thinkparsons@newschool.edu
212.229.5150
Program Contact
Margot Bouman, Program Director
The BFA in Design History and Practice at Parsons provides you with an education in art and design that involves both studio arts and liberal arts. In this one-of-a-kind program, you learn about art and design through hands-on practice along with related historical and social research and writing. You choose one liberal arts pathway, such as Art History, Design Studies, Fashion Studies, Museum and Curatorial Studies, Spatial Design, or Visual Studies. You combine this with a studio pathway, such as Photography, Data Visualization, Sustainable Cities, or Fashion Strategies.
Your BFA begins with Parsons’ first-year curriculum, which serves as the academic foundation for all undergraduate programs at Parsons. From your second year on, you dive into courses in your major field of study. Art and design history and theory courses develop your research, writing, and critical reasoning skills, and university electives broaden your perspectives.
Graduates of the BFA Design History and Practice are prepared to pursue careers in design, art and design research, museum education, and publishing as well as advanced graduate study in the arts, humanities, and related fields.
New York City’s thriving creative industry and cultural institutions are part of your Parsons education. Our Career Services Office is deeply connected to the art and design industries and can help you advance your career with industry-oriented internships.
Enjoy access to extensive resources including New School libraries, computer labs, archives, and studios, along with Parsons’ state-of-the-art Making Center, facilities offering a broad array of tools to support your creative and academic growth.
Connect to the organizations, businesses, and entrepreneurs driving global creativity and commerce. In classes, internships, and extracurricular projects, you gain marketable problem-solving skills in sectors ranging from government and nonprofits to tech and creative industries.
Enrich your learning and prepare for work in global contexts with study abroad that exposes you to new perspectives and settings in which to apply your creativity. Our study abroad destinations include, Paris, London, Florence, and more.
Explore sample opportunities to create an interdisciplinary path of study around this major:
The New School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.
