Art Major • Academics • Marymount Manhattan College

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Why Study Art?

You’re creative. You’re talented. Now, take these traits and develop your own form of expression. As an Art major, you’ll learn to think critically, act creatively, and produce works of art that address the most pressing issues in contemporary culture.

Why Study Art at MMC?

As an Art major here, you’ll have access to all the resources of an art school as you build your artistic practice, enriched by disciplines from across the College.

Take in everything New York City offers as the heart of the international art world. Meet leading curators, artists, photographers, and designers. Learn from faculty members who are professional artists. Take classes and intern in prominent cultural institutions like Sotheby’s, the Met, MoMA PS1, El Museo del Barrio, and art galleries across the city.

Our new center for visual arts (opening in Fall 2022) will provide you with a unique teaching and learning environment with light-filled studios, digital labs, and a communal hub to host events, connect with friends, or just hang out.

What You Will Learn as an Art Major

Our core courses build your artistic foundation. Integrate solid technical skills with knowledge of art history, theory, and practice.

Design your own program by choosing one or more of four concentrations:

Graphic Design
Illustration and Animation
Photography
Studio Art

Through coursework, apprenticeships and internships, special lectures, and access to artists’ studios, you will develop your skills not just as an artist, but as a critic and communicator.

Available as a Minor

Concentrations

Graphic Design

Blend artistry and technology in our Graphic Design concentration. You’ll learn foundational design principles and theories. Apply the skill sets you develop to print design, web design, illustration, interactive media, photography, and more. Get ready for a career or graduate school by preparing a professional portfolio in your chosen media.

Explore Graphic Design

Illustration and Animation

In our Illustration and Animation concentration, you’ll hone your drawing skills and become fluent in time-based media and the art of visual storytelling. You’ll master the latest digital software and you’ll build a professional portfolio that’s ready to use for job and graduate school applications.

Explore Illustration and Animation

Photography

In our Photography concentration, you’ll take your foundational courses at MMC and advanced courses at The International Center of Photography (ICP). ICP features state-of-the-art darkroom and digital facilities, a museum, and a collection of over 20,000 books, artist files, and periodicals. You’ll study lighting, portraiture, landscape, photojournalism, medium- and large-format photography, and advanced darkroom and digital techniques.

Explore Photography

Studio Art

As a student in our Studio Art concentration, you’ll first explore a wide range of artists’ materials and tools—from charcoal and paint to the most current digital technologies. Then, you’ll hone your skills in your chosen medium—painting, drawing, printmaking, mixed media and installation—and produce a body of work and professional portfolio.

Explore Studio Art

View All Programs

Program Highlights

International Liquid Finger Prayer by Pipilotti Rist

Internships

Learn what it’s really like to work in New York City’s museums, galleries, auction houses, graphic design and photography studios, advertising firms, and publishing companies. Art majors have recently interned at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Guggenheim Museum, and Teen Vogue, just to name a few.

Explore Internships

Senior Portfolios and Seminars

Graduate with a professional quality portfolio that’s ready to send to potential employers or graduate programs. All Art majors create digital portfolios and take a senior capstone seminar course to develop a body of work for exhibition in the Hewitt Gallery of Art.

Learn More about Your Portfolio

I’m incredibly grateful for the personalized experience I had at MMC, where my professors always challenged me to define and build my artistic voice. I was formally introduced to documentary photography during my third when at my professor’s suggestion, I took a class focused on photo essays at the International Center of Photography. With every project, I was uncovering a clue as to what drew me to photography–storytelling.
Nathalie Diller ’20
Class of 2020, Art major with a Photography concentration
Each Art History course cultivated my understanding of multiple perspectives on art; each one encouraged me to explore the subjects and topics that fed my curiosity. For example, I was thrilled to be able to pursue my interest in Native American art and culture by studying objects first-hand in New York collections, especially in the Diker Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I am incredibly grateful for the experiences I enjoyed and the relationships I formed with faculty in Art History at MMC.
Sheridan Posschelle ’21
Class of 2021, Double Major in Art History and Art with a concentration in Graphic Design
Meet Sheridan
Attending MMC was one of the best decisions I have ever made, as it opened doors such as being offered a summer job at Mouse Ceramic Studio in Brooklyn, teaching ceramics to children. The guidance I received from my professors also helped me get into Bank Street Graduate School of Education , my top choice graduate school. Marymount Manhattan is an amazing school with so many opportunities for students and I’m so happy that I now get to call myself an MMC Alum!
Adriana Kunstenaar ’19
Class of 2019, Art major, Studio Art concentration, minor in Communication and Media Arts
Meet Adriana
I feel pretty lucky that I am still doing today what I pursued when I was 18! In college, I had numerous internships assisting artists, working at printing studios, and even photographing for an online clothing company. After college, I worked at a portrait studio in Manhattan’s Upper East Side before relocating to the West Coast.
Lindsay Kreighbaum ’12
Class of 2012, Major in Art with concentrations in Photography and Studio Art
Meet Lindsay

The Hewitt Gallery of Art

Join visitors from across the NYC art community and take in exhibitions from emerging and mid-career contemporary artists. As an art major, you’ll also have the opportunity to showcase your work at the gallery.

explore the gallery