Internships & Careers
Your Success is Important to Us
Our alumni have worked around the globe in an impressive array of roles–exhibiting work in New York galleries, hosting design shows for HGTV, illustrating books, or designing for the NBA and the NHL. We’re proud of what our alumni have achieved, and what they continue to accomplish as members of the Suffolk community. And most would agree that it’s the training that began early on in their academic careers that has fueled their professional success.
Career Preparation
In your very first semester as an art and design major, you’ll be immersed in class critiques and portfolio reviews, where you’ll learn how to defend your ideas, build your public speaking skills, think critically, and solve problems. A mastery of these skills is important no matter what profession you choose, and it’s a big part of why our graduates are in demand.
To prepare you for the work world, we offer courses in best business practices and portfolio development. Internships are available in every program, and we maintain lists of current employment opportunities. In today’s job market, the connections that you build at Suffolk are essential. Throughout your studies, our faculty will serve as your mentors, and when you join our robust alumni community they’ll become your peers, further expanding your professional network.
Fine Arts Careers
Fine artists drive the creative economy. They are problem solvers, critical thinkers, communicators and visionaries. Because of the breadth of skills, versatility and the resourcefulness developed in their studio training, fine artists are employed across creative industries and throughout the business sector, often while maintaining robust studio practices.
Fine Arts Career Options
Professional Development & Creative Practice
Our program focuses on professional development alongside creative practice. Opportunities for students to build their professional networks with guest critics and visiting artists are integrated throughout the curriculum. This experience is expanded through student arts internships, and students also are immersed in the extensive arts and culture venues available in Boston. In their Fine Arts classes, students attend lecture series and visit museums, galleries, and artists’ studios. Upon graduation, Fine Arts students join an established alumni network that includes exhibiting local and international artists and creative industry professionals from across the globe.
Pairing a Professional Degree with a Minor
We want our Fine Arts graduates to have a competitive edge in the job market. Fine Arts majors are trained to be excellent problem-solvers and to apply creative thinking skills to a variety of situations. We encourage our students to use these skills and customize their career paths by exploring arts-related areas of interest. Building upon their skill-sets with related minor programs enriches their educational experiences, enhances their internship possibilities, and strengthens their resumes.
Arts Administration
This minor teaches basic non-profit business and management skills including grant-writing, strategies for marketing and funding the arts, and community outreach. Fine Arts alumni who have completed the Arts Administration minor work at museums, galleries, and community art centers in positions including education, curatorship, and exhibition development and implementation. To further their advancement in the field, students may undertake graduate work in arts administration or a related field at other institutions.
Psychology
The minor in Psychology can be a first step in preparing students for a career in creative therapy, which utilizes guided art-making to aid people in achieving mental health. Fine Arts students who have minored in Psychology may go on to earn a graduate degree at another institution in order to work in the creative therapy field.
Entrepreneurship or Marketing
These minors help give students the tools they need to start their own small businesses. Fine Arts students who have earned minors in Entrepreneurship or Marketing have designed, developed, and produced unique items for the marketplace such as artwork, toys, gifts, and clothing. They also have worked in wedding and event design, retail merchandising, product design, and home-interior staging.
Education
This minor helps to prepare students for elementary and high school teaching, and includes field work in a local classroom. Fine Arts students who complete an Education minor can go on to earn a graduate degree at another institution, in order to prepare for state teaching licensure/certification examinations or to explore other aspects of education.
Other Popular Minors & Career Paths
- Creative Writing: for students interested in graphic novels, arts criticism, children’s literature
- Set Design: for students interested in mural- and/or scene painting
- Art History: for students interested in museum research/studies, exhibition curating