What Does it Mean to Study Art?

Students from Coalesce flying a rainbow kite on the football field.

The University at Buffalo’s Department of Art is housed within New York State’s premier public university.

Work by Stacy Robinson.

Our programs offer a unique convergence of contemporary art, technology, and critical discourse.

Our program combines rigorous studio art training with cutting edge technology and an interdisciplinary reach that few universities can match. In 2022, the Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education rankings put the University at Buffalo as a top public university in the nation (31st rank). Within the context of a wide-ranging university education, art students at UB benefit from combining the studio curriculum with the study of art history and contemporary critical art theory. With the aid of our renowned research community and one-on-one faculty advising, students in the department of art escape the traditional boundaries of art and design.

Our school is home to Platform, UB’s socially engaged design center, and the acclaimed Coalesce Center for Biological Arts. We also have rich collaborative relationships with several of UB’s research centers, including The Genome Environment and Microbiome Community of Excellence and The UB Center for Sustainability. Students have access to state of the art studios, galleries, and libraries. For over a decade, we have offered an exchange program with China’s number one art school, broadening our student’s experience with international travel and global collaborations.

We are one of the most affordable Public universities, and we offer the most valuable merit scholarships in the SUNY system. In a typical year, UB administers about $340 million in financial aid and scholarships.

Our MFA programs offer exceptional funding, resources, and real-world teaching experience, with 24/7 lab access for those students.

Our visiting artist series includes 

Over the course of its history, Buffalo has been home to radical movements in art, media studies, and poetry, and the University at Buffalo programs in the arts are integrated with this scene.

Come study at  Buffalo, come explore the chaos of the visual world.