Career Pathways
Career Pathways in Art
Danny Gutierrez ’24, an Art and Communication Design major, discusses his installation with Department Chair Samantha DiRosa at the senior thesis opening reception. Following graduation, he secured a gallery host position at the North Carolina Museum of Art in Winston-Salem.
An Art degree is more than preparation for a single job—it’s preparation for a lifetime of meaningful, adaptable, and creative work. Today’s graduates are likely to change careers multiple times over the course of their lives. That’s why the skills developed in Studio Art—creative problem solving, critical thinking, communication, collaboration, curiosity, and self-awareness—are so vital. These competencies align directly with the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) definition of career readiness. Through artistic practice, our students learn to:
- Communicate clearly and translate complex ideas for varied audiences
- Make thoughtful, inclusive decisions using critical analysis
- Collaborate to achieve common goals while adapting and compromising
- Show up with professionalism, preparedness, and dependability
- Pursue feedback and continuous growth with resilience and curiosity
Where Do They Go?
A typical path for students graduating with a major in Studio Art is to pursue graduate studies. Our alumni have done just that at prestigious programs such as the School of Visual Arts, New York University, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Parsons School of Design, Drexel University, Savannah College of Art and Design, Pratt Institute, and Pacific Northwest College of Art.
Others have taken their creative, technical, and problem-solving skills into a wide array of careers:
- Creative industries: art teachers, fashion designers, graphic designers, illustrators, photographers, web designers
- Wellness and mental health: art therapists, expressive arts practitioners
- Libraries and museums: archivists, visual resource specialists, museum educators
- Nontraditional paths: work in the medical industry, military, law, fundraising, financial sectors, and non-profits
Emily McCarthy ’24, a double major in Art and Psychology, presents her senior thesis project at the spring opening reception. She has been accepted into one of the nation’s top graduate programs for Art Therapy and will begin her studies in Fall 2025
Customize Your Career Path
Because Elon’s Art program is both intimate and interdisciplinary, students have the freedom to shape their academic path in ways that align with their passions and career goals. Below are examples of how students often combine an Art major or minor with other fields of study. These flexible combinations—typically a mix of majors and minors—can lead to a wide range of creative and professional opportunities. Whether you’re interested in pairing Art with Psychology, Business, Environmental Studies, or Communications, our faculty are here to help you explore your goals and tailor your academic experience to fit your aspirations.
Program Combinations and Careers
- Art + Environmental Studies: Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Urban and Environmental Design
- Art + Communication Design: Graphic Design, Art Direction
- Art + Strategic Communications + Psychology: Advertising, Branding, Art Direction
- Art + Expressive Arts (minor) + Human Service Studies or Psychology: Art Therapy, Expressive Therapies
- Art + Human Service Studies + Sociology: Social Work, Community Arts (e.g., public art with at-risk populations)
- Art + Arts Administration: Arts Management (e.g., arts organizations, non-profits, galleries), Artistic Direction
- Art + Cinema + Anthropology: Visual Anthropology, Ethnographic Filmmaking
- Art + Professional Writing and Rhetoric or Multimedia Authoring: Publishing, Media Content Development
- Art + Teaching and Learning (minor) + Early Childhood (minor): Arts Education, Special Education
- Art + Art History + Arts Administration: Gallery and Museum Curation
- Art + Data Science, Computer Science, or Media Analytics: Data Visualization, Information Design
- Art + Computer Science + Game Design (minor): Game Design, UX/UI Design
- Art + Engineering: Industrial Design, Product Development
- Art + Biology: Scientific Illustration, Prosthetic Design, Forensic Art
- Art + Entrepreneurship + Sociology: Social Innovation, Social Design
- Art + Theater Design and Technology: Set Design, Costume Design, Fashion Design, Artistic Direction
- Art + Art History + Anthropology + History + Museum Studies and Public History (minor): Museum Studies, Historic Preservation