Welcome to Florida State University's

Department of Art Education

"Art for Life"

Students and Other Interested Parties:

Greetings! On behalf of the Department of Art Education, I welcome you to browse our website and learn about our programs, faculty, and students. Over the past year, we have undergone many changes while still reflecting the department’s overall mission:

• Our Purpose
  As a comprehensive education and research program for art education, art therapy, and arts administration, we strive to effect positive change in the community, the university, and our respective professions.
• Our Business
  We conduct diverse, accessible, comprehensive graduate and undergraduate programs and research in art education, art therapy and arts administration.
• Our Values
  We believe in the intrinsic value of art and its importance as a social good and as a catalyst for the development of the individual.

Recently we adopted the identity of Art for Life to directly reflect this mission, and the core of all that we do continues to support the theoretical and practical application of art to bring about social justice and change.

As indicated, there are many new changes to look forward to. As we phase out the undergraduate program, to be completed by the spring of 2011, we will be phasing in a new 4+1 Art Teacher Certification program, allowing students to take one year’s worth of course work beyond an undergraduate art degree to allow them to be eligible for teacher certification. Although still in the planning stages, we are very excited about this change. Stay tuned, and please contact us about any questions you may have about this.

Over the next several months, keep your eyes peeled for our identity to change; once the final paperwork and process is completed we will be transitioning from the Department of Art Education into the FSU Graduate Center for Art Education, Therapy, and Administration. We are all very excited about all the opportunities this will bring. Again, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at the information indicated below.

Our graduate university and departmental application materials are now available on this website, but you may also contact Susan Messersmith at smessersmith@fsu.edu with questions about the admissions process. Please feel free to contact faculty members with questions about their teaching specializations and research interests. If you have a question that is not answered by the information provide herein, please e-mail me at dgussak@fsu.edu.

Thanks for visiting and look forward to hearing from you!

Dave Gussak, PhD, ATR-BC
Associate Professor and Chairperson