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Careers in Visuals Arts

Pursuing a degree in the visual arts and built environment will teach you how to be a dynamic thinker and problem solver - two of the most valuable skills

that today’s employers actively seek in candidates.

• In today’s creative economy, employers want people who can flex the right side of their brains—that is, those who can think outside the box and wield their imaginations.

• Fine arts and architecture programs, for example, teach new ways of seeing, thinking and making.

• A degree in any of the visual arts or built environment disciplines will prepare you for a range of career paths—both within and outside of your chosen field—and set you up for success as a creative professional.

Visual Arts career opportunities include:

Architecture, Facilities and Preservation:

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• Architect

• Architecture educator

• Architectural photographer

• Architectural writer/critic

• Building envelope specialist

• Building pathology specialist

• Construction Manager

• Corporate architect

• Cultural conservation specialist

• Digital design specialist

• Environmental systems specialist

• Exhibit designer

• Facility designer

• Healthcare design specialist

• Historic preservation specialist

• Industrial designer

• Interiors architect

• Public works architect

• Real estate property developer

• Real estate property manager

• Sustainable design specialist

• University architect

• Urban designer

• Urban and land use planner

Art Education:

• Arts administrator

• Artist-in-Residence/Artist-in-the-Schools

• Art critic

• Art teacher

• Art writer

• Freelance instructor

• Postsecondary instructor

• Recreation specialist

• Teacher/Instructor abroad

• Teacher of art and recreation

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Art History:

• Archivist

• Art critic

• Art director

• Art gallery and auction house assistant

• Art historian

• Art law specialist

• Art supervisor

• Arts administrator

• Arts organization consultant

• Arts management

• Career development counselor

• Cataloger

• Conservator/Restorer

• Corporate, museum, university curator

• Curatorial consultant

• Development writer

• Director of Visual Arts Program

• Fine arts appraiser

• Gallery director

• Grant writer

• Museum educator/researcher

• Photography lab technician

• Publishing proofreader

• Registrar staff

• Researcher

• Visiting scholar

• Visual resources curator

• Writer

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Art Therapy:

• Activities specialist/therapist

• Autism specialist

• Caseworker

• Child welfare specialist

• Child mental health worker

• Counselors

• Group home worker/counselor/advisor

• In-home family counselor

• Life skills counselor

• Occupational Therapist

• School-based applied behavior therapist

• Special education aide

City and Regional Planning and Community Development:

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• Citizen engagement specialist

• City planner

• Commercial corridor manager

• Community development corporation specialist

• Community engagement specialist

• Community finance specialist

• Community-based historic preservation specialist

• Community organizer

• Data analyst

• Dispute resolution specialist

• Economic development specialist

• Environmental planner

• Geographic information systems specialist

• Grant writer

• Historic preservation planning specialist

• Housing authority and housing rehabilitation specialist

• Industrial redevelopment specialist

• Land use planner

• Neighborhood development liaison

• Nonprofit management specialist

Graphic and Interactive Design:

• Art director

• Book illustrator

• Exhibitions designer

• Font designer

• Graphic designer (advertising, corporate, publishing)

• Graphic designer (television/film and entertainment)

• Multimedia specialist

• Package designer, product designer

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• Technical/Production illustrator

• Urban graphic designer (display, signs, billboards)

• Web designer

• Webmaster

Landscape Architecture and Horticulture:

• Campus planner

• Environmental advocacy specialist

• Historic landscape restoration and preservation specialist

• Horticulture educator

• Horticultural therapist

• Landscape architect

• Landscape architect educator

• Landscape consultant/field advisor

• Landscape designer

• Landscape horticulturist

• Landscape metrics specialist

• Parks and recreation planner

• Plant breeder/geneticist

• Plant pathologist

• Propagation scientist

• Public works landscape architect

• Stormwater management and green infrastructure

• specialist

• Urban and community revitalization specialist

• Urban designer

• Urban and land use planner

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Studio Art:

• Art consultant

• Art critic

• Art dealer

• Art director

• Art lecturer/visiting scholar

• Art supervisor

• Arts administrator

• Arts management

• Artist-in-Residence/Artist-in-Schools

• Career development counsellor

• Carpet designer

• Cataloguer

• Commercial serigraphy/silk screener

• Conservator/Restorer

• Costume designer

• Court artist

• Curator

• Development writer

• Digital imaging specialist

• Director of Visual Arts Program

• Exhibition coordinator

• Exhibition designer

• Fabric and textile designer

• Fine arts appraiser

• Freelance artist

• Freelance photographer

• Furniture designer

• Gallery director

• Gallery owner/administrator

• Greeting card designer

• Master printer/print studio owner

• Model maker

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• Muralist

• Museum educator/researcher

• Portrait painter/sculptor, set designer

• Registrar staff

• Resilient flooring designer

• Scientific illustrator, technical illustrator

• Stylist

• Tableware designer

• Teacher

• Toy designer/manufacturer

• Wallcovering designer

• Writer