What can I do with a Master’s Degree in Art Education? You Can Change the World

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At Kent State University, we believe in the power of teachers to be agents of structural and social change, transforming and improving lives. America’s schools need teachers who help develop socially responsible citizens and an educated workforce equipped with life skills.

We believe the visual arts do this most effectively because they are a study of life through visual objects, as well as a natural integrator of ideas. Kent State University art education graduates incorporate 21st-century life skills and research-backed methodologies into their teaching practice as well as being reflective educators who adjust their teaching to reach students of all abilities.

What Career Opportunities exist with a Master’s Degree in Art Education?

There are many paths you can follow to fulfill your passion for art and art education. Possible careers include, but are certainly not limited to, the following:

Primary and Secondary School Art Teacher

Art educators help foster creativity in students ages K-12 and teach a wide variety of skills including art-making, art history, art criticism, and cultural understanding.1 Overall employment of primary and secondary school teachers is projected to grow 4% from 2019 to 2029.2

Post-Secondary Art Professor

Teaching at a college or university level may need a doctoral degree in art education or a similar field, but a great place to start is with a master’s degree in art education. Overall employment of postsecondary teachers is projected to grow 9% from 2019 to 2029, much faster than the average for all occupations.3

Learn more about post-secondary art professors from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Artist-in-Residence

Artist-in-residency programs allow artists to work with organizations all over the world. During a residency, an artist can explore new locations, new experiences, and new art materials.

For example, the New Museum in New York hosts a residency for emerging Chinese artists, the National Parks Arts Foundation offers a residency on a deserted island off the coast of Florida, and the European Organization for Nuclear research even offers a residency at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider.4

Arts Administration

Arts Administration job titles may include arts education manager and director of development. As an art administrator, you may work in a variety of settings like museums, theaters, galleries, and more. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, archivists, curators, museum technicians, and conservators is projected to grow 11% from 2019 to 2029.5

Why Kent State University?

Kent State University’s School of Art strives to advance visual arts education by providing an outstanding program that produces effective teachers, advocates for art and design education, and educational leaders in PreK-12 schools, museums, and enrichment programs.

Whether you are just starting out or are an experienced art educator interested in enhancing your knowledge and skills, you will work with a support system of faculty, advisers, and peers who will help you succeed. You will take courses in art and design education, studio, and art history through a liberal arts education.

The Online Master of Arts in Art Education program is an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Art and Design, the School of Art offers degree programs in Art Education that are approved.

Enroll today in the Online Master of Arts in Art Education at Kent State University

The Online Master of Arts in Art Education provides the same rigorous curriculum as the campus-based program. This distance-learning program is designed for Pre-K-12 art educators in public and private schools, museums, and enrichment classes who wish to continue with graduate study in the field of art education.

Licensed art education teachers who complete an art education master’s degree at Kent State University develop a focused competence in the visual arts as well as an intellectual understanding of the history and current issues of the field of art education. Students complete a course on quantitative and qualitative approaches to research and then select to do a research study with a thesis or a master’s project option.

Our program addresses all of the visual arts, as defined by the National Art Education Association, to include both contemporary art and design. Addressing both will prepare you to make a powerful contribution in guiding students in their cognitive, social, and emotional development as they prepare for college, careers, and citizenry.

The program at Kent State provides coursework in studio practice and art history in conjunction with theoretical research in art education pedagogy. Once the candidacy exam is passed, students may choose a thesis or project option as a capstone experience. The thesis culminates in a document that is based on scholarly research on an art education-related topic. The master’s project involves research that focuses on participant/researcher studies in curriculum, classroom settings, grant implementation, and/or community-based projects.

For more information on Kent State’s Online Master of Arts in Art Education, visit https://onlinedegrees.kent.edu/degrees/master-of-arts-in-art-education.



1 Retrieved on June 22, 2021, from https://arteducationmasters.arts.ufl.edu/articles/what-can-i-do-with-a-masters-in-art-education/

2 Retrieved on June 22, 2021, from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/education-training-and-library/high-school-teachers.htm

3 Retrieved on June 22, 2021, from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/education-training-and-library/postsecondary-teachers.htm

4 Retrieved on June 22, 2021, from https://news.artnet.com/art-world/art-demystified-artist-residencies-649592

5 Retrieved on June 22, 2021, from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/education-training-and-library/curators-museum-technicians-and-conservators.htm

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Justin serves as Executive Director for Career Exploration & Development at Kent State University and has experience in career counseling, academic advising, career exploration, development, staff development, and leadership.