All first-year students take the Foundation program’s core curriculum, along with required art history and liberal arts courses, and begin the art and design education curriculum in the fall of the sophomore year. Within the BFA in Art and Design Education, students can opt to pursue two different paths: one in art and design education with New York State certification and one in community art and design education. Both paths provide the following core experiences:

Studio Core

Students take a sequence of a minimum of 18 studio credits in an art or design discipline beginning in their sophomore year. Through individual advisement sessions, students choose a studio core discipline based on their experiences in the foundation year and evolving studio interest, and examine their progress in the core as they move from one semester to the next.

Teaching Experience

Students pursuing both degree paths—certification and community art and design education—take courses that immerse them in fieldwork and student teaching in K-12 public schools and other settings. In their junior year, students decide which path they want to pursue. Students who choose the certification path fulfill their additional student teaching requirements in public schools, and students in the community art and design education track fulfill their student teaching requirements in community-based settings.

Community Engagement

Since 1897, Pratt Institute’s Saturday Art School has been offering a broad range of classes for children and teens. All students in the Department of Art and Design
Education teach in Saturday Art School, a teaching and learning laboratory school for children and teens from Brooklyn’s many neighborhoods; classes are taught by
students who are supervised by faculty. Students learn to integrate the knowledge, skills and values of their studio-core in the planning and teaching of studio-based projects over the course of the semester culminating in a curated exhibition.

Integrative Capstone

Students complete a capstone course that supports their learning as they integrate their studio core with their teach­ing experi­ences through reflection and research in the field of art and design education. The capstone course in students’ senior year provides a space for students to reflect and build on their learning by investigating a topic in art and design education and developing a senior exhibition.

Certification Requirements

Our programs are recognized by New York State Education Department (NYSED) as “approved teacher preparation program(s)” and as such prepare students to meet the requirements of Initial Certification in Visual Art, Grades Pre-K-12. In order to be recommended for New York State Education Department (NYSED) Initial Certification in Visual Arts (all grades), students must complete a Teacher Performance Assessment (TPA) and a number of non-curricular requirements. All non-curricular requirements must be taken with a provider approved by NYSED and may require a fee. More information is available here: Teacher Certification Information.