Earn a degree that combines both art studio practice and academic research in the arts and beyond.
Visual studies at the Tyler School of Art and Architecture is an interdisciplinary studio arts degree that incorporates research and making, writing and creating. You study within a socially conscious framework of studio practice and seminars.
Think if it as getting 2 for 1. Why? Because Tyler’s visual studies degree gives you the opportunity to study in a formidable art school in Philadelphia while also taking courses across the wide opportunities at Temple University, an acclaimed research university.
Few colleges or universities offer a visual studies degree that is evenly split between studio arts and academics. For this reason, Tyler’s bachelor’s degree in visual studies stands out. This visual studies program is flexible to meet your wide-ranging interests and goals.
Here, you — and your fellow artist-scholars — earn a degree that combines both art studio practice and academic research in the arts and beyond.
You don’t have to choose. You can do both (or more)!
Consider these reasons to choose visual studies at the Tyler School of Art and Architecture
When you pursue visual studies at the Tyler School of Art and Architecture, you explore big questions about the role of artists in society.
Reach out to Tyler’s embedded admissions team with any questions or to get specific information you need.
As you challenge yourself as an artist-scholar, expect rigorous academics, research, and writing as well as self-expresion through your art studio practice.
The work you do at Tyler, the things you learn, the ways you grow, all lay the foundation for what you want to do after graduation and in life. Along the way, you gain in-demand, transferable skills.
To help you envision what’s possible with your talents and interests, your visual studies degree also includes an Art Career Workshop.
You will take classes like these in visual studies offered by the Tyler School of Art and Architecture:
Plan to tap into non-art academics offered by Temple University as well.
Tip: The visual studies degree from Tyler allows you to take a lot of academic courses along with your studio courses more electives.
Many of your future classmates in visual studies add a minor or certificate to a visual studies degree. Some even double-major in things like political science, education, anthropology, English or public health, for example.
Visual studies at Tyler features so many extras to make your degree self-designed and more interesting — and, honestly, fun.
Get off campus and into Philadelphia and beyond to see who’s doing what and how thought-leaders and community-project partners address challenges and needs. It’s always good to escape your bubble and even your own mind for a bit to connect with others.
Attend guest lectures and symposia with leading art historians, artists, curators and theorists. Temple University also hosts visiting scholars from a variety of disciplines and areas of expertise. Recent events featured these thought-leaders.
Hito Steyerl is a German filmmaker, moving image artist, writer and innovator of the essay documentary. Her principal topics of interest and critique are media, technology and the global circulation of images.
Joiri Minaya is an American multidisciplinary artist of Dominican-descent. She works with digital media, photography, film, performance, sculpture, textiles and painting to critique and create anti-colonial and feminist artworks.
Carlos Motta is a Colombian-born, New York-based artist. Motta has an interdisciplinary practice making work in film, photography and sculpture. Motta's practice challenges dominant ideas about sexuality and gender using a myriad of archival material, art historical references and the body.
An independent curator and residency director working internationally often on topics related to sound art. She is the creator of Tuning Baghdad, a multi-media radio and archival project based on the Iraqi-Jewish diaspora's music.
Gain hands-on experience that builds your confidence and your resumé through optional 3-credit internships. These types of community partners in and near Philadelphia host visual studies interns
Seniors in the visual studies program at Tyler develop and refine their thesis projects over two semesters. With support from faculty-mentors, you research, produce and publicly exhibit your work and write a thesis/research paper.
Here are a few recent examples of students’ thesis projects.
A multi-channel video installation exploring public apologies through performance and a thesis that asks: Are these apologies genuine and productive steps toward collective healing, or are they merely performative, repetitive forms of appeasement?
Multi-media digitally printed objects, a project about the invisible nature of digital technologies that obfuscate the exploitation of human labor that creates them.
A video installation that explores translation and the right to not be translated in language and as a person.
A 14-minute video installation utilizing a variety of appropriated imagery that explores Karen Barad's framework of agential realism.
Laser-cut birch wood with mixed media inserts exploring how faith in an omnipotent God may prepare the public for living under a surveillance state.
Series of photographs exploring the tension in surreal environments that integrate human presence.
Get all the details about the bachelor’s degree in visual studies, including Tyler’s required courses and electives as well as other general education classes available from Temple University.
We asked our alumni to share insights into their careers and other success stories about their time at Tyler and beyond.
“Tyler taught me to recognize the power of connection—between people, spaces, and the art that exists within them. It encouraged me to use research as a tool for creative grounding, and to embrace self-development through intuitive thinking and making. The integration of mind, body, and spirit into the creative process is something I carry with me everywhere.”
"There is a place for everyone at Tyler. The Visual Studies program, in particular, stands out due to its unique academic hybrid nature. Within this environment, students share diverse yet interconnected interests. Getting to know my peers and understanding how they planned to integrate art into their careers was both stimulating and inspiring."
"My experience at Tyler encouraged me to think broadly about my own work and the work of other artists, both within the context of that particular medium but also the broader visual, cultural and sociopolitical environment. The incorporation of critical theory with studio practice laid a crucial foundation for the ability to think critically and work fluently in both the conceptual and practical realities of life in the art industry."
Here are a few answers to common questions about the visual studies BA in studio arts degree from the Tyler School of Art and Architecture.
You will learn art-making and technical skills across several disciplines. This helps you become an agile performer because of interdisciplinary exposure to research, writing and making.
When you combine all these skills, it makes you a valued and flexible professional in a variety of fields. That openness and adaptability is a significant asset in today's quickly changing fields and work environments.
Visual studies graduates leave Tyler well prepared to present themselves and their ideas publicly. That’s a professional talent not a lot of people bring to job interviews or work projects. Because you get exposure to graduate-level literature on visual culture as an undergraduate visual arts major, you leave better equipped to speak knowledgeably about whatever it is you do.
While some visual studies degree graduates go on to top graduate schools and programs to earn MFAs or degrees in art therapy, here’s a list of examples of their work and workplaces now:
Philadelphia Print Center
Philadelphia Parks & Recreation
Play Space
Philadelphia Museum of Art in marketing and communications
Temple University Rome
Theater, doing stage makeup
Yearbook publishing
AmeriCorps, doing social work
Tattoo artist
Yes. When you take studio classes at Tyler, you will use the materials and spaces in our building.
In addition, Temple’s Loretta C. Duckworth Scholars Studio in the Charles Library provides spaces, resources, and technology to support your research and creative work.
Meet your faculty-mentors from Tyler’s visual studies degree program. Expect them to challenge you as an artist and a scholar.
Read the latest news about the visual studies faculty, current students, and alumni.
You really need to visit the Tyler School of Art and Architecture in person. See our exceptional art studios. Meet members of our faculty and student community. Maybe see you at an event or on a weekday campus tour?
