School of Art and Design • School of Communication • School of Music • School of Theatre and Dance
You will thrive in our top-rated programs led by accomplished faculty. Follow in the footsteps of our Tony, Grammy, Oscar, Golden Globe, Pulitzer and Emmy award-winning alumni. Be one of our creative students pioneering new techniques to communicate your passion and talents.
School of Art and Design
With 500 undergraduate students and 25 graduate students, the School of Art and Design at East Carolina University has the largest BFA in Art program in North Carolina, and is one of the most comprehensive art schools in the Southeast. More than 35 full-time faculty are dedicated to preparing you for a productive career as an innovative thinker, distinguished artist and designer and global participant.
Your creativity is an opening to endless possibilities. Some art and design students become small business entrepreneurs, opening their own photography studios, potteries, design firms, gaming companies, and jewelry and sculpture studios. Our graduates are competitive nationally, with alumni working at NASCAR, Disney, Google, Nike, the Carolina Panthers, Spoonflower, art galleries and museums and more, and attending top-tier graduate schools.
The Leo W. Jenkins Fine Arts Center is a 142,000-square-foot facility that is home to the School of Art and Design. As an ECU art and design student, you will have 24/7 access to dedicated studio spaces, extensive computer labs, maker-spaces equipped with CNC routers, laser cutters, a 3D printing innovation lab, motion capture, a wood shop, foundry, digital looms, black-and-white and digital darkrooms, letterpress shop, a glass-making studio and much more.
School of Communication
At ECU, you will have access to the resources you need to pursue a dynamic career in communication, such as the state-of-the-art multimedia newsroom. With the guidance of top faculty, you will develop the skills to become a competitive professional in the national workforce. Join our tight-knit group of over 800 undergraduate students and more than 100 graduate students.
You will have the opportunity to participate in some of our exceptional ensembles including Concert Band, Symphonic Band, Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Symphony Orchestra, Marching Pirates and athletics pep bands, Chamber Singers, University Chorale, Concert Choir, Opera Theater, two jazz ensembles and multiple combos, and others. You may have the opportunity to perform regionally or around the world.
School of Music graduates go on to successful careers in music as educators, therapists, and international award-winning performers and composers.
Undergraduate Degrees:
Music Education, BM
Music, BM, with concentrations in:
- Music Theory-Composition, composition or theory emphasis
- Music Therapy
- Music Performance: Jazz Studies (instrumental or vocal emphasis), Percussion Performance, Piano Performance, Sacred Music (organ or vocal emphasis), String Performance (including guitar), Voice Performance, Wind Performance
School of Theatre and Dance
ECU School of Theatre and Dance graduates are professional educators, stage and film actors and dancers, design and production managers, and stage managers.
The School of Theatre and Dance prepares you for high-quality production work from design to performance. Our alumni working in the professional performance industry have received recognition for excellence including Oscar and Tony awards. Our theatre and dance education graduates are employed in scholastic settings throughout the US.
The McGinnis Theatre and the adjacent Messick Theatre Arts Center provides space for the 26 full-time faculty members and 210 undergraduate students in theatre and dance. Here they learn, collaborate and perform in studios for acting and dance as well as teach in lecture classrooms and the innovative Studio Theatre.
Undergraduate Degrees
- BFA Dance, with a concentration in: Dance Performance and Choreography
- BFA Theatre Arts, with concentrations in: Musical Theatre, Professional Actor Training, Stage Management, Theatre Design & Production, Theatre for Youth
- BFA Theatre Arts Education
- BA Theatre Arts, with concentrations in: Community Engagement, Theatre Management
As you consider a profession in the arts or communication, take a look at our world-class faculty and the unique opportunities that come with an education from ECU's College of Fine Arts and Communication. If you want to connect and create, you belong here.
For information on your next steps, visit the Admissions website.
To learn more about the wide range of academic programs available at ECU, visit Degree Explorer.