The major philosophical hallmark of the CSULB College of the Arts (COTA) is an unshakable commitment to teaching theory and skills together - we treat them as an inseparable pair. We teach and create at CSULB under the belief that theory without skills or skills without theory both lead to weak art. Our students are challenged to hone their academic, analytical and observational minds while stretching and flexing their skills and talent in the studios and rehearsal rooms, on our stages, at the draft boards, on set, or in front of the computer. I hope you'll find the information and images you are looking for on our College and Department websites, but if not please give us a call or send us an e-mail. There's nothing we enjoy more than talking with students, parents, alumni, patrons and friends about what we do here.
The College of the Arts (COTA) at CSULB is California's largest and most comprehensive publicly funded school for the arts, with approximately 4,000 undergraduate and graduate majors. It includes the Departments of Art, Dance, Design, Film and Electronic Arts, and Theatre Arts,
as well
as the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music, the University Art Museum (UAM), and the Carpenter Performing Arts Center (CPAC).
The college features seven different performance venues seating 2,500 patrons, and multiple exhibition spaces offering more than 9,600 sq ft of designated areas for art and design installations and shows. These facilities annually house approximately 500 arts and arts-focused events, welcoming more than 150,000 audience members and exhibit visitors to the CSULB campus.
The Art Department is the largest department on the CSULB campus, and one of the largest visual arts programs in the country. More people study art and design at CSULB than at any other public university in the nation.
CSULB's Dance Program is regularly ranked among the top ten educational programs in the nation. Its impressive dance facilities include 93,000 sq. ft of studios and a 250-seat theatre. Because of the professional and personal ties of its highly experienced faculty, CSULB has been granted permission to restage works by Martha Graham and Twyla Tharp, a highly unusual honor for a university dance program.
The Design Department at Cal State Long Beach is recognized as one of the top design schools in the nation, with practical-hands on programs offered in Interior Architectural Design and Industrial Design. In 2010, three of our Interior Architectural students were among the five finalists in the F3 Student Furniture Design Competion. In 2008 Avery Holleman earned $20,000 and the Chairman's Award, selected by Bill Gates, in Microsoft's Next-Gen PC Design Competition.
The CSULB Film and Electronic Arts department is one of the strongest undergraduate training programs for undergraduate filmmakers in the nation. It is a regular top contributor to the annual CSU Media Festival.
The Bob Cole Conservatory of Music prides itself on the combination of practical and theoretical experience that its students receive in all areas of Music Performance, Music Education and Music Composition and Theory. The excellence of Music Department students and ensembles is regularly showcased on a national and international level: the CSULB Chamber Choir was recently invited to perform in Yale and Mexico City, the Wind Symphony regularly earns prestigious invitations to regional conferences and both the vocal and instrumental jazz ensembles earned the top prizes at the Next Generation Jazz Competition for colleges and universities, earning performance spots at the legendary Monterey Jazz Festival.
The Department of Theatre Arts at Cal State Long Beach is large, diverse and extremely active. Each year, 10 mainstage productions are presented, along with more than 20 student-produced one act "showcases." It is one of two programs in the nation that offers a joint MFA/MBA in Theatre Management. The other is Yale. California Repertory Company, the professional production arm of the graduate program, performs in the Royal Theatre aboard the Queen Mary, and has been repeatedly honored by local critics for the strength of its dramaturgy and ensembles.
The University Art Museum enjoyed unprecedented success and attention for its recent exhibition and examination of the visual art work of Brian Eno. Currently, the UAM is part of a multi-museum collaboration called Pacific Standard Time, an unprecedented series of concurrent exhibitions at museums throughout Southern California highlighting the post-World War II Los Angeles art scene. Exhibitions, funded through a series of grants from the Getty Foundation, will begin in 2011, and will include museum partners such as the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Long Beach Museum of Art, the Hammer Museum and many others.
The Carpenter Center is an elegant 1100-seat performance hall, with a 15-year tradition of outstanding arts and entertainment events presented by the University, guest artists, resident companies and the community at large. The eclectic roster of world-class artists who have performed at the Carpenter Center include Arturo Sandoval, Seth McFarlane, Garrison Keilor, Pilobolus, LA Opera, Musical Theatre West, The Vienna Boys Choir, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, John Cleese, Harry Shearer, Jane Fonda, Hal Holbrook and - of course - Richard Carpenter.
