Virginia Tech

Visualizing the Future.

The School of Visual Arts (SOVA) at Virginia Tech offers an expansive undergraduate education in fine art, art history, visual and digital design, embracing contemporary and traditional techniques. Through our Studio Art and Visual Communication Design Programs we offer an inclusive approach toward educating artists, implementing new and established technologies in analog and virtual realms that are uniquely available at Virginia Tech. Through our Art History program we educate students in analytical skills necessary to place visual culture in its broader historical context. Our goal is to provide the Commonwealth and the larger world with talented, imaginative, and diverse individuals who interface creatively and positively with the society of the 21st Century.

Image provided by Kyle Kim

Welcome to SOVA

The School of Visual Arts (SOVA) sustains and promotes the visual arts through the creative activities and scholarly research of its faculty. Collectively the faculty provides practical instruction, research and outreach reflecting a comprehensive knowledge of the history and theory of art and design. A principal goal of the school is to further develop new programs and interdisciplinary collaborations within and beyond the university. In its curriculum and administration, the department affirms the vital link of the studio artist's knowledge of traditions, materials and media, the visual designer's connection to technology and concept development, and the art historian's understanding of our links to past and contemporary cultures. Our programs unite to serve students in their quest to become productive, progressive and creative forces in society.

The School of Visual Arts at Virginia Tech prepares undergraduates to enter visual design professions and graduate programs in the visual arts and visual culture.  We foster improvement and advances in facilities, equipment and critical technologies for students and faculty.  We engage Art and Design alumni as vital and contributing constituents of the community. The school serves the public sector, regionally, nationally, and internationally through events, exhibitions, internships, competitions, workshops, and courses that nourish and renew the vitality of art and design. 

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