After Puget Sound for Art & Art History

In this section

Art and art history students learn to think creatively and critically, making them imaginative, rigorous, and nimble contributors to the broader world. Many alumni attend graduate school in art history, studio art, archaeology, library science, architecture, landscape architecture, industrial or graphic design, animation, education, law, and museology. Others work as artists or in museums, galleries, art administration, appraisal, or software programming.

Check out the current student and alumni profiles below to learn more about how studying art has prepared them for fulfilling pursuits after college.

Art teaches empathy and even wisdom!

“We were able to show a reasonably robust correlation between the number of time students spend in the arts and their scores on validated assessments of empathy, tolerance of ambiguity, wisdom; and negative correlation with burnout,” ...more in this article Study Finds Med Students Who Make Time for Art Have More Empathy.

Department Graduates

Gloria Treseder '08

This past year I began and completed a Masters of Fine Art Program at University for the Creative Arts in Canterbury, Kent. I had been working as a Montessori Teacher in Northern California when I was hit by a car while on my bike, and suffered from head injuries affecting my “working memory” – particularly words and names. Rediscovering my somewhat dormant “artist self” became the most vital means for me to swim through this exhausting mental fog into a new clarity, to exist again in realities beyond words – paint, texture, form, color, and feeling – things I had largely put aside to focus on a career working with children.

Ronda Peck '19

"Okay, I'm home," Peck said when asked how she knew a ceramics major was for her. After 21 years in the air force working as an emergency medical technician, Peck decided to come back to school as a so-called "returning student." She remembered her interest in art, specifically ceramics, during high school.

Andrew Griebeler '09

"I am now completing my dissertation on the history of botanical illustration in Byzantium from antiquity to the early modern era. My research has taken me to libraries and museums throughout Europe. After earning my Ph.D., I hope to settle into a career in a museum, university, or library."

Hannah Lehman '17

"Majoring in art history at Puget Sound allowed me to grow as a thinker, writer, and communicator. Through my courses and assignments, I learned to not only argue my point effectively but to think about the many facets of a work of art or situation. I was asked to think critically about my own viewpoint, while also considering others."

Tosia Klincewicz '14

"I can't deny that having graduated from the University of Puget Sound in 2014 with a degree in English & Art History, I felt equally full of purpose and totally directionless. Nevertheless, I forged ahead with my diverse and carefully cultivated toolkit of skills in writing, research, argumentation, critical thought, storytelling, and appreciation for beauty, and found my way into a Communications role with the Seattle Chapter of the American Institute of Architects."

Michelle Reynolds '12

"Prior to my time at Puget Sound, I had never thought about art history or museum work as options for future employment. Thanks to various research projects, work-study positions, and faculty support, I realized my academic and professional passion for examining the ways in which audiences interpret and interact with works of art. I cannot imagine pursuing the work I do today without drawing on critical thinking and effective communication skills which have their roots in my four years at Puget Sound."

Haley Andres '14

"As an art student, I developed an ability to tell a story, make an argument, or raise a point in creative and compelling ways."

Priscilla Dobler '09

"Art has taught me how to value my relationships with people, how to be determined, focused, and passionate; giving everything I have in order to complete a project while conceptually pushing the boundaries of dialogue in craft and fine art."

Eden Ferry '10

"Studying art at the University of Puget Sound taught me the skills needed to thrive in various creative industries. Through the diversity in methods and mediums taught, I have been able to draw on my education to work in printmaking, graphic design, and landscape architecture."

Emily Menk '14

"Studying art at Puget Sound really gave me so much more than what is shown in a course description or a catalog. Creative problem-solving, effective communication (written, verbal, and non-verbal), and sharp critical thinking skills are just a few of the skills that have been integral to my success after graduation."