Painting

One of the Few

Tyler’s Painting BFA stands as Philadelphia’s premier painting program — rooted in tradition, yet continually evolving.

With a legacy of excellence and a commitment to innovation, Tyler offers a program that not only honors the depth of the painting discipline but positions it for relevance in today’s interconnected world.

As part of a renowned public research university, Tyler delivers an exceptional arts education that remains accessible. You benefit from state-of-the-art facilities, a vibrant urban arts ecosystem, and the resources of a globally engaged institution.

At Tyler, your investment yields more than a BFA. It empowers you to build a meaningful, sustainable artistic life.

Real Art School, Real You

Tyler’s BFA in painting focuses on the knowledge, technical skills and creative strategies you need to make your studio practice your career.

A Tyler painting student and professor in a classroom.

With support from your faculty-mentors, you explore and hone a variety of techniques to experience how different methods build your persona and creative expression as an artist.

technical knowledge, self-discovery and self-expression live side by side here.

student painting, two people talk behind her canvas

Further Your Education

Tyler offers an MFA in painting. Learn more about furthering your education here.

Graduate Program

Cross-Disciplinary Means More Opportunity

Many arrive with notions of what it means to be a painter — tethered to tradition, confined to canvas. At Tyler, we challenge those assumptions. Today’s painters are thinkers, makers, and leaders of cultural conversations. Their practices span disciplines and mediums.

Your faculty-mentors guide you beyond the studio. They encourage you to reimagine the purpose and potential of your work — where it might live, how it might speak, and whom it might reach. Through critical engagement and expansive making, you’ll discover new contexts for painting.

Whether you are the first in your family to pursue higher education or come from generations of artists, Tyler invites you to explore painting as a transformative language —one through which you rediscover your voice, your vision and your place in the world.

Multimedia works
Graphic narratives
Site-specific installations
Public art

Get Answers and Help

The Tyler School of Art and Architecture features its own admissions team, who can provide you with the information you need to make the best decision for your educational and career goals.

Explore Your Future

Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting

The BFA in Painting at the Tyler School of Art and Architecture focuses on studio practice as a career.

By taking both studio and seminar courses, you learn a range of skills and concepts essential to artistic development and self-exploration. Your faculty-mentors encourage you to investigate and hone a variety of painting techniques. They challenge and support you as you develop a personal vision of your work and life as a professional artist.

Each semester, Tyler exposes you to a wide variety of contemporary and cross-disciplinary viewpoints through dialogues with faculty, guest critics and artists, and your fellow students.

Frequent visits to museums and galleries in Philadelphia, New York City, and Washington, D.C., complement what you learn in class and via your own studio practice.

With an overlay of changing issues and critical thinking, you learn to infuse your work with deeper meaning and complex context.

Because painting demands a lot of emotional and social labor, Tyler actively fosters a close-knit artistic community — for support, inspiration and even wellness.

Consider your study abroad options in Rome or Japan as well. Sometimes, it’s good to get out of your head and even out of the country to gain fresh perspectives.

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Creative Entrepreneurship Certificate

The Tyler School of Art and Architecture and the Fox School of Business Management collaborate to offer this undergraduate certificate in Creative Entrepreneurship for artists and other creatives who want to add business skills too.

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Art Education Concentration

This program prepares BFA students, with an approved course of study, to qualify for Pennsylvania Teaching Certification in Art, kindergarten through twelfth grade. Students must complete the BFA requirements along with 32 credit hours in education, art education, and specified liberal arts courses. Education-related studies begin in the sophomore year. Students generally take 5 years to fulfill all requirements or the 155 credit degree. All candidates for Pennsylvania Teaching Certificate in Art, K-12 must earn passing scores in the Praxis I and II National Teacher Examinations, Elementary Education: General Knowledge, and the Art Education Examinations.

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Professional Skills

In addition to learning core studio art practice skills and gaining technical fluency with painting methods and materials, Tyler’s BFA in painting degree teaches you professional skills that convey the confidence required as working artist.

Research
Deep background in materials and methods
Critical thinking
Problem solving
Verbal and visual communication skills
Public speaking
Exhibition planning and design

Painting Careers

Graduates from Tyler’s BFA in painting experience professional success after graduation in a variety of fields. Yes, you leave with exceptional technical skills, but you also pick up many other professional skills that make you an asset on the job and as a working artist in the community. Our painting degree graduates pursue an MFA or other graduate degree and / or enter a variety of fields.

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Painters in Action

Tyler’s painting degree program fosters an environment that mirrors life as a professional artist. We build community and share opportunities to support your personal development.

Studios With Natural Light

Work inside large, top-floor studios with floor-to-ceiling windows and northern light. Among Tyler’s exceptional assets, spaces and technical support, you’ll find the supplies and tools to complete paintings of all sizes.

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Visiting Artists

Tyler hosts visiting artists and lecturers throughout the year. Bringing leading national and international artists to campus enriches your academic and studio experiences.

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Study Abroad

So much innovative work happens on the inside. That’s why it’s good to get outside of yourself and your studio — and even out of the country to Rome or Japan.

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A girl with bangs smiles in the foreground, while another girl stands behind her. Both are gazing off to the left.

Artists of Color Collective

Students at Tyler celebrate community and connections through student groups, centered on chosen artistic media and life / cultural experience.

Contact the Collective

a hand dipping a paint brush into paint on a pallet

Tyler Painting Guild

Connect with your classmates and peer artists through the Tyler Painting Guild. This student-run organization creates broader connections with artists on and off campus.

Contact Painting Guild

Student Work

See how your future classmates at Tyler use various painting methods and materials to create pieces with impressive impact.

Masters & Muses

Genevieve Livesay Ehrman Student

Student Work

Student

Sweing Pain by Shakti Zhuraw — Sewing Pain
Shakti Zhuraw Student

Where Fairies Blossom by Ayanna Bronner — Where Fairies Blossom
Ayanna Bronner Student

Work 7 by Quinn Dowd — Work 7
Quinn Dowd Student

Idiopathic

Ophelia Gilman Student

Student Work

Student

The Moments We Keep by Alison Mosher — The Moments We Keep
Alison Mosher Student

Rituals of Resiliance by Al Michelle — Rituals of Resiliance
Al Michelle Student

Explore Student Work

Dive deeper into the innovative projects and diverse talents of our students. Discover a wider range of creative work, from cutting-edge designs to thought-provoking concepts, and see how our Tyler creative's are shaping the world around them.

View More Work

Painting Community Spotlight

At Tyler, you join a community of classmates, alumni and faculty-mentors who contribute their influence and thought-leadership to your academic and studio art experiences. Let them explain the strength and benefits of earning your painting BFA here.

“Tyler has a rigorous and fun atmosphere, where students and faculty encourage one another to grow and experiment at all levels.”

Lauren Whearty

Adjunct Associate Professor, Painting and Foundations

“My favorite part of my program is the artistic freedom and liberty to experiment outside of my assigned medium.”

Theodora Dagkli Andonopoulos

MFA, '25

"When I entered Tyler's Graduate program, I knew I was going be an artist with a studio practice, but I had no idea how to get there. Through interactions with incredible professors deeply dedicated to their practice and numerous visiting artists that path became less obscure. The math was still difficult, but examples emerged that allowed me to myself and my life in the most practical terms."

William Villalongo

Meet the Faculty

Tyler attracts faculty members with their own professional practice and deep knowledge in art theory, concepts and research. As mentors as well as professors, they teach both interdisciplinary thought and practice in their work supporting your artistic growth. Meet your professors and learn more about their areas of expertise and passions.

Meet Professors

Gerard Brown
Associate Professor
Visit Gerard's profile
Jazmyn Crosby
Adjunct Instructor
Visit Jazmyn's profile
Mark Thomas Gibson
Program Head of Painting and Associate Professor
Visit Mark Thomas's profile
Philip Glahn, PhD
Associate Professor of Aesthetics and Critical Studies
Visit Philip's profile
Simona M. Josan-Barkley
Curriculum Coordinator and Associate Professor of Instruction
Visit Simona M.'s profile
Odili Donald Odita
Professor
Visit Odili Donald's profile
Mark Shetabi
Associate Professor
Visit Mark's profile
Jessica Vaughn
Associate Professor
Visit Jessica's profile

Tyler Painting News

Read the latest news from our inspiring community of working artists / faculty, current students and successful alumni.

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Tyler Painting Events

Please visit Tyler’s campus in Philadelphia in person. We’d love to meet you and show you our exceptional spaces for you to learn and paint and experiment. Our admissions team and student ambassadors host tours most weekdays at 1 pm. For many students, a campus visit solidifies their decision to apply to Tyler. We hope to see you at these additional events — on and off campus.