History and Overview

The College of Fine Arts provides instruction for students who seek professional careers in the arts, offers creative opportunities for all students at the university, and presents cultural events and services for members of the community. The curricula in the College of Fine Arts are intended for students who plan to:

• enter professional careers in fine arts, design, music, dance, and theatre
• teach in schools, colleges or universities, and private studios
• work in allied fields
• pursue graduate study.

In addition to providing rich educational experiences and programs in the arts, the college brings national recognition to the university through the high level of professionalism associated with the faculty and the competence of students and graduates. The College of Fine Arts mirrors the aspirations set for the University of Florida: to "be among the best universities in the world," and among "the best 15 in this country." Therefore, it is the mission of the college to provide the very best programs in teaching, artistic/creative expression, scholarship, and service.

The college grew out of the School of Architecture, which was established in 1925. In 1975, the College of Architecture and Fine Arts was divided into two colleges, the College of Architecture and the College of Fine Arts. Since its establishment, the College of Fine Arts has become an increasingly vital unit within the university community.

• Department of Theatre and Dance:

• School of Art and Art History:

• University Galleries:

• Curtis M. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts:

The University Libraries include those for Architecture and Fine Arts (AFA), Education and Music that contain the largest collections of their kind in the Southeast. Together they provide books, musical scores, leading American and international periodicals, playscripts, videos, subject files, microtexts, CDs, tape and disk recordings, and other materials for undergraduate and graduate studies. The AFA Library maintains a Rare Books Collection for scholarly research. A rich collection of serials, ephemera and reference materials dealing with the performing arts has been gathered into the Belknap Collection, located in the main library.

Baccalaureate, master’s and doctoral degree programs are fully accredited through the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD), National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) and National Association of Schools of Theatre (NAST).