Transform Students’ Lives as an Art Educator

  Online: Low Residency at Azusa (main campus)

The Master of Arts in Art Education program is a 30-unit low-residency degree for artists who love to teach. Designed for working professionals and busy educators who enjoy making and teaching art, the MA program format benefits students through convenient online courses and two one-week summer intensive practicums at APU’s main campus in Azusa.

Art Conference 2021

Join us at the RESTART: Virtual Art Conference 2021, where art professionals will leverage their expertise to teach and encourage TK-12 teachers, art faculty, artists, museum educators, art historians, and others who are looking for a transformative art experience. The conference runs Friday, July 16-Saturday, July 17.

The art education master’s degree extends APU’s commitment to providing rigorous academics in an innovative arts community firmly grounded in the Christian faith. Graduates will leave prepared to enhance their practice, advance their careers, and transform students’ lives.

The Impact of Arts Education

Recent research demonstrates the far-reaching effects of arts education. Students who receive more art-related learning experiences have greater compassion for others, improved writing achievement, and fewer disciplinary issues—evidence of the impact of the arts on students’ academic and social development. Read more about the life-changing benefits of K-12 art education.

Program Highlights

  • Cultivate your art-making and teaching career as you earn the degree.
  • Complete courses online during the school year. Students take only one focused class per eight-week session and only two classes total per term (e.g., in the Spring Term, one class during Spring 1 and one class during Spring 2).
  • Participate in one-week intensive residencies in Southern California each July as part of the program’s eight-week summer sessions. During intensives, you’ll have the opportunity to connect with peers and professors, refine techniques, and make art in studio collaborations.
  • Learn from professional faculty who are deeply engaged in the art world and who will help you develop as an artist, educator, and person.
  • Work with master teachers who will help you expand your understanding of theory and engage the world around you through research.
  • Five entry points available per year. Students may enter the program at the start of any eight-week session or at the start of the summer intensive.
How a Master’s in Art Education Can Elevate Your Art and Teaching

When you’re ready to start a graduate program, consider one that combines both your passion for teaching and for creating art. Read more about how a master’s degree can help you advance the power of creativity in classrooms.

Advance Your Career in Art Education

Through this low-residency master’s in art education program, students can advance their teaching career without leaving families and jobs. Online courses provide convenience for working professionals, while the summer studios bring students to Southern California for intensive, hands-on, process-oriented instruction within a supportive, intimate environment. The combination of academic achievement, art making, and building collegial relationships takes students on a journey to become a master artist who loves to teach.

Low-Residency Format

The MA in Art Education program is designed with flexibility in mind. The format offers convenient online courses and only two weeklong summer intensive practicums at APU’s main campus in Azusa.

Read more about the benefits of a low-residency program.

Producing art is a window into the soul and teaches us so much about our students—socially, emotionally, academically. I feel honored to be part of that process.

Kelsey Wengel, MA ’20
High school visual arts teacher and district art lead
Pleasanton, California

Note: This information is current for the 2022-23 academic year; however, all stated academic information is subject to change. Please refer to the current Academic Catalog for more information.