 30% each semester. F&M graduates will also be eligible for consideration for additional merit-based scholarship support up to 100%.
The collaboration expands postgraduate pathways for F&M students seeking advanced degrees and will apply to all Heinz College master's degree programs, including:
The scholarship is effective for any F&M graduate seeking to apply to Heinz College in the Fall 2026 application cycle and beyond. The award will be made at the time of admission and no separate application is necessary.
Success Beyond F&M
Graduate School
Studio art majors at F&M often continue their studies at excellent graduate programs in studio art, visual arts, design, animation, art history, and architecture. They’ve enrolled at the finest institutions for postgraduate art programs, including:- Boston College
- Columbia University
- College of William & Mary
- New York University
- Pratt Institute
- Savannah College of Art and Design
- School of Visual Arts
- School of Art Institute of Chicago
Career Paths
Studio art graduates are prepared for a wide array of careers. They hold positions such as:- Appraiser
- Architect
- Art Director
- Art Teacher
- Conservator
- Graphic Designer
- Fashion Designer
- Fine Arts Assistant Appraiser
- Museum Curator
- Museum Director
- Museum Educator
- Preservation Professional
- Video Game Designer
- Web Designer
Alumni Spotlight
Student-Designed Map Shows Best Spots in Lancaster City
An Bach ’26 illustrated a digital and print map spotlighting favorite student spots – all within walking distance from campus.
“I’ve always enjoyed digital drawing, especially when it’s something practical that people can actually use,” said Bach, a triple major in business, economics, and studio art. “I wanted to share a few Lancaster spots that I genuinely love, like Lancaster Central Market. That personal connection is what inspired the project.”
Read More »
Alumni Spotlight
“The resources at the Winter Center were invaluable…It enriched my creative vocabulary and granted me freedom for creative expression.”
"The resources at the Winter Center were invaluable," she said. "I got to explore everything from painting and drawing to screen printing, etching, woodworking, soldering, and even made my own canvases, all while getting priceless feedback from my professors. It enriched my creative vocabulary and granted me freedom for creative expression."
Read More »
Take Your Next Step
June 23, 2026 A three-year, $250,000 grant from the Richard C von Hess Foundation will support artists who will teach alongside Franklin & Marshall College faculty, hold public lectures and events, and exhibit their work for the campus and Lancaster community. March 17, 2026 With so much to explore in Lancaster, where do students start? F&M student An Bach ’26 illustrated a map spotlighting favorite student spots – all within walking distance from campus. January 20, 2026 A new exhibition at the Winter Visual Arts Center spotlights two faculty artists as well as the range of mediums and techniques students experience at F&M.F&M Studio Art in the Spotlight
F&M Receives Grant for Artists-In-Residence Program
Student-Designed Map Shows Best Spots in Lancaster City
A Q&A with Faculty Artists: ‘Masked & Unmasked’
What does art of the past tell us about the transformation of visual and material
experience over time? By studying History of Art and Architecture at F&M, you’ll actively
engage with this living dimension of the past through its artifacts, images, architecture,
and relevant texts.
This certificate will help you deepen your understanding of the arts as mediums for
impacting culture, community, politics, education, and more. Arts for Social Change
spans F&M’s dynamic arts disciplines, uniting the ethos of community-building with
artistic practice that foregrounds innovation and action. One field of study engages in all sorts of questions about people, institutions, and
social structures: sociology. How does power operate in society? How do politics shape
our lives? How and why have family relationships changed over time? As a student of
sociology, you will explore these interactions to better understand how they shape
the world and cultures that we live in.Related Fields of Study
History of Art and Architecture
Arts for Social Change (Certificate)
Sociology