Art Teacher Education
Overview
The overall goal of the Art Teacher Education sequence in the Wonsook Kim School of Art is to prepare the next generation of art educators who promote a high level of competence and integrity in the practice of their profession. The Art Teacher Education sequence prepares students to teach art in the elementary, middle, and secondary schools.
Participants are involved in both academic and practical experiences throughout the sequence of coursework. These experiences are selected to prepare future art teachers to relate to the diverse needs and interests of children and adolescents. Contemporary philosophic issues such as visual culture, post-structuralism, and postmodernism are addressed. Also stressed are creative and critical thinking, studio techniques, technology, understanding the learner, and developing skills to become an effective teacher.
Students completing the Art Teacher Education sequence are eligible to apply for special K-12 teaching certification in art in the state of Illinois.
Point of Pride
Illinois State’s Art Teacher Education program touts a job placement rate close to 100%.
Why study Art Teacher Education?
After graduation, Wonsook Kim School of Art students take on a variety of careers as artists, curators, designers, educators, critics, scholars, conservators and writers. Our alumni continue to be a part of the Wonsook Kim School of Art after they leave campus, and we continue to harness professional relationships and networking connections between them and our current students.How to Apply
Applying to Illinois State
New freshmen will initially apply to the Art major. Students interested in this sequence will submit a five-piece admissions portfolio through their My.IllinoisState.edu portal upon the University accepting the admissions application. After being admitted to the Wonsook Kim School of Art, students interested in the Art Education sequence will then be asked for more specific information to gain admission to the sequence.
Digital Portfolio Requirements
Students seeking to major in Art must submit a digital portfolio for review directly to the Wonsook Kim School of Art. Once you have submitted your completed application for admission to Illinois State, you may upload your portfolio through your portal. Your portfolio will be considered in relation to all other admission materials, including SAT/ACT scores and prior college-level coursework. Each review session lasts approximately three weeks. At the end of that time, decision letters will be emailed to the student. Decisions will not be available over the telephone. Late portfolios will be considered, but you must submit to one of the official deadlines in order to be considered for Wonsook Kim School of Art scholarships.
When ready, upload all necessary materials through your portal. Along with your application, your digital portfolio must include:
- Indexed list of five artworks
- Include the title, description, medium, and size of each artwork on the list, identify each with the same number as the filename.
- Five artworks that you consider to be your best work in any medium.
- File Name: identify each image with name and number (e.g., Redbird-001.jpg; Redbird-002.jpg)
- Any necessary URLs (including YouTube and Vimeo)
- URLs may be embedded into the index or included separately.
Make sure that the artwork is squared in the viewfinder, is well-lit, and in focus. It is important to record color and exposure accurately, so be sure to set the proper camera white balance and exposure for the lighting conditions—consult your camera manual if you need assistance. Eliminate distracting backgrounds by filling the viewfinder as much as possible with the artwork without cropping the artwork itself. Use a neutral cloth or wall as a backdrop. If these cannot be controlled, then you are encouraged to carefully crop out any distracting background in a photo editing program. Accurate and simple representations of your artworks are paramount.
Transfer students: Work submitted should reflect college-level art classes already taken.