The Department of Art, Design & Letters recognizes the dynamic relationship between the visual arts and the literary arts. Our exemplary programs in Art Education, Art History, Art Therapy, Creative and Professional Writing, Interior Design, and Studio Art represent a unique range of opportunities for the serious student in the professional and liberal arts fields. Utilizing “Creativity that Works” as a model for our programs, the Department of Art, Design & Letters provides options for internships, research, and travel-study to ensure the highest quality experiential learning. You will learn at the hands of dedicated award-winning art, design, and creative writing educators, who are skilled professionals in their fields.
Converse University is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design.
The Interior Design program is accredited by the Council for Interior Design Education (CIDA).
We value the artistic skills you have already developed and Converse offers several Visual Arts Scholarship Days for dedicated high school senior art students. After a personal interview and portfolio presentation, students may be considered for four-year awards of up to $2,000 per year.
Explore our programs in art and design below; Converse University is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD).
Make your plans for a campus visit or request information about our programs. We’re eager to meet you!
*Our Interior Design program is accredited by Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA)
The Department of Art, Design & Letters provides our students with authentic visual, written, and intellectual experiences, which advance originality, cultivate scholarship, and establish professional skill development within a creative and collaborative community.
From selection to a prestigious jury panel to receiving a Pushcart Prize, summer was a time of significant achievement for the alumni, students, and faculty of Converse’s Master of Fine …
On Saturday, July 15, 2023, Converse University’s Department of Art and Design collaborated with Hub City Empty Bowls to host a bowl-making session. Hub City Empty Bowls is a grassroots …
MFA alumna Cinelle Barnes ’15 (Creative Nonfiction) was selected as a judge for the 2023 Pulitzer Prize Awards memoir category. Barnes earned an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Converse. She …
Converse graduate Joy G. Bertling ’05, PhD, has published Art Education for a Sustainable Planet: Embracing Ecopedagogy in K-12 Classrooms through Teachers College Press. Released in June 2023, this book explores how …
Donald Medley ’25 is the recipient of the 2023 Judy & Brant Bynum Award. Donald submitted work from his Drawing IV class at Converse. Converse’s studio art program provides students …
Associate Professor of Art Education, Chair of Art and Design Department
Associate Professor of Studio Art
Instructor of Art History
Assistant Professor of Art
Instructor of Art
Instructor of Art and Design
Assistant Professor of Interior Design
Assistant Professor of Art History
Instructor of Art
Associate Professor of English, Director of Creative Writing, Director MFA
Associate Professor of English
Associate Professor of Art
Asisstant Professor of Art Therapy
In the moment of creation, each artist faces a question: “What will I make of this?”
Christopher Vaneman
864.596.9038
chris.vaneman@converse.edu
Blackman Music Hall 202/230