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    Visual Studies (Concentration)

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    Admission Contact
    Office of Admission
    Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts
    79 Fifth Avenue, 5th floor
    New York, NY 10003
    Phone: 212.229.5150 or
    800.292.3040
    [email protected]

    Program Contacts

    Prospective students with questions about the Visual Studies program can email [email protected].

    Program Director and Departmental Faculty Advisor
    Kenneth White
    Assistant Professor of Modern and Contemporary Art History and Visual Studies
    [email protected]

    Student Success Advisor for The Arts
    Brian Dudley
    Manager, BA/BFA Student Success
    [email protected]

  • Virtual Tour

  • Explore the power of images across histories and cultures through Lang's Visual Studies concentration within The Arts major. Establish a foundation in visual culture, ranging from masterpieces in world-class museums to contemporary multimedia installations and experimental performances to the constant stream of pictures and videos in popular culture and media.

    • Study Options Concentration, Minor

    As a Visual Studies student, you examine collections of museums, libraries, and archives at The New School and across New York City; explore experimental film, video, performance, and multimedia works; and engage with the stream of pictures and videos in popular culture and media.  

    By learning to analyze images, artworks, cultural artifacts and media practices, you gain deep insight into broader issues such as history and ideology, class, race and ethnicity, gender and sexuality, science and technology, the global political economy, and the environment. In addition to studying the theory, practice, and culture of seeing in rigorous academic seminars, you will also gain valuable knowledge about artworks and institutions through courses in curatorial and museum studies. Students pursuing the concentration combine the study of visual arts with the study of a liberal arts discipline.

    Concentration requirements

    Minor requirements

    Connecting to New York City

    While it offers the atmosphere and intimacy of a small college, Eugene Lang College is part of The New School, a major progressive university in New York City. The city and its many artistic and cultural organizations is a key resource for the Visual Studies curriculum. Classes include field trips to collections of museums, libraries, and archives, and to exhibitions, screenings, performances, lectures, and studio visits. The curriculum also addresses the city's architecture, public spaces, and infrastructure. Students also have the opportunity to work directly with a variety of cultural organizations via assignments or internships.

    Career Paths

    Visual Arts students go on to pursue advanced studies in anthropology, art history, film and media studies, gender studies, museum studies, and race and ethnicity studies, and also become arts administrators, curators, gallery or museum staff, journalists, publishers, and practicing artists. Consult our 4-Year Lang Career Pathways Map (PDF) for helpful steps and resources to link your academic journey to your future plans.

    If you are planning to pursue graduate studies, consider applying to the Bachelor's-Master's program, which enables you to earn graduate credits that will apply to both your Lang degree and a master's degree in liberal studies at The New School.

    Outcomes at Lang

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Submit your application

Undergraduates

To apply to any of our undergraduate programs (except the Bachelor's Program for Adults and Transfer Students and Parsons Associate of Applied Science programs) complete and submit the Common App online.

Undergraduate Adult Learners

To apply to any of our Bachelor's Program for Adults and Transfer Students and Parsons Associate of Applied Science programs, complete and submit the New School Online Application.

Graduates

To apply to any of our Master's, Doctoral, Professional Studies Diploma, and Graduate Certificate programs, complete and submit the New School Online Application.

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