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Studying the Arts

The arts are integral to our liberal arts curriculum, and we encourage students of all majors to explore them through the many courses and programs we offer.

Art History

orientation orozco

Emphasizing critical, historical, and linguistic skills, as well as creativity and innovation, Art History offers a bridge between traditional, language-based fields in the humanities and the creative worlds of art, architecture, and performance.

Design

impact design

The minor in Human-Centered Design is an interdisciplinary program housed in the Thayer School of Engineering and focused on the process of innovation for addressing human needs.

Digital Arts

DAX

Computer Science houses a minor in Digital Arts in collaboration with Film Studies, Psychological and Brain Sciences, Studio Art, Music and Theater.

English

Cornel West lecture

The Creative Writing concentration, within the English Department, offers a sequential course of study and small workshops that allow students to pursue and develop their craft from the introductory level to the advanced.

Film and Media Studies

The Colonial Club

In Film and Media Studies, students will learn the analytic and creative skills necessary to be both a critical reader and a creative maker of films, video, and emerging forms of new media. 

  • Animation courses are offered in two departments at Dartmouth: Computer Science and Film and Media Studies. The Black Family Visual Arts Center is home to Dartmouth's animation studio.
  • Game Design Studio, offered through Film and Media Studies, is a practical course exploring how innovation games are created and what elements go into the design of a good play experience.

Music

Barbary Coast

Through outstanding teaching and mentoring, the Music Department provides a broad range of classroom courses and diverse opportunities for music-making led or coached by top-notch professionals.

  • The Masters Program in Digital Musics is an interdisciplinary program dedicated to exploring the interrelationships among music, composition and performance, design, technology, cognitive neuroscience, computer science, acoustics, and related disciplines.

Studio Art

Case Hathaway Zepeda

Everyone learns to look. Studio Art changes how you think, learn, and see the world around you. It changes your life. Students can pursue a variety of disciplines within Studio Art including: architecture, drawing, painting, photography, printmaking and sculpture.

Theater

 1984 Dress Rehearsa

With a course of study that prepares the serious theater student for graduate study and/or a professional career, the Theater Department instills in students a deep and lifelong appreciation for the theater, as theater professionals and audience members.