Art Information

Art courses teach you problem solving and critical thinking skills. This can be a benefit to any career you choose and greatly enrich your life. At HCC, courses are led by professional artists in a studio atmosphere. They'll teach you the theories and fundamentals of design and help you critically assess your work. You will grow creatively by focusing on concept, technique, and invention.

• Heartland's McCauley Gallery showcases student and professional artwork throughout the year.
• You can take two years at Heartland and be on track to finish your Bachelor of Arts in Art in two years with the recommended program sequence.
• New and current students of art can apply for the Joe McCauley Art Scholarship.
• Art students are encouraged to exhibit their work both on-campus and in outside exhibitions.
• Heartland art facilities include painting and drawing studios, darkroom and digital photo labs, a state of the art Mac computer lab, a sculpture lab that includes a woodshop and foundry, a ceramics lab with both electric and gas fired kilns.
• Heartland Art Department has several 2 + 2 transfer agreements with ISU:
  • Graphic Design (PDF)
  • Ceramics (PDF)
  • Art Teacher Education (PDF)

• Art grads report high levels of employment and career satisfaction.*
• "Artists are highly entrepreneurial. More than 6 in 10 were self-employed and 14 percent founded their own company."*
• 80% of recent art graduates find a first job that's either "closely" or "somewhat" related to their education. (SNAAP)
• 65% of recent art alumni and 68% of distant art alumni continue to work in arts-related fields. (SNAAP)
• Even among those who don't work in the arts, over half still said their arts training is relevant to their job. (SNAAP)
• Arts graduates' starting salaries average around $38,400 according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers. That's comparable to most other liberal arts majors and even a little better than some fields, like psychology.
• Arts graduates tend to be happy with their choice. The 2014 SNAAP report found job satisfaction to be very high among both recent and prior graduates: 75% and 82%, respectively. Compared to Gallup's 2013 State of the American Workplace report finding that only 36% of executives, 34% of doctors, and 31% of teachers were engaged in their work.
• According to an IBM survey of more than 1,500 CEOs from 60 countries and 33 industries worldwide, business leaders believe that the most important skill for future success is creativity.

Resources
The Myth of the Starving Artist
SNAAP (Strategic National Arts Alumni Project: Tracking the Lives and Careers of Arts Graduates)
The Myth of the Starving Artist: 2017

• High arts involvement is related to finding a better job, earning degrees, and volunteering.
• Creativity is one of the top three personality traits most important to career success, according to U.S. employers.
• Teaching creativity develops critical thinking skills, engages students, and fosters innovation.
• In a survey of college educated, full-time employees, ages 25+, 85 percent agreed that creative thinking is critical for problem solving in their career. 71 say creative thinking should be taught as a course, like math and science. And, while 78 percent stated that creativity is very important to their career, only 57 percent thought so when they were in college.
• 72 percent of employers say creativity is of primary concern when they're hiring, yet 85 percent of these employers can't find the creative applicants they seek.
• Employers (56 percent) and superintendents (79 percent) agree that a college degree in the arts is the most significant indicator of creativity in a prospective job candidate.

High Arts Involvement is Related to Finding a Better Job (PDF)
Creativity is one of the Top Three Personality Traist for Career Success

An exciting variety of career opportunities exist for those with a background in the arts, including:

• Art Director
• Fine Artist
• Craft Artist
• Graphic Designer
• Web Designer
• Industrial Designer
• Interior Designer
• Multimedia Artist
• Animator
• Game Designer
• Special Effects Artist
• Gallery Director
• Museum Curator
• Architect
• Landscape Architect
• Photojournalist
• Photographer

Bureau of Labor Statistics

Earn your Heartland degree and transfer to a four-year college or university:

Associate in Arts - Concentration in Art

If you plan to complete the first two years of study at Heartland and then continue your studies as a Art major at a four-year institution in Illinois, the Associate in Arts (AA) transfer preparation program is the path for you.