The Boston University College of Fine Arts (CFA) at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

consists of the School of Music, the School of Theatre, and the School of Visual Arts. Each school offers degrees in the performing and visual arts at the undergraduate and graduate level. Among the College of Fine Arts faculty are artists, scholars, and performers. Since the College of Fine Arts is integrated into Boston University, students at CFA may choose courses in the other undergraduate colleges at Boston University. CFA students can also apply for the Boston University Collaborative Degree Program (BUCOP), where students simultaneously earn undergraduate degrees at CFA and in one of 14 undergraduate colleges of the university. The college offers a study abroad program in London, England, and Dresden, Germany. Students can spend a semester at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...

, the

London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) is a drama school located in Hammersmith, London. It is the oldest specialist drama school in the British Isles and a founding member of the Federation of Drama Schools. LAMDA's Principal is ...

, or at the

Hochschule für Musik "Carl Maria von Weber" ' (, plural: ') is the generic term in German for institutions of higher education, corresponding to ''universities'' and ''colleges'' in English. The term ''Universität'' (plural: ''Universitäten'') is reserved for institutions with the right to ...

. Admission to the College of Fine Arts requires a live or pre-recorded audition for music and theatrical performance majors and a submission of a portfolio for visual arts and technical theatre majors.

School of Music

The Boston University School of Music was founded in 1872, which makes it the oldest degree-granting music program in the United States. The School of Music offers the Bachelor of Music (BM), the Master of Music (MM), and the Doctorate of Musical Arts (DMA). All students have the option of concentrating in fields such as performance,

music theory Music theory is the study of the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory". The first is the "rudiments", that are needed to understand music notation (ke ...

and composition,

musicology Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some mu ...

music education Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do origina ...

, historical performance, and

conducting Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary duti ...

. The School of Music offers special degrees such as the Performance Diploma and the Artist Diploma. The Performance Diploma is a non-degree program for students who want a continued education in music performance at the post-Masters level. The School of Music has about 150 faculty members (professors, assistant professors, adjunct professors, and teaching associates). Some notable music professors include: Edwin Barker (double bass), Ann Howard Jones (conducting), George Neikrug (cello), Tim Genis (percussion), Andre de Quadros (music education), Sharon Daniels (voice), Jerrold Pope (voice), Kenneth Radnofsky (saxophone) and Penelope Bitzas (voice). The Boston University School of Music has a summer music festival for high school students known as the

Boston University Tanglewood Institute The Boston University Tanglewood Institute (BUTI) is a summer music training program for students age 10 to 20 in Lenox, Massachusetts, under the auspices of the Boston University College of Fine Arts. History BUTI was envisioned in 1965 when E ...

(BUTI). The Boston University Tanglewood Institute is recognized internationally as an outstanding educational opportunity for young artists and is the only program of its kind associated with one of the great symphony orchestras of the world. Here, under the guidance of Boston Symphony Orchestra members, young people devote themselves each summer to an intensive and challenging training session. Boston University's School of Music is affiliated with several ensembles and organizations that provide an extension of its core programs. Among these are the contemporary music ensemble-in-residence Alea III, the Muir String Quartet, and

Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras The Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras (BYSO) is a youth orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts under the artistic leadership of music director, Federico Cortese. Since 1958, BYSO has served thousands of young musicians from throughout New Engla ...

. The Boston University School of Music offers

online music education Online music education is a recent development in the field of music education consisting of the application of new technologies associated with distance learning and online education for the purpose of teaching and learning music in an online envir ...

options, and by the end of 2007, more than 600

online In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed "on line" or ...

graduate students Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor's) degree. The organization and struc ...

were expected to be studying for a Master of Music (MM) or Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree through this College.

School of Visual Arts

Founded in 1954, the Boston University School of Visual Arts offers the Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) and the Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in areas such as

graphic design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art whose activity consists in projecting visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdiscipli ...

, art education, sculpture, and painting.
Visits from artists and lecturers as well as a widely varied program of exhibitions are offered. Four on-campus galleries—the BU Art Gallery, the Commonwealth Gallery, the 808 Gallery, and the Sherman Gallery—provide exhibition opportunities for graduate students and alumni. Facilities available to students include a computer lab, a new media room, a welding shop, a wood shop, and painting, drawing, printmaking, and photography studios.

School of Theatre

The School of Theatre at Boston University is a conservatory-style training program emphasizing collaboration and ensemble. The school offers the Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) and the Master of Fine Arts (MFA), as well as Artisan Certificates for

technical theatre Stagecraft is a technical aspect of theatrical, film, and video production. It includes constructing and rigging scenery; hanging and focusing of lighting; design and procurement of costumes; make-up; stage management; audio engineering; an ...

students. BFA degrees are offered in

acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor or actress who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad r ...

theatre arts Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

, theatrical design and production,

stage management Stage management is a broad field that is generally defined as the practice of organization and coordination of an event or theatrical production. Stage management may encompass a variety of activities including the overseeing of the rehearsal p ...

, and MFA degrees are offered in design, production, theatre education, and directing. The School operates four theatre spaces in the College of Fine Arts, as well as the Joan & Edgar Booth Theatre and CFA Production Center, located on BU Campus at 820 Commonwealth Ave. Opened in 2017, the facility houses a state-of-the-art theatre, as well as the School's scene, paint, costume, lighting, and sound shops.

Notable alumni

The College of Fine Arts has produced many students who have become notable in their fields:

Visual Arts

Grant Drumheller Grant Drumheller is an American figurative painter. Biography Drumheller earned his BFA (1976) and Master of Fine Arts (1978) degrees cum laude from Boston University. He also studied with Philip Guston, James Weeks and Reed Kay. Drumhell ...

(painter) *

Brice Marden Brice Marden (born October 15, 1938) is an American artist generally described as Minimalist, although his work may be hard to categorize. He lives and works in New York City; Tivoli, New York; Hydra, Greece; and Eagles Mere, Pennsylvania. Life ...

(painter) *

Christina McPhee Christina McPhee (born 1954, Los Angeles, California) is an American painter, new media and video artist. She lives on California's central coast and San Francisco, CA. Art Christina McPhee works in drawing as a core practice, developing layer ...

(New Media artist) *

Brian McLean (visual effects artist) Brian F McLean (born January 19, 1977) is an American special effects person. He was born in Syracuse, New York. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in sculpture in 1999 from Boston University. He is the director of rapid prototype at LAIKA. Know ...

Music

Aesop Rock Ian Matthias Bavitz (born June 5, 1976), better known by his stage name Aesop Rock, is an American rapper and producer from Long Island, New York. He was at the forefront of the new wave of underground and alternative hip hop acts that emerge ...

(rapper and hip-hop record producer) *

Ted Atkatz Ted Atkatz is the founder of and frontman for the Los Angeles-based alternative rock group NYCO. He is a former principal percussionist for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO). Atkatz left the CSO in 2006 to devote himself full-time to NYCO. The ...

(Chicago Symphony Orchestra Principal Percussionist) *

Velvet Brown Velvet Brown is a professor of tuba and euphonium at Pennsylvania State University. Prior to joining the faculty at Penn State in 2003, she taught at Bowling Green State University (Ohio) and Ball State University (Indiana), and served as an ass ...

(

tuba The tuba (; ) is the lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece. It first appeared in the mid-19th century, making it one of the ne ...

soloist, music educator) * Janet Chvatal (classical soprano and award-winning musical producer) *

Sylvia Constantinidis Sylvia Constantinidis (born December 3, 1962) is a Venezuelan-American pianist, composer, and conductor. Early life and education Sylvia Constantinidis was born in Venezuela and began her study of music at an early age in Caracas. Her musi ...

(Venezuelan-American classical pianist, composer, conductor, writer, music educator) *

Marcus Haddock Marcus Haddock (born 19 June 1957) is an American opera singer and voice teacher who in the course of his 25-year stage career sang leading tenor roles throughout the United States and Europe. Born in Fort Worth, Texas and trained at the Boston Un ...

(opera singer) *

Eugene Izotov Eugene Izotov (born 1973) is a Russian-born oboist and recording artist. He is Principal Oboist of the San Francisco Symphony appointed by Michael Tilson Thomas in 2014. He is the first Russian-born oboist in any major U.S. symphony orchestra. P ...

(Chicago Symphony Orchestra Principal Oboist) * Konstantinos Papadakis (concert pianist) *

Scott Perkins Scott Perkins (born June 25, 1980) is an international prize-winning composer, a tenor, an award-winning scholar, and a music educator. His music includes art songs, musical theatre, solo instrumental works, choral music, electroacoustic insta ...

(composer) *

Anthony Tommasini Anthony Carl Tommasini (born April 14, 1948) is an American music critic and author who specializes in classical music. Described as "a discerning critic, whose taste, knowledge and judgment have made him a must-read", Tommasini was the chief ...

(''New York Times'' music critic) *

Wen-Pin Hope Lee Wen-Pin Hope Lee (; born 1967) is a Hoklo Taiwanese contemporary music composer and Professor. His works comprise a variety of genres, including symphonies, theatre, dance, solo works, chamber music, computer music, and multimedia performanc ...

(music educator and composer) *

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(composer, conductor and keyboardist)

Performing Arts

Jason Alexander Jay Scott Greenspan (born September 23, 1959), known professionally as Jason Alexander, is an American actor, comedian, host and director. An Emmy and Tony winner, he is best known for his role as George Costanza in the television series '' Se ...

(Tony Award-winning actor; cast member of ''

Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld ( ...

'') *

Jennifer Armour Jennifer Armour (born August 27, 1985, in Minneapolis, Minnesota) is an American actress and voice artist. She is known for starring in ''Ghoul'' directed by Petr Jákl. In 2022, she began playing Wendy Blissett in the long-running British soap ...

(actress and voice artist) *

Tala Ashe Talayeh Ashrafi ( fa, طلایه اشرفی; born July 24, 1984) known professionally as Tala Ashe, is an Iranian-American actress. She is known for her roles on the television series '' Smash'', ''American Odyssey'', and ''As the World Turns'', ...

(actress, ''

Legends of Tomorrow ''DC's Legends of Tomorrow'', or simply ''Legends of Tomorrow'', is an American Time travel in fiction, time travel superhero fiction, superhero television series developed by Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, Andrew Kreisberg, and Phil Klem ...

'') *

Kathy Baker } Katherine Whitton Baker (born June 8, 1950) is an American actress. Baker began her career in theater and made her screen debut in the 1983 drama film '' The Right Stuff''. She received the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Suppor ...

(Emmy, SAG, and Golden Globes award winning actress) *

Jon Bass (actor) Jon Bass (born September 22, 1989) is an American actor, known for his roles in '' She-Hulk: Attorney at Law'', ''Super Pumped'', ''Baywatch'', and the comedy series ''Big Time in Hollywood, FL''. Early life and education Bass grew up in Bellair ...

Michael Chiklis Michael Charles Chiklis ( born August 30, 1963) is an American actor, television director, television producer and musician. He is best known for his role as Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Detective Vic Mackey on the FX police drama ''The S ...

(Emmy Award-winning actor, ''

The Shield ''The Shield'' is an American crime drama television series starring Michael Chiklis that premiered on March 12, 2002, on FX in the United States, and concluded on November 25, 2008, after seven seasons. Known for its portrayal of corrupt poli ...

'') *

Geena Davis Virginia Elizabeth "Geena" Davis (born January 21, 1956) is an American actor

(Oscar- and Golden Globe-winning actress) *

Emily Deschanel Emily Erin Deschanel (; born October 11, 1976) is an American actress. She portrayed Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan in the Fox crime procedural series ''Bones'' (2005–2017). Early life Deschanel was born in Los Angeles, California, to cin ...

(actress, ''

Bones A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, an ...

'') *

Dan Fogler Daniel Kevin Fogler (born October 20, 1976) is an American actor, comedian and writer. He has appeared in films including '' Balls of Fury'', '' Good Luck Chuck'', ''Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'', '' Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Gr ...

(Tony Award-winning actor; ''

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee ''The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee'' is a musical comedy with music and lyrics by William Finn, based on a book by Rachel Sheinkin, conceived by Rebecca Feldman with additional material by Jay Reiss. The show centers on a fictional spe ...

'') *

Ginnifer Goodwin Jennifer Michelle "Ginnifer" Goodwin (born May 22, 1978) is an American actress. She is known for her starring role as Margene Heffman in the HBO drama series ''Big Love'' (2006–2011) and Snow White / Mary Margaret Blanchard in the ABC fanta ...

(actress, ''

Big Love ''Big Love'' is an American drama television series that aired on HBO from March 12, 2006 to March 20, 2011. It stars Bill Paxton as the patriarch of a fundamentalist Mormon family in contemporary Utah that practices polygamy, with Jeanne Tripp ...

'') * Israel Hicks (1943–2010), stage director who presented

August Wilson August Wilson ( Frederick August Kittel Jr.; April 27, 1945 – October 2, 2005) was an American playwright. He has been referred to as the "theater's poet of Black America". He is best known for a series of ten plays, collectively called ' (or ...

's entire 10-play Pittsburgh Cycle. *

Yunjin Kim Yunjin Kim (Hangul: 김윤진), also known as Kim Yun-Jin (born November 7, 1973) is a South Korean-American film and theater actress. She is best known for her role as Sun-Hwa Kwon on the American television series ''Lost'', and as the North K ...

(actress, ''

Lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

'') *

Erica Leerhsen Erica Lei Leerhsen (born February 14, 1976) is an American actress. She first gained recognition for her leading part in the moderately successful horror sequel '' Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2'' (2000). Her work led her to take on a recurring r ...

(actress) *

Jerry Levine Jerry Levine (born March 12, 1957) is an American actor and director of television and theatre. As an actor, he is best known for his roles as Joe on ''Will & Grace'', Stiles in the 1985 feature film ''Teen Wolf'' and Jamie in the 1988 movie ''Ca ...

(actor/director, ''

Teen Wolf ''Teen Wolf'' is a 1985 American coming-of-age romantic fantasy comedy film directed by Rod Daniel and written by Jeph Loeb and Matthew Weisman. Michael J. Fox stars as the title character, a high school student whose ordinary life is changed ...

'') *

Craig Lucas Craig Lucas (born April 30, 1951) is an American playwright, screenwriter, theatre director, musical actor, and film director. Biography Born on April 30, 1951, he was found abandoned in a car in Atlanta, Georgia. Lucas was adopted when he wa ...

(Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-nominated playwright and actor) * Yan Luo (actress and screenwriter) *

Julianne Moore Julie Anne Smith (born December 3, 1960), known professionally as Julianne Moore, is an American actress. Prolific in film since the early 1990s, she is particularly known for her portrayals of emotionally troubled women in independent films, a ...

(Oscar-winning actress) *

Olympia Dukakis Olympia Dukakis (June 20, 1931 – May 1, 2021) was an American actress. She performed in more than 130 stage productions, more than 60 films and in 50 television series. Best known as a screen actress, she started her career in theater. Not lon ...

(Oscar-winning actress) * Michael Murray, co-founder and Artistic Director of the

Charles Playhouse The Charles Playhouse is a theater at 74 Warrenton Street Boston in the Boston Theater District. The venue comprises an approximately 500-seat mainstage, which hosts the long-running Blue Man Group, and a 200-seat second stage that hosted ''Shear M ...

(Boston), Artistic Director of the

Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park is a regional theatre in the United States. It was founded in 1959 by college student Gerald Covell and was one of the first regional theatres in the United States. Located in Eden Park, the first play that pr ...

, Chair of Theatre Arts Department, Brandeis University *

Rosie O'Donnell Roseann O'Donnell (born March 21, 1962) is an American comedian, television producer, actress, author, and television personality. She began her comedy career as a teenager and received her breakthrough on the television series ''Star Search'' ...

(actress and talk show host) *

Jenn Proske Jennifer Proske (born August 8, 1987) is a Canadian American actress, best known for portraying Becca Crane in the film ''Vampires Suck''. Early life Jenn Proske was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to an American ex-professional dancer and a ...

(actress) *

Ola Rotimi Olawale Gladstone Emmanuel Rotimi, best known as Ola Rotimi (13 April 1938 – 18 August 2000), was one of Nigeria's leading playwrights and theatre directors. He has been called "a complete man of the theatre – an actor, director, choreograp ...

(Award-winning playwright and theatre director) * Lee Sheldon (videogame designer, author, TV writer/producer) *

Nina Tassler Nina Tassler is an American television executive and producer. She was most recently the chairwoman of CBS Entertainment until 2015. Life and career Tassler was born in New York City to a Jewish father and a Puerto Rican mother who converted t ...

(President of CBS Entertainment) *

Marisa Tomei Marisa Tomei ( , ; born December 4, 1964) is an American actress. She came to prominence as a cast member on ''The Cosby Show'' spin-off ''A Different World'' in 1987. After having minor roles in a few films, she came to international attention ...

(Academy Award-winning actress) *

Krista Vernoff Krista Vernoff (born October 25, 1971) is an American television screenwriter, executive producer and director. She is best known for running the television medical drama ''Grey's Anatomy'' (2007–11, 2017–present) and its spin-off ''Station 1 ...

(Emmy-nominated writer) *

Michaela Watkins Michaela Suzanne Watkins (born December 14, 1971) is an American actress and comedian. She is best known for starring on the Hulu series '' Casual'' and on the short-lived sitcoms '' The Unicorn'' and ''Trophy Wife'', as well as being a cast memb ...

(''SNL'' actress) *

Cynthia Watros Cynthia Michele Watros (born September 2, 1968) is an American actress recognized for her roles in both daytime and primetime television. In 1994, she was cast in the regular role of Annie Dutton on ''Guiding Light'', which earned her the Day ...

(actress, ''

'') *

Alfre Woodard Alfre Woodard (; born November 8, 1952) is an American actress. She has received various accolades, including four Primetime Emmy Awards (tying the record for the most acting Emmys won by an African-American performer, along with Regina King), ...

(Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning actress) * Alex Wyse (Broadway actor) * Ashley Williams (actress, ''

How I Met Your Mother ''How I Met Your Mother'' (often abbreviated as ''HIMYM'') is an American sitcom, created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays for CBS. The series, which aired from September 19, 2005 to March 31, 2014, follows the main character, Ted Mosby, and his ...

'') * Mary Wiseman (actress, '' Star Trek: Discovery'') *

Katya Zamolodchikova Brian Joseph McCook, known by his drag persona Yekaterina Petrovna Zamolodchikova (russian: Екатерина Петровна Замолодчикова), or mononymously as Katya (russian: Катя), is an American drag queen, actor, author ...

(American Drag Queen, UNHhhh,

Trixie Mattel Brian Michael Firkus (born August 23, 1989), better known by the stage name Trixie Mattel, is an American drag queen, television personality, and singer-songwriter originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She is known for her exaggerated, high-camp ...

's rotten soldier , Actor, Author, Recording Artist, Comedian, Miss Congeniality)

References

External links

* {{authority control Fine Arts, College of

Boston University College of Fine Arts The Boston University College of Fine Arts (CFA) at Boston University consists of the School of Music, the School of Theatre, and the School of Visual Arts. Each school offers degrees in the performing and visual arts at the undergraduate and grad ...

Music schools in Massachusetts Educational institutions established in 1872 Cinema of Massachusetts Television in Massachusetts 1872 establishments in Massachusetts * Theatre in Massachusetts