Carnegie Mellon University
The Arts at Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon’s arts ecosystem is built around its prestigious College of Fine Arts (CFA), one of the nation’s first comprehensive arts training institutions. Across the School of Art, the School of Drama, the School of Music, the School of Architecture, and the Entertainment Technology Center (ETC), CMU cultivates a uniquely integrative arts environment.
At the School of Art, more than 50,000 sq ft of 2D, 3D, and media-specific facilities include drawing/painting studios, print labs, sculpture and wood/metal shops, digital fabrication and physical computing labs, photography darkrooms, chroma-key and multimedia studios. Exhibition spaces such as the student-run Frame Gallery and Ellis Gallery, as well as the prestigious Miller ICA in Purnell Center, offer students hands-on experience curating contemporary, socially responsive shows.
Performance arts are equally robust. The School of Drama supports both curricular and extracurricular theatre through programs like Scotch’n’Soda Theatre, empowering students to direct and produce in campus studios. Campus-wide technical‑arts innovation thrives through IDeATe (Integrative Design, Arts, and Technology), which coordinates minors and collaborative labs in areas like Game Design, Animation & Special Effects, Sonic Arts, Physical Computing, Immersive Technologies, and Intelligent Environments. Its fabrication shop, media labs, motion‑capture space, and black‑box studio in Hunt Library foster cross-college project-based learning. Music is supported through diverse CFA ensembles, performance labs, and a dedicated School of Music, while the Arts Management and Technology Laboratory (AMT-Lab) blends arts administration research with innovation in journalistic tools and organizational platforms.
Overall, Carnegie Mellon offers a comprehensive and integrative arts infrastructure, melding rigorous studio practice, performance, and exhibition with technology, media, and civic innovation. Through world‑class facilities, interdisciplinary networks, and public-facing programs, CMU prepares creative leaders fluent in both artistic inquiry and applied innovation.
