College of the Arts

The College of the Arts (COTA) at California State University, Long Beach is a community. More than 3,000 majors and minors study within the College of the Arts, working with faculty, staff, and guest artists in the School of Art, the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music, and the departments of Dance, Design, Film and Electronic Arts, and Theatre Arts. Additionally, the Richard and Karen Carpenter Performing Arts Center and the Carolyn Campagna Kleefeld Contemporary Art Museum are valuable resources for the campus and Greater Long Beach region and are proudly part of the College of the Arts.

Academically, COTA has more than 100 full-time and 150 part-time faculty members allowing the College to offer nationally-recognized, accredited degree programs including:

• Bachelor of Art Degrees in Art, Dance, Design, Film and Electronic Arts, Music, and Theatre Arts
• Bachelor of Fine Arts Degrees in Art, Dance, Interior Design, and Theatre Arts
• Bachelor of Science Degrees in Industrial Design
• Bachelor of Music Degrees
• Master of Fine Arts Degrees in Art, Dance, and Theatre Arts
• Master of Arts Degrees in Art, Dance, and Design
• Master of Music Degrees
• MFA/MBA in Theatre Management
• Post-Baccalaureate Art Certificates in Museum Studies and Biomedical Illustration

Learning opportunities within the college reflect its commitment to the arts in all its forms. For students seeking a degree in the arts, COTA provides an environment designed for individual achievement in the context of a diverse, engaged community. Curriculum and classroom experiences are strategically crafted to honor and acknowledge tradition, history, and the evolution of art forms while also encouraging unique, singular voices, disruption of norms, and innovative creativity. At the core of our mission is an appreciation of all cultures and art forms, and acknowledgement of their lasting value to the quality of life.

The Carolyn Campagna Kleefeld Contemporary Art Museum and the Richard and Karen Carpenter Performing Arts Center are vital and  important campus and community partners - allowing students as well as the larger campus and Greater Long Beach communities access to world class arts experiences. The college as a whole is a regional resource for arts and cultural events, showcases, guest lectures, and accessible, innovative artistic expression.

The CSULB College of the Arts Community Pledge in Support of Black Lives Matter

As artists/educators/scholars/colleagues within the CSU System we accept the vital responsibility entrusted to us to create educational constructs for future members of the arts community.  We prepare our students not only to explore and reconceive ideologies within their chosen disciplines, but through their art to shape, impact and remold our communities and culture.

We acknowledge that our society is founded on a complex system of racism and anti-Blackness, which continues to disproportionately perpetuate negative outcomes for Black students, Black educators, and Black artists as well as indigenous people and people of color. The impact and damage of anti-Blackness in America, while increasingly visible in this moment, have been present for the past 400 years. The consequence of this systematic racism is that the unique and necessary achievements of Black people and people of color often go unrecognized, co-opted or muted. Black students, artists and educators are too often “othered” -- made to feel unwelcome, and unsupported. They find their work, their experiences, and their concerns trivialized or ignored in public university settings.  This is wrong.  

Black students matter.  

Black artists matter.  

Black communities matter.  

Black educators matter.  

Black colleagues matter.

Individually and as an organization, we are committed to actions that reinforce statements condemning anti-Black racism and its impact on the arts, art education, and society in general. We commit to doing the work that actively demonstrates that Black Lives Matter. We pledge to:  

• Listen to and hear our Black colleagues, students, artists, and community members; recognize their experiences, and validate their concerns;
• Continue to work on unlearning the impact of anti-Blackness and racism in our own lives and practices by holding one another accountable for our actions and words; 
• Acknowledge the privilege -unearned advantage- that exist for many of us and use it to advocate for and with our Black colleagues, students, artists, and community members;
• Support policies that advocate for social equality and intentionally work to diversify our staff and faculty 
• Find ways to respect, highlight, and learn from the work of Black students, artists, and educators. Find ways to respect, highlight, and learn from the work of students, artists, and educators of color and communities that have been traditionally “othered.”

By taking these initial steps, as individuals and as an organization, we can begin the work of dismantling anti-Black racism and oppression that exists in our communities, in our university, and in the arts in America. We pledge to elevate Black voices and the voices of people of color by recognizing their current and historic arts and cultural achievements, encouraging our students to explore artwork by Black artists and other people of color, and by hosting community dialogues regarding the future of the arts. We pledge to challenge anti-Black discourses and policies that continue to harm Black artists, Black students, Black educators, Black colleagues and, by extension, our society at large