Welcome to the School of
Art + Art History + Design

Our School is the center for creative innovation and study at the University of Washington. We are a home for interdisciplinary collaborators, rigorous researchers and thoughtful artists working at the leading edges of their fields. Across our divisions of Art + Art History + Design, our students are empowered to co-create their academic experience and define their career paths, supported along the way by influential faculty, alumni, visiting artists, designers and scholars. 

Our Mission

Explore Our Divisions

Details of artwork by MFA graduate Dana Blume

Art

The Division of Art offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs that provide students with practical, conceptual, and critical training in the visual arts in the context of a world-renowned public research 1 university. 

Cole Oxbow 1836

Art History

The Division of Art History studies visual art across diverse historical, cultural, and global contexts. Our students and faculty use an interdisciplinary skill set to unlock art’s significance and gain fundamental insights into human culture and creativity. 

Typography illustration by design student Burke

Design

The Division of Design promotes a collaborative, diverse, and pragmatic approach to design that prepares students with the methods and craft to create innovative products, services, and communications to address society’s most pressing issues.

Recent News

“The Studio,” a 1977 self-portrait by Jacob Lawrence, features his Seattle home studio with a window looking out to Harlem. Courtesy of Seattle Art Museum, © The Jacob and Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence Foundation, Seattle / Artists Rights Society, NY.

The Jacob Lawrence Legacy

March 03, 2025
Guide to Design 166

Collaborative Design

February 12, 2025
artists and poets

artists & poets

February 04, 2025

Upcoming Events

Entrance to the Jacob Lawrence Gallery

Jacob Lawrence Gallery

Situated in the University of Washington’s Art Building, the Jacob Lawrence Gallery is a vital center for social engagement and critical dialogue about the roles of art, art history, and design within the broader context of intellectual life on campus.

Exhibitions

Jacob Lawrence Gallery