General Information
Mission
The College of Fine Arts was established by the state legislature in 1937; in the decades since then, the college has grown with the University to become a leading center for arts study. Both students and faculty members of the College of Fine Arts have regularly received national and international recognition for their achievements; such recognition indicates the degree of academic and artistic excellence to which the college is dedicated.
The College of Fine Arts strives to prepare students for the practice, study, criticism, and teaching of the arts; to lead in developing the arts through research and the creation of new works; and to provide performances and exhibitions that deepen the understanding of the arts, expand audiences, and develop a better quality of life in the University, community, state, and nation. The college prepares students and audiences for the coming decades by emphasizing cultural diversity and technological advancement and by exploring the interrelationships among all the arts.
Facilities
The Office of the Dean of the College of Fine Arts is located in the E. William Doty Fine Arts Building, at the corner of 23rd and Trinity streets. General inquiries about the college should be directed to this office. The mailing address is The University of Texas at Austin, Office of the Dean, College of Fine Arts, 2305 Trinity Street D1400, Austin TX, 78712.
Within the college are three academic units—the Department of Art and Art History, the Sarah and Ernest Butler School of Music, and the Department of Theatre and Dance. Inquiries about a particular unit should be directed to that unit.
The Visual Arts Center
The Visual Arts Center (VAC) is a place for the intersection of art education and art innovation, which draws together a uniquely diverse population of students, alumni, faculty, guest artists, and creative voices from around the world. Comprising 25,000 square feet, it is the heart of the Department of Art and Art History at The University of Texas at Austin, providing pivotal exhibition, education, outreach, and research space. Designed by renowned San Antonio architects Lake | Flato, the VAC features state-of-the-art exhibition galleries and community gathering spaces that form the intellectual and emotional center of UT's dynamic arts community.
For more information on the VAC's exhibitions and public programs, please visit http://www.utvac.org .
Texas Performing Arts
Texas Performing Arts, one of the nation’s most well-respected University-based arts centers, serves the campus and the Austin community at large through a diverse schedule of world-class performances, educational activities, and collaborative campus and community partnerships.
Texas Performing Arts presents an international season of music, theatre, dance, and conversation as well as the best in touring Broadway and concert attractions. As a university-based arts center, Texas Performing Arts also supports the academic mission of the College of Fine Arts by mentoring students and supporting the performance and research goals of faculty and staff members.
Computer Facilities
In addition to the computer facilities available to all students at the University, the College of Fine Arts maintains facilities with special hardware and software for its own undergraduate and graduate majors. These include a central computer laboratory and learning resource center located in the Fine Arts Library and media-enhanced classrooms in each of the three academic units, and extensive wireless Internet coverage throughout the college.
Because of the rapidly growing importance of computers in College of Fine Arts curricula, students are strongly encouraged to come to the University with their own computers. Students should contact the area of academic interest for more information.
Fine Arts Library
Located in the E. William Doty Fine Arts Building, the Fine Arts Library provides a broad range of services and materials for students in art, theatre, dance, and music, as well as audiovisual materials in other subject areas. Services include information and research assistance, instruction in getting the best from library databases including online and full-text journals, circulation and reserves (for checking out items), and media and technology support. The Fine Arts Library is wireless equipped and offers computing hardware and software to support the study of the fine arts. Students may borrow media equipment, including digital cameras and CD players, and reserve seminar and group study rooms. Lockers and carrels are also available. For more information go to: http://www.lib.utexas.edu/fal/services.html .
The art collection includes materials on most art and design movements and schools, photography, and art education. Artists of most periods and nationalities and studies of their work are represented, as are most media and techniques. Art works on display include a large pre-Columbian pottery collection and modern prints. The digital image collection contains over 60,000 images from art, architecture, the performing arts, and fashion, and is accessible, with a UT EID, at http://dase.laits.utexas.edu .
The music collection includes materials on performance, composition, history, ethnomusicology, music education, and music therapy. Most historical periods and geographical areas are covered in both classical and popular idioms, and while the emphasis is on the Western classical tradition, many other musics are represented. Tens of thousands of scores are available for both study and performance, and over 50,000 CDs are available for listening, as well as musicals, operas, conducting and master classes on DVD.
The theatre and dance collection includes materials on performance, especially play production, theatrical design, playwriting, theatre education, and dance. Materials on other types of theatrical presentations, such as magic, circuses, and pantomime, are also included. The Fine Arts Library holds texts of major plays written in English or translated into English, with contemporary plays collected most heavily. The Perry-Castañeda Library also holds texts of plays in English and other languages, with emphasis on plays as a literary form and on literary criticism.
The audiovisual collection includes documentary and feature films, including popular movies, foreign films, Academy Award winners, and film festival winners on DVDs, VHS tapes, and streaming online. Other media formats include 16-mm films, interactive media/CD-ROMs, and slides.
Most materials, including CDs and DVDs, can be checked out by anyone with a valid UT EID.
Special collections include materials from the Austin Theatre Alliance—Paramount and State Theatres, and the Historical Music Recordings Collection, which includes over 200,000 items in older formats such as 78rpm and LP records, and audiocassettes.
Financial Assistance Available through the College
Students in the College of Fine Arts are eligible for a variety of scholarships and awards. Most scholarship aid in the college is offered through the academic units (art and art history, music, and theatre and dance). For information about scholarship application procedures and deadlines, the student should contact the academic unit of interest.
Student Services
Office of the Dean, Student Affairs
In the College of Fine Arts, the Office of the Dean, Student Affairs offers a variety of student services, including general academic advising, maintenance of student records, evaluation of the student’s academic standing and progress toward a degree, and information about programs in which students may study abroad. Students should contact the Office of the Dean, Student Affairs for answers to questions about degree requirements or other College of Fine Arts or University policies and regulations. This office is also a good source of general information and referral.
Academic Advising
Each academic unit in the college (art and art history, music, and theatre and dance) has an undergraduate advising office with a faculty advising coordinator and one full-time staff adviser. Questions about advising policies and procedures should be directed to those offices.
A student enrolled in the College of Fine Arts is required to meet with a designated adviser before registering for any semester or summer session. This meeting must take place during the official advising period, and the student’s proposed schedule of classes must be approved by the adviser. Subsequent changes or corrections in the schedule must also have the adviser’s approval.
Career Services
Career Advising
Fine Arts Career Services, a division of the Office of the Dean, helps fine arts majors explore career options, plan for careers, and develop strategies for seeking jobs upon graduation. More information is available at http://www.utexas.edu/finearts/careers/ . Career advising and planning services are also available from the Sanger Learning and Career Center in Jester Center and the Center for Strategic Advising and Career Counseling in the School of Undergraduate Studies.
The University makes no promise to secure employment for each graduate.
Education Career Services
Education Career Services provides job placement services in education-related occupations at the elementary school, secondary school, and college level. Candidates for teacher certification should register with Education Career Services at the beginning of their student-teaching semester. Additional information is available on the Education Career Services Web site at http://www.edb.utexas.edu/education/edServices/career/ .
Student Organizations
In each of the units of the College of Fine Arts are various student organizations, including honor societies, professional associations, and service organizations. For information about current organizations and their eligibility requirements, contact the appropriate unit.
The Fine Arts Council is the official student organization of the college.
Study Abroad
The University offers many opportunities for students to study abroad. Among these is the Learning Tuscany program, which offers instruction by University faculty members at the Santa Chiara Study Center in Castiglion Fiorentino, near Florence. More information is available from the undergraduate advising office in the Department of Art and Art History.
Casa Herrera is a research, conference, and teaching facility located in the heart of Antigua, Guatemala, operated by the Department of Art and Art History. As an extension of the department's Mesoamerica Center, Casa Herrera focuses on the varied and inter-related disciplines that contribute to the study of Pre-Columbian art, archeology, history, and culture.
The Butler School of Music offers an opera program in Salzburg, Austria. More information is available from the undergraduate advising office in the Butler School of Music.
Another international opportunity is the Institute for Digital Performing Arts program, which takes place in Costa Rica during the summer. More information is available from the undergraduate advising office in the Department of Theatre and Dance.
Maymester Abroad courses in fine arts are offered for five weeks in May and June. More information is available from the Study Abroad Office at http://www.utexas.edu/student/abroad/ .