Take advantage of the amazing career development opportunities right here at the College of Fine Arts. Our schools have a strong record of shaping successful artists and connecting them to a vast creative network. Our alumni are making waves in Hollywood and beyond. With programs like the Medici Scholars and the Arts Administration Minor, you can gain the skills and hands-on experiences that will set you apart in the competitive world of the arts.
Notable Arts Alumni
The College of Fine Arts boasts an impressive array of alumni who have excelled across creative industries, from music and dance to film and visual arts. Music legends like Linda Ronstadt and Harvey Mason Jr., along with Irving Burgie, who penned the classic “Day-O,” all began their journeys here. Our dancers, like Tori Evans from Taylor Swift’s ERAS Tour and Kayla Farrish, a New York Times ‘Breakout Star,’ are pushing boundaries, while actors like Kristen Wiig and Craig T. Nelson shine on screen. In film, alumni like Scott Stuber (Netflix), Tyler Gillett (“Scream”), and the late, legendary filmmaker John Hughes, along with producers like Jerry Bruckheimer, continue to shape the industry. Visual artists, including Tucson muralists Jessica Gonzales and Joe Pagac, and game designer Tom Chilton of “World of Warcraft,” demonstrate the college’s far-reaching impact. From Oscar-winning editors to iconic artists, our alumni are shaping the future of the arts.
Arts Administration Minor
The Arts Administration Minor is an 18-unit program that equips students with skills in fundraising, marketing, programming, and community engagement for creative organizations. Partnered with Eller College of Management, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences and other colleges, it offers practical coursework and career insights through internships and professional experiences in theaters, galleries, festivals, and more, preparing students for roles in non-profit and market-driven arts organizations.
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Student Engagement & Career Development
Student Engagement and Career Development provides students with resources, guidance, and experiences to build career-ready skills, explore career paths, and connect with employers for internships, jobs, and professional development.
Medici Scholars
The Medici Circle supports talented young artists and scholars with a $1,000 award to pursue educational projects in the summer. For many, these opportunities would be financially unattainable without the award, making these valuable summer intensives possible. In the summer of 2024, over 60 students qualified.
- Margo Bartlett, a third-year BFA dance student and East Asian Studies major, participated in a cultural exchange tour of Japan and China, performing in Japan’s Casa de Arte ballet studio’s anniversary and visiting schools in Beijing, Tianjin, and Shanghai.
- Ling-Yu Chou, a third-year PhD student in Art & Visual Culture Education, presented her project “Bridging Cultures through Art” at the United States Society for Education through Art Conference, exploring how East Asian ink painting fosters cross-cultural dialogue in the Southwest.
- Ginger Crow, a second-year music education master’s student, taught clarinet and conservation with the Daraja Music Initiative in Tanzania, blending music education with efforts to conserve African Blackwood trees near Mount Kilimanjaro.
- Gloria Orozco Dorado, a University Fellow in her final doctoral year, won two awards at ClarinetFest® 2024 in Dublin, earning first place in the research competition and second in the orchestral audition competition.
- Ryan Evans, a third-year dance major with a minor in Business Administration and Sports Management, attended a ‘Create Intensive’ at Hubbard Street Dance Chicago with several other School of Dance students.
- Sarah Greenwell-Scott, a third-year Ph.D. candidate in art history, conducted dissertation research at the Smithsonian’s National Anthropological Archives, studying the correspondence between President Theodore Roosevelt and photographer Edward S. Curtis.
- Haiden Pederson, a senior BFA musical theatre major, completed an eight-week Shakespeare intensive at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, performing lead roles and training with international students and renowned faculty.