You Belong Here
So much is in store for you at Lesley University! Now that you’ve been accepted, RSVP for our exclusive celebration for new undergraduate and Threshold students for Saturday, April 27.
raizes gallery with crowd of students

First-year Experience

The First Year Experience is more than just the Core Curriculum. During your first year you will learn new skills, develop your aesthetic awareness, and begin a journey of artistic and intellectual discovery. The work you complete throughout your first year will provide the basis for your future career in the visual arts. It is about learning who you are as an artist in the deepest way possible. Bring your passion to everything you do this year.

Four courses comprise the core curriculum at the College of Art and Design: Drawing Intensive, 3-D Concepts, Visual Culture Seminar, and Image in Context. The curriculum balances technique building with critical thinking and making. Participating in the core curriculum creates community and a shared experience for all new students.

Seeing and Doing

Being a College of Art and Design student comes with advantages – from the state-of-the-art facilities of the Lunder Arts Center to the rich communities of Cambridge and Boston right outside our front door. You will enjoy festive openings and view cutting-edge art at all three of the College of Art and Design’s exhibition spaces: the Roberts, Raizes, and VanDernoot Galleries. Artwork by faculty, students, and alumni are always featured on the walls here, providing both inspiration and a space to slow down and observe. Exciting field trips to New York City and MassMoCA, and attending First Friday Gallery Openings in Boston augment the rigorous experience inside the classroom. Your student ID secures you free admission to the Harvard Art Museums (Fogg, Busch-Reisinger, and Arthur M. Sackler), the Peabody Museum of Archeology and Ethnography at Harvard University, the Institute of Contemporary Art, The Museum of Fine Arts, MIT’s List Visual Art Center, as well as other perks.