Scholarships
Funding in the form of scholarships, fellowships, assistantships, honors and awards are given to top art students possessing a high level of creativity and critical thinking skills.
Special Summer Scholarships
Summer scholarships are offered by the Art Department to selected BFA and MFA student candidates.
Research Scholarships are offered directly through the Department of Art to full time Art Major (BA and BFA tracks) and enrolled MFA students with a minimum 3.0 GPA.
Scholarships are available to attend Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts through Clemson/Arrowmont Windgate University Fellows Scholarship Fund. This scholarship is made possible thanks to The Kyle & Mica Worthy Visual Arts Annual Award.
Scholarships are offered to the prestigious and international recognized Penland School of Crafts in Penland, NC.
The Adele Hane Chappell Curtis Memorial Scholarship is awarded by financial aid to students pursuing history or visual arts.
Graduate Assistantships: The Art Department assigns assistantships that require 20 hours of work per week and are good for 2 to 2 1/2 years being subject to the satisfactory performance of assigned duties and funding availability. These assistantships allow for a significant tuition waiver and a stipend every year. The work responsibilities vary to include assisting teaching studio or art history courses, studio technician, or gallery assistants. Students receiving an assistantship are required to be enrolled for a minimum of 9 hours per semester and need to maintain a 3.0 cumulative grade point average to remain in good academic standing.
For more information regarding current scholarships, contact our Scholarship Committee Chairperson, Beth Lauritis blaurit@clemson.edu.
HONORS AND AWARDS
Special awards are given to selected art students toward the end of the academic year every April during the College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities Honors and Awards event. Awards are granted by the art faculty. Here is a list of our awards:
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General Awards
The Department of Art Service Award is given to an undergraduate or graduate student whose record of service to the department, university, or community displays an extraordinary commitment to her/her fellow students.
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Undergraduate Awards
The Robert Hunter Award in Undergraduate Fine Arts Studio is awarded annually to an undergraduate student as recognition of outstanding performance in the studio arts. It is recognition of ability, creativity and a high standard of performance within the studio arts.
The Harold Cooledge Award in Undergraduate Art history is awarded annually to an undergraduate student as recognition of outstanding achievement in art and architectural history. It is recognition of creative thought and high academic performance in the discipline.
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Graduate Awards
The John Acorn Award in Graduate Fine Arts Studio is awarded annually to a graduate student as recognition of outstanding performance in the studio arts. It is recognition of ability, creativity and a high standard of performance within the studio arts.
The Cecelia Voelker Award in Graduate Art History is awarded annually to a graduate student as recognition of outstanding achievement in art and architectural history. It is recognition of creative thought and high academic performance in the discipline.
Student Resources
Materials Fee NOTE: All art students are required to pay a materials fee prior to beginning classes each semester
Studio Requirements - Electives
Clemson University Laptop Requirements
MOU Installation of Studio Work Lee Hall Complex Form
Travel
Art students have several opportunities to participate in field trips or study abroad while a student at Clemson University.
Field Trips
Every senior takes a field trip to New York City lead by the senior seminar professor. The class views art encompassing media and time periods from artists who are known all over the world. Traveling to New York City is part of the undergraduate curriculum and prepares the students for entry into the professional art world. The New York City trip reflects Clemson’s goal to create experiential learning opportunities for students. The student undergraduate curriculum is further enhanced by informal professional activities with faculty; field trips to art centers in Charlotte, Columbia, Atlanta and Washington, D.C.; interaction with visiting artists; and opportunities to participate in local and regional exhibitions.
Study Abroad
The Art Department offers students a chance to immerse themselves in another art culture during a four-week summer school located in Orvieto, Italy with day trips to other cities such as Rome, Florence and Venice. Activities include visits to historically significant art works, classes in Italian language, gained knowledge of Etruscan ceramics, immersion in Italian culture as well as participating in the studio practice of on-site drawing and journaling. Students will come away with a good sense of contemporary and historically significant artworks and a portfolio full of inspiration and drawings.
STUDY ABROAD FELLOWSHIP
The Dr. E. Arthur and Jeanet S. Dreskin Travel Fellowship Endowment is offered to students participating in overseas programs developed by or endorsed by the Art Department for Study Abroad. In the past, students have used this fellowship to travel to Italy in the summer.
Additional Trips
The Fine Arts Student Association (FASA) also organizes field trips as well as an annual trip to a major urban art center.
Research
The Art Department and the Center for Visual Arts award a scholarship for important educational experiences such as: workshops or courses, travel, conferences, or self-designed research projects (equipment is not funded). Funding for research is given toward the end of the calendar year. Proposals are due in September. Awardees are required to submit a written report along with pertinent receipts and a CD containing jpegs documenting their funded project.
The department is supportive of student research and often times, the art department will help fund or help find funding for such efforts. Here is a sample of locations where students have completed their research:
- International Society for Ceramic Art Education and Exchange (ISCAEE) Symposium in China
- Graduate research Art Department scholarship applied to summer research in Italy and Honduras
- National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) annual conference. While at the conference, several ceramic students experienced numerous ceramic lectures, demonstrations and artwork in Kansas City, Missouri and Portland, Oregon.
Student Organizations
The Fine Arts Student Association (FASA) welcomes visual arts students and students with an interest in visual arts to join the organization. Members benefit by taking trips and discussing current issues.
The Ceramics Student Association (CSA) makes up an active membership of students with an emphasis in Ceramic Studio or have an interest in Ceramics.
In addition, visual arts students are represented by The Dean's Council of Students (DCOS). This advisory body represents students in the College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities (AAH). The DCOS meets monthly in the fall and spring semesters with the dean and associate deans to share ideas and concerns about student life and scholarship in AAH.
Internships
At the beginning of each academic year, the Art Department hosts a potluck dinner for all of Clemson’s BFA and MFA students. The potluck serves an opportunity for students to enjoy a meal, talk with their classmates and hear exciting and crucial information regarding internship, scholarship, research and travel opportunities.
In recent years, the department as advertised opportunities and/or Clemson Fine Arts students have held internships with the following organization and locations:
- The Art Cellar Summer Internships in Greenville, SC
- Anthropologie art displays in Greenville, SC
- Cherokee Museum in Walhalla, SC
- City Internships photography and social media intern in London, UK
- Museum of Fine Arts intern in Boston, Massachusetts
- Greenville Center for Creative Arts (GCCA) in Greenville, SC
- Shadowing art therapists and teaching art classes in Tanzania, Africa
- Rensing Center in Pickens, SC
- Demonstrate ceramic and painting studio area at Artisphere in Greenville, SC
- Younique Beauty Photography in Easley, SC
INTERNSHIP EMPLOYEES: Please read this PDF on how to create an art internship and email your position and any questions to visualarts@clemson.edu.
ART STUDENTS: Please direct any art student questions regarding contacting employers or organizations listed on this web page to visualarts@clemson.edu
