INFORMATION FOR
The Department of Art will prepare you for careers in a variety of exciting creative fields, including animation and game design; advertising and graphic and web design; photography, film, and video; certified art education; fine artistry and arts advocacy in galleries and museums; and textile and wallpaper design.
"Creating my own stories and seeing them come to life – that’s been my joy." Hiromi shares her story.
Alumni in arts, humanities, and social sciences are employed or in graduate school within 6 months after graduation
Average starting salaries in Art fields (NACE)
Noteworthy Art Jobs and Mid-Career Salaries with 8+ Years of Experience 8+ Years of Experience (PayScale)
The BFA degree is oriented for those students whose objectives are inclined toward liberal arts training within a most rigorous professional studio arts program. Both our BA and BFA degrees are planned to enhance visual perception, cultivate independent thinking and prepare students for a variety of careers that require a keenly developed sensitivity in the visual arts.Concentrations: Sculpture and 3D Design - Photography - Painting, Drawing and Printmaking - Graphic Design and Interactive Design - Animation and Multimedia - Interdisciplinary.
View academic program requirements and course descriptions in the University Course Catalog:
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Within the BA, majors are offered in art history and studio art. Certification for teaching is also offered. Both our BA and BFA degrees are planned to enhance visual perception, cultivate independent thinking, and prepare students for a variety of careers that require a keenly developed sensitivity in the visual arts.
Accelerated program:
The Art Department offers an 18-credit minor in Art History which emphasizes critical thinking, research, and writing about visual art of all kinds. Our courses, most of which count toward UCC areas from creativity to writing and global connectivities, cover the breadth of art historical time periods, geographic locations, and visual media, from cave painting to contemporary installation, photography, and film. The program also takes advantage of our close proximity to New York City by connecting students with museum internships and utilizing New York museums and galleries in virtually all art history courses.
The MFA degree encourages the enhancement of imagination through the creation and interpretation of meaningful work in art, design, sculpture, graphic media and the visual arts. More info »
The Masters of Fine Arts (MFA) in Animation offers an advanced graduate degree in digital and digitally-aided 3D and 2D animation in preparation of a professional career in the commercial or fine arts animation industry. This program focuses on the skillsets required for leadership roles in filmmaking, television, commercials, game design and other target careers in animation for our graduates. Students can take advantage of professional events, visiting artists and networking opportunities available through knowledgeable and connected faculty in the close proximity of New York City. More info »
This certificate prepares students to: produce 3-D and 2-D Cel animation; develop mechanics of storytelling, character development, and visual language; develop a clear aesthetic and conceptual understanding of animation and video games as an art form through a creative process that includes storyboarding, drawing, previsualization, animation, problem-solving and filmmaking skills; develop best practices, standards, expectations, and career paths and strategies by producing work according to regular deadlines and by practicing professional etiquette; and apply critical assessment to their own and their peer's work. Learn more »
» Current students sign-up here: Declare Certificate» If you are not currently enrolled as a student, please apply here.
This certificate prepares students to: develop an understanding of narrative strategies, production pipeline and structure in games, develop interactive game character and environmental creation techniques, develop their aesthetic and conceptual understanding of animation and video games as an art form, apply critical assessment to their own and their peer's work, complete a complex and large-scale gaming project. Learn more »
Our art programs provide students with hands-on experiences through internships, exhibitions, study abroad, and publications opportunities that translate into real world employment and success. Students benefit from advanced facilities including cutting-edge studios and labs for animation and game design, photography, printmaking, painting, drawing, sculpture, and ceramics. Our Center for New Art features a lab where students can use 3D printers and giant carving robots to create life-size artwork.
In our art programs, students learn in-demand skills that employers have identified as critical for job candidates, including:
Our graduates are prepared for a wide range of careers.
Art students have vast opportunities for internships, including working with faculty on campus in our art studios, art galleries, and visual resource collections, as well as at external locations such as artist studios, professional organizations, and design studios.
Our professors are proud practitioners in their fields and love to share their expertise beyond the classroom. Mentorship is at the core of our department, and it’s our goal that every student work directly with a faculty member to expand their knowledge and worldview.
BFA, art, creative director, New Possibilities Group
And we're ready to help you grow. At William Paterson, we provide students with the skills, knowledge, and experience they need to forge forward as a powerhouse—both in the classroom and in their careers. Apply today to discover your potential.
A selection of recent artworks created by faculty members of the Department of Art at William Paterson University in Wayne, NJ are currently on view in an exhibition at the University Galleries in the Ben Shahn Center for the Visual Arts through December 11, 2026. Gallery hours are Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and on Friday, October 16 through Sunday, November 18, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission to the Galleries is always free. A panel discussion will take place on Thursday, October 1, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. followed by an opening reception from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m., in the Court Gallery, Ben Shahn Center for the Visual Arts.
On view in the Court Gallery, this exhibition features work by faculty who teach animation, art history, digital art, painting, and sculpture. The works in the exhibition reveal the faculty’s unique artistic practices as they innovate across diverse media. Faculty artists featured in the exhibition include Myles Dunigan, Eileen Foti, Andrea Geller, Ashley Gerst, Heejung Kim, Wes Sherman, and AnnaCarina Sinocchi.
This year’s exhibition features work by William Paterson Professor AnnaCarina Sinocchi, who presents two pieces inspired by the enigmatic stone block forms of Puma Punku (Gateway of the Puma) in western Bolivia. The T-shaped motifs featured in her work indicate spatial awareness that lies beyond our visual perception of a known world. Sinocchi’s artwork has been featured in both solo and group exhibitions throughout the United States and is held in private and public collections.
Other works include a series of detailed, symbol-rich graphite drawings by Myles Dunigan. Dunigan, the grand prize winner of the 2020 Ink, Press, Repeat printmaking competition and now a professor at WP, presents a series of works that, combine, “desperate elements of our post-truth, hyper-technological world to build uncanny narratives that are neither completely factual nor total fabrications,” he says. “Gleaning from science-fiction, doomsday prepping manuals, and environmental disaster sites, I blend these elements into crypto-documentarian objects and ephemera.”
Also included is an innovative artist’s book/poetry and visual arts collaboration, in which Eileen Foti, coordinator of WP’s foundation program, participated. An accompanying video shows the poems included in the book being read, while the images created in response are shown.
Also on view in the South and East Galleries is robin holder: Reckonings, which showcases a variety of multimedia works by the renowned artist and printmaker.
The William Paterson University Galleries are wheelchair accessible. Large-print educational materials are available. For additional information, please call the William Paterson University Galleries at 973-720-2654.
