Mindful of
the past, We contemplate
and create a better future
We inspire rigorous paths of study through individual expression and collaboration across many disciplines of art, art history, and design. Through education and encouragement of broad dialogue within arts, we promote positive and sustainable change in our global community.
Art and Design at MSU
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Master of Fine Arts
Our MFA program seeks to expand our empathic understanding, cultivate the voices of underserved populations and ideas, and mitigate and critique damage done to ecologies, marginalized cultures, and the environment brought about by several centuries of colonialist pursuits.
new program studies race through art
We have established a Critical Race Studies Residency Program that will bring an Artist-in-Residence and a Designer-in-Residence to campus to enrich the life of student experiences and the greater community by facilitating practices of inclusion through art and design as part of the Department of Art, Art History, and Design.
SPARTAN'S JOURNEY OF DETERMINATION
Born with no hands and missing her big toe along with the supporting bones on each foot, Kathryn Bailey, a 24-year-old Studio Art graduating senior hasn’t allowed her quadrilateral limb deficiency to keep her from living a “normal” life and now is about to graduate with a degree in Studio Art and a concentration in Painting and Graphic Design.
MFA in Art, Art History, and Design
The Master of Fine Art program seeks highly motivated students who have the artistic and scholarly vision to guide us into equitable, sustainable, and creative futures. We encourage new and rigorous forms of artistic expression and design innovation that transcend typical constraints to make meaningful contributions to the world. A 100% funded program, your able to customize your student experience at one of the leading research institutions in the world.
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Rebecca dekuiper
Apparel and Textile Design Alumna
Lead Designer, American Girl
featured News
Education Abroad in Greece Inspires Students’ ‘Lasting Impressions’ Exhibition
Inspired by the history, culture, and ceramic traditions of Greece, Michigan State University students who participated in the Ceramic Arts in Greece Education Abroad in Spring 2026 transformed their experiences into works of art that are now on display in the “Lasting Impressions” exhibition at the MSU Union Art Gallery. The exhibition is on view through Saturday, Oct. 3, with a public reception scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 19, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Cross-Border Art Project by MSU and Canadian Students Reaches New Audience at ArtPrize 2026
A unique cross-border art project that brought Michigan State University students together with students from Ontario College of Art and Design University (OCAD U) to explore identity, connection, and the boundaries that separate us is now part of ArtPrize 2026, an international art competition and cultural festival that welcomes more than 900,000 visitors to Grand Rapids, Michigan, each year to experience work from thousands of artists from around the world. “Faces and Traces: A Cross-Border Portrait Project” is on display at the Holiday Inn Grand Rapids Downtown as part of ArtPrize 2026, which runs Sept. 18-Oct. 3, with Preview
Lasting Impressions
An exhibition featuring works created by MSU Art, Art History, and Design students who attended the Ceramic Arts in Greece Study Abroad Program August 31-October 3 | Reception: September 19, 11am-1pm MSU Union Art Gallery | 42 Abbot Rd. East Lansing As a soft and malleable material, clay naturally takes the impression of the people and things that touch it. Often this is intentional—from stamps, to surface textures, ceramic objects are often designed to display the marks of their makers. Other times, such signs are less deliberate—traces of fingerprints and other marks from the moment of creation become permanent parts of a clay object’s history. What is more, over time,