All around the world, fine art and design fills galleries, streets, and screens —
moving people, telling stories, and challenging perspectives through the power of
visual expression.
Through Harper’s Art and Design program, you can hone your creative voice and turn
your inspiration into impactful artistic endeavors. With hands-on studio courses in
drawing, painting, ceramics, sculpture, printmaking, photography, digital art, and
design. You'll refine your technique, experiment across mediums, and learn to express
your unique perspective.
With a two-year associate degrees in arts or fine arts from Harper, you’ll be prepared
to transfer to a four-year art school or university to deepen your creative practice
with confidence and purpose.
Program highlights
Explore inspiring exhibitions year-round: Harper’s Art Exhibition Space (C200) hosts solo, group, juried, and student shows,
including the nationally recognized Small Works exhibition, offering you and the public
direct access to professional artwork and installation experiences.
Engage with working artists: The Visiting Artist Program brings contemporary artists to campus for exhibitions,
talks, critiques, and hands-on workshops - connecting students with the creative process
and professional art world.
See your work on display across campus: Rotating exhibits in Buildings C, P, and L highlight current student projects, providing
exposure and a sense of artistic community throughout the year.
Learn from expert faculty and a campus rich in art: With a $1.8M permanent art collection, including works by Picasso and Roger Brown,
plus faculty who integrate exhibitions into their teaching, you'll develop critical
thinking, curation awareness, and deep artistic insight.
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Planning for your future begins here.
It only takes 20 seconds to get started!
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Planning for your future begins here.
It only takes 20 seconds to get started!
Start at Harper. Finish at a four-year university.
Harper's two-year Associate in Arts (A.A.) and two-year Associate in Fine Arts (A.F.A.) degree programs prepare you to transfer to a four-year university with core hands-on
studio classes in drawing, fine and digital art, sculpture, and painting along with
art-focused courses in areas such as design, ancient and medieval art history, modern
and contemporary art history, gothic and romantic art history and more.
To make transferring to a bachelor's program in art and design as easy as possible,
Harper College has developed transfer agreements with area universities. To learn
more, visit Transfer Information or see your advisor.
Explore careers in Art and Design
Learn more about career outcomes for Harper's Art and Design degree programs. Each
career profile offers a complete picture on the local job market, including salaries,
open positions, top local employers and more. To learn more, visit Art and Design Careers.
Art Directors
Art Directors
* Data sampled April 2025. Visit the Art Directors career profile for most current data.
$83,863 Median Salary
0.3% Projected Job Growth (2025-2032)
157 Job Postings
Description:
Formulate design concepts and presentation approaches for visual productions and media,
such as print, broadcasting, video, and film. Direct workers engaged in artwork or
layout design.
Core tasks:
Work with creative directors to develop design solutions.
Present final layouts to clients for approval.
Manage own accounts and projects, working within budget and scheduling requirements.
Confer with creative, art, copywriting, or production department heads to discuss
client requirements and presentation concepts and to coordinate creative activities.
Quick facts:
Art Therapists
Art Therapists
* Data sampled April 2025. Visit the Art Therapists career profile for most current data.
$69,344 Median Salary
10.9% Projected Job Growth (2025-2032)
13 Job Postings
Description:
Plan or conduct art therapy sessions or programs to improve clients' physical, cognitive,
or emotional well-being.
Core tasks:
Observe and document client reactions, progress, or other outcomes related to art
therapy.
Design art therapy sessions or programs to meet client's goals or objectives.
Conduct art therapy sessions, providing guided self-expression experiences to help
clients recover from, or cope with, cognitive, emotional, or physical impairments.
Assess client needs or disorders, using drawing, painting, sculpting, or other artistic
processes.
Teach courses in drama, music, and the arts including fine and applied art, such as
painting and sculpture, or design and crafts. Includes both teachers primarily engaged
in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.
Core tasks:
Explain and demonstrate artistic techniques.
Evaluate and grade students' class work, performances, projects, assignments, and
papers.
Prepare students for performances, exams, or assessments.
Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.
Quick facts:
Graphic Designers
Graphic Designers
* Data sampled April 2025. Visit the Graphic Designers career profile for most current data.
$55,370 Median Salary
-2.5% Projected Job Growth (2025-2032)
248 Job Postings
Description:
Design or create graphics to meet specific commercial or promotional needs, such as
packaging, displays, or logos. May use a variety of mediums to achieve artistic or
decorative effects.
Core tasks:
Key information into computer equipment to create layouts for client or supervisor.
Review final layouts and suggest improvements, as needed.
Determine size and arrangement of illustrative material and copy, and select style
and size of type.
Develop graphics and layouts for product illustrations, company logos, and Web sites.
Quick facts:
Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators
Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators
Create original artwork using any of a wide variety of media and techniques.
Core tasks:
Use materials such as pens and ink, watercolors, charcoal, oil, or computer software
to create artwork.
Integrate and develop visual elements, such as line, space, mass, color, and perspective,
to produce desired effects, such as the illustration of ideas, emotions, or moods.
Confer with clients, editors, writers, art directors, and other interested parties
regarding the nature and content of artwork to be produced.
Maintain portfolios of artistic work to demonstrate styles, interests, and abilities.
Quick facts:
Photographers
Photographers
* Data sampled April 2025. Visit the Photographers career profile for most current data.
$39,394 Median Salary
-3.1% Projected Job Growth (2025-2032)
127 Job Postings
Description:
Photograph people, landscapes, merchandise, or other subjects. May use lighting equipment
to enhance a subject's appearance. May use editing software to produce finished images
and prints. Includes commercial and industrial photographers, scientific photographers,
and photojournalists.
Core tasks:
Adjust apertures, shutter speeds, and camera focus according to a combination of factors,
such as lighting, field depth, subject motion, film type, and film speed.
Create artificial light, using flashes and reflectors.
Transfer photographs to computers for editing, archiving, and electronic transmission.
Determine desired images and picture composition, selecting and adjusting subjects,
equipment, and lighting to achieve desired effects.
Quick facts:
For more information about starting your art and design education at Harper, please
contact Admissions Outreach at 847.925.6700.
Art & Design Program News
Get the latest news and updates from the Harper Art & Design department.
Student Juried Exhibition 2025
This annual exhibition includes works in various media and styles by students who have taken art courses throughout the year. Awards are provided by the Harper Educational Foundation.
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