The goal of the painting program is to provide a solid foundation in the creative, technical and historical aspects of painting. The program encourages individual growth and development through a broad range of studio and academic experiences and through exposure to the diverse philosophical points of view of our faculty.

The program offers beginning, intermediate and advanced courses, which meet six hours a week. The studios are also available to the students in the evenings and at times that no regular classes are scheduled.

Being located between two major metropolitan areas the students have access to numerous museums and galleries in Austin and San Antonio. In addition the department has an active gallery program that exhibits work of noted area, national and international artist. The department also sponsors a visiting artist program which beings in artist from around the country. This allows students one on one contact with working artist, critics and historians.

Many graduates of the painting program have gone on to study at some of the most prestigious graduate schools in the country including the School for the Visual Arts in New York, The Boston Museum School, Rhode Island School of Design, Claremont Graduate School in California, San Francisco Art Institute, Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia and the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, among others.

Printmaking, situated in the Studio Program of Art and Design, encompasses a range of methods for printing and making images, including screen printing, relief, intaglio, lithography, digital printing, monotypes, and other techniques. Intro to Printmaking covers both relief printing and screen printing. Screenprinting, an intro level class, covers exclusively screen printing. Printmaking II teaches intaglio and lithography in alternate semesters (generally intaglio in the fall, and lithography in the spring). Students can also pursue screen printing in Printmaking II. The upper division levels of printmaking increasingly focus the student on creating a personal and professional body of work. In the upper division courses, a strong emphasis is placed on not only making the work, but also documenting it, writing about it, entering it into national competitions, and exhibiting it.