At MassArt, we’ve always understood that art and design have the power to make positive change. We’re committed to providing an education and the promise of a future based on talent, ambition, and drive. As the nation’s first and only independent public college of art and design, we’ve worked to make a world-class education accessible to worthy students, regardless of their background or financial circumstances.
That belief in making art and design accessible to all extends into the community through exciting partnerships. These include bringing art to Boston’s public schools, hosting local community events, and supporting artists working for racial justice. Partnerships allow our students to connect and collaborate with our neighbors and communities.
We were founded to provide challenging and forward-thinking academics to talented and committed students, and that hasn’t changed. Our highly respected programs are taught by globally recognized faculty who work side-by-side with students in cutting-edge facilities across our Boston campus.
Since 1873 we have grown and evolved in response to the needs of a changing world. Today, we are more committed than ever to partnership and progress, and to bringing all that we have to the work of empowering the next generation of artists, designers, and educators.
Industrialists in Massachusetts petition the government to provide free industrial drawing to citizens of the Commonwealth.
Walter Smith is hired by the Commonwealth. Smith and his allies, Charles Callahan Perkins and Boston Schools Superintendent John Dudley Philbrick, called for the creation of a state school that would train art teachers and advance art education generally.
The Massachusetts Drawing Act passes and drawing is now required to be taught in the public schools of cities and towns with populations over 10,000.
Smith secures $7,500 to create Massachusetts Normal Art School which opens its doors in November 1873 at 33 Pemberton Square. Class lectures and one-to-one instruction in elementary drawing to qualify drawing teachers.
Moves to 28 School Street
Four 1-year programs: classes A, B, C, D. Certificate awarded for completion of each, diploma awarded for all four. A: Elementary Drawing (qualifies teachers); B: Form, Color, and Industrial Design; C: Constructive Arts (Architectural Drawing, Machine Drawing, Construction and Design, Descriptive Geometry, Topographical Drawing, Ship Draughting); D: Sculpture and Design in the Round.
Moves to Deacon House, 1679 Washington Street.
Addition of elective and non-studio courses.
Massachusetts Normal Art School Building now at corner of Newbury and Exeter Streets.
Albert Munsell founds the Massachusetts Normal School Alumni Association.
High school diploma required for admission.
An annex Provides space for “crafts and shop” activities.
Five 4-year programs: Drawing, Painting, and Composition; Modeling and Design in the Round; Constructive Arts and Design; Decorative and Applied Design; Teaching Drawing in the Schools and Methods of Supervision.
New courses: Sloyd (Scandinavian crafts-based education) and Mechanical Arts.
Shop, Wood Construction, Arts and Crafts, Costume Design, Psychology, Pedagogy, English Composition and Criticism.
11 programs: Applied Art in Public Schools; Applied Design and Interior Decoration; Modeling and Casting; Graphic Arts; Drawing and Painting; Mechanical Drafting; Architectural Drafting; Iron Working; Wood Working; Metal Work and Jewelry; Costume Illustration.
14 programs: Art in Elementary Schols; Art in High Schools; Interior Decoration; Furniture; Leaded Glass, Metal Work; Jewelry; Modeling and Sculpture; General Illustration; Costume Illustration; Drawing and Painting; Mechanical Drafting; Architectural Drafting; Woodworking.
MassArt celebrates 50 years.
Bachelor of Science in Education awarded for completion of Teacher Training Program.
Theater design and retail trade programs are added but retail trade is dropped as an undergraduate program the following year.
Massachusetts School of Art building, 364 Brookline Avenue (corner of Longwood and Brookline Avenue.
12 programs: Art in Elementary Schools; Art in High Schools; Interior Decoration; Costume Design; Commercial Design; Crafts Design; Textile Design; Fine Arts; Illustration; Modeling and Sculpture; Architectural Design; Machine Design.
5 programs offered: Teacher Training; General Design; Costume Design; Drawing and Painting; Modeling and Sculpture.
“With war threatening in 1941, the administration, faculty and students recognized the emergency, and changes conforming to the existing and pending needs here introduced. The school and its graduates can well be proud of the years 1941-1945.”
—1957 catalog
Bachelor of Fine Arts awarded to students completing three programs: general design, drawing and painting, fashion design and illustration.
Graduates of ceramic design program are awarded Bachelor of Fine Arts.
Teacher Education; Advertising and Product Design; Ceramic Design; Fashion Design and Illustration; Painting and Illustration.
6 programs: Teacher Education; Advertising Design; Ceramic Design; Fashion Design and Illustration; Painting and Illustration; Product Design.
6 programs: Art Education; Ceramic Design; Fashion Design; Industrial Design; Painting; Graphic Design.
The Black Artists Union was started in the spring 1969. “Our purpose is to create the new positive images that are necessary for the continued survival of our people. We are dedicated to bringing about those changes that are essential to the founding of a strong black nation.”
14 programs: Ceramics; Critical Studies; Dimentional Design; Sculpture; Environmental Arts; Fashion Design and Illustration; Filmmaking; Graphic Design; Industrial Design; Interrelated Media; Painting; Photography; Printmaking; Teacher Training. Also Master’s of Science in Art Education program was created.
20 BFA Programs offered. Crafts subdivided into four programs: Ceramics, Fibers, Glass, and Metals. Art Education programs redefined as Studio Education, Museum Education, and Certification. The M.F.A. programs are redefined as 2D Fine Arts, 3D Fine Arts, Design, and Media and Performing Arts. The Continuing Education program makes B.F.A. available on a part-time basis and offers an evening Graphic Design program.
Eight buildings at the corner of Huntington and Longwood Avenues formerly occupied by Boston State College.
Minor in Video is offered.
MassArt opens its first dormitory on Huntington Avenue: Walter Smith Hall.
MassArt completes $14,700,000 project to refurbish the Huntington campus.
Dynamic Media Institute (DMI) MFA in design created.
Artist Residence dormitory opens.
Massachusetts College of Art changes its name to Massachusetts College of Art and Design.
Treehouse residence hall opens.
Alumna Erin Robertson, ’16 BFA Fashion Design & Fibers, wins Season 15 of Lifetime TV’s Project Runway.
Designed by Ennead Architects, the MassArt Design and Media Center (DMC), three-story glass façade at 621 Huntington Avenue, prominently positioned on Boston’s Avenue of the Arts is comprised of 40,000 square feet of new space for the College.
Master of Architecture (M.Arch) program receives accreditation.
MassArt Art Museum (MAAM), Boston’s newest contemporary art museum, opens its doors.
MassArt celebrates 150 years.
Our students, faculty, alumni and staff are creative powerhouses who for 150 years have made groundbreaking contributions to our economy and our communities.
Learn More
