MA IN ART EDUCATION
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Transform Your Creative Future
Grow as an artist and teacher with an MA in Art Education at Boston University.
Experience a cutting-edge curriculum taught by master teachers, with online, on-campus, and hybrid paths—so you can advance your career as an art educator and thought leader.
Your Path, Your Choice
Whether you’re ready to turn your passion for art into a rewarding teaching career or you want to grow your skills as an artist, educator, and researcher—BU’s MA in Art Education programs are designed to meet you exactly where you are.
MA in Art Education with Initial Licensure
Fast-track your teaching career.
Bring your passion for art to the classroom where you can change students’ lives through the power of artistic expression. This program is designed for students who want to teach in the public school system and have a strong background in the arts.
- Streamlined Format: Three-semester program beginning in summer to help you move quickly (May to May).
- Hybrid Start: Begin with online or on-campus summer courses, then transition to full-time, in-person study in the fall.
- Hands-On Immersion: Includes two semesters of full-time, in-person coursework, with supervised fieldwork in Boston-area schools.
- Licensure Pathways: Earn your Massachusetts Initial Visual Arts teaching license at either the elementary (PreK–8) or secondary (5–12) level.
- Career Success: Benefit from strong relationships with schools and a near 100% placement rate for graduates.
- Nationwide Opportunities: Our graduates are teaching in many settings across the country.
- Expert Guidance: Learn directly from master teachers who are both active educators and practicing artists.
MA in Art Education (Full On-Campus)
Deepen your skills, advance your career.
Already a licensed educator? Plan to teach in a community or private setting, or looking ahead to doctoral studies? Our immersive on-campus program helps you grow your expertise and prepare for what’s next.
- Advanced Study: A two-year, 32-unit program for licensed educators, community teachers, and those preparing for doctoral studies.
- Immediate Application: Apply new methods and research directly in your classroom.
- Focused Expertise: Develop one or more areas of expertise, including the enhancement of teaching skills and studio practice.
- Scholarly Practice: Develop a scholarly research and writing practice that culminates in a capstone research project.
- Leadership Skills: Develop professional leadership grounded in the history and policies of art education.
- Expert Guidance: Learn directly from master teachers who are both active educators and practicing artists.
- Flexible Enrollment: Most classes available in the evening for workplace flexibility.
MA in Art Education (Fully Online)
Advance your career from anywhere.
If you’re a busy licensed educator, community arts instructor, or private school teacher who wants to enhance their practice and advance their career, this fully online degree allows you to earn a master’s without interrupting your current job or leaving home.
- Advanced Study: A 32-unit, fully online program for licensed educators, community and private school teachers, and those preparing for doctoral studies.
- Flexible Pace: Graduate in 18–24 months while balancing work, life, and school.
- Immediate Application: Apply new methods and research directly in your classroom.
- In-Person Immersion: Join peers for the optional week-long Summer Studios program in Boston.
- Focused Expertise: Develop one or more areas of expertise, including the enhancement of teaching skills and studio practice.
- Scholarly Practice: Develop a scholarly research and writing practice that culminates in a capstone research project.
- Leadership Skills: Develop professional leadership skills grounded in the history and policies of art education.
- Expert Guidance: Learn directly from master teachers who are both active educators and practicing artists.
THE ESSENTIALS
Boston University’s MA in Art Education offers flexible pathways designed for every stage of your teaching journey. Choose the format that fits your life and career goals.
Learn from master teachers
Online, on-campus, and hybrid pathways
40-credit program with initial licensure
32-credit programs for specialized study
Program Highlights
Shape Your Future in Education
Combine the creativity of an art school with the resources of a top-ranked research university. BU’s art education programs offers you a well-rounded preparation and the tools to shape the future of art education as both teachers and thought leaders, making high-quality, meaningful art experiences accessible to everyone.
Personalized Learning Path
Design a course of study that fits your goals. Choose from classes in art education, liberal arts, and studio art to strengthen your teaching practice.
Hands-On Practice
Learn by doing through studio projects and curriculum development. The program emphasizes reflective practice that connects creative process with effective pedagogy.
Research That Inspires Change
Learn to use the conventions of qualitative methods or an experimental approach to arts inquiry as you develop skills for more focused and evidence-based communications, both spoken and written.
Expert Faculty Mentorship
Work closely with faculty who are both accomplished artists and educators. Their guidance helps you bridge theory and practice, refining your teaching methods and artistic perspective.
Dynamic Community Connections
Engage with peers, alumni, and Boston’s vibrant arts scene through visits to museums, galleries, and schools.
Benefits
Explore Yourself, Your Work, Your World
Art education at BU blends creativity with purpose. You’ll learn from master teachers and collaborate with passionate peers. You’ll trade ideas, experiment in the studio, and gain real classroom experience. Here, art is seen as research and reflection, preparing you to inspire the next generation of artists and thinkers.
Want to learn more?
Get more InfoLove teaching art?
Boston University’s MA in Art Education helps you refresh your approach. Combining the resources of a major research university with the creativity and artistic depth of an art school, BU’s art education programs are tailored to candidates’ goals.The school’s unique setting offers students a well-rounded preparation and the tools to shape the future of art education as both teachers and thought leaders, making high-quality, meaningful art experiences accessible to everyone.
Begin with:
- Build a strong foundation in studio practice, theory, and curriculum development.
- Explore visual thinking and strategies for teaching art in diverse settings.
- Connect creativity with effective classroom practice.
- For initial licensure: complete education foundations and early classroom observations to prepare for student teaching.
Continue with:
- Focus on advanced research and integrating theory into teaching.
- Complete a thesis addressing current issues in art education.
- Licensure-track students engage in full-time student teaching with faculty and mentor support.
- Refine artistic and instructional voice to lead confidently in classrooms and communities.
FACULTY SPOTLIGHT
Training Artists to Excel as Educators
Felice Amato, Assistant Professor of Art Education at Boston University, knows what it’s like to juggle teaching, motherhood, and pursuing a higher degree. Having taught for nearly 20 years in Minnesota public schools, Amato feels a lot of reward in teaching. She also feels this way when immersed in her art. She’s a
firm believer that art educators are artists. This belief is evident throughout the Art Education department at BU. In this CFA Faculty Feature, Amato shares the ways she and other professors in the School of Visual Arts empower their art education students, who work in a tight-knit community while also having access to resources from a large research university bustling with activity and innovation.
“As a community, the Art Education department at BU cultivates the belief that art educators are artists, as well as teachers. We encourage our students to teach from a place of deep knowledge and love of art, and the vibrancy that comes from maintaining a personal practice. ”
Felice Amato, Assistant Professor of Art Education
