The Watkins College of Art at Belmont offers a wide array of opportunities for students, including but not limited to:
- Internships: Our relationship to Nashville’s professional creative community is personal and rich. We will assist you with internship placement to ensure the experience is a good fit.
- Exhibitions: Four campus gallery spaces to professionally exhibit your work
- Research: Opportunities to present at campus wide research symposiums and professional conferences
- Kappa Pi: An international honorary art fraternity
- Awards: Watkins students are consistently juried into local, regional and national competitions, including AAF Student ADDY Awards and Graphics New Talent Annual
- Master class workshops: Students work with nationally and internationally recognized artists
Kappa Pi Members - Study Abroad: Semester, Maymester or Summer
- Belmont USA: Study away for a semester in alternate markets through Belmont in NYC, LA and Washington DC
- Summer residency awards: Helps cover the costs of students interning in large art markets outside of Nashville
- Partnerships: Interdisciplinary collaborations with other programs and organizations, such as Entrepreneurship, Belmont's Data Collaborative and more
All students in the Watkins College of Art are encouraged to participate in Belmont’s Study Abroad Program. Whether it be for a summer, fall or spring semester, or full academic year, we encourage you to immerse yourself in the language, culture and arts of the countries in which you visit. During study abroad, students have the opportunity to earn credits towards their major, minor or general education requirements. Study abroad experiences have long-term and short-term options, including our nationally recognized Maymester program. Maymester is a two-to-three week study abroad experience during the month of May where students can earn up to nine credit hours and take advantage of tuition discounts. Maymester trips are led by Belmont faculty members, thus enabling students to further connect with their faculty in a meaningful way.
You'll find a complete list of Belmont Study Abroad options here.
Past Watkins Study Abroad Trips
Italy, Japan, France, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Greece, Germany, Guatemala, England, Australia, China and Spain
For students wishing to remain stateside, the Belmont USA program offers semester-long programs in New York City, Los Angeles and Washington D.C. Students will stay in Belmont-affiliated housing, take classes from our professors and complete an internship. This provides excellent opportunities for students to build a network in these cities if they are considering moving post-graduation.
Outstanding students who are nominated by faculty are invited to join Kappa Pi, an international honorary art fraternity. Kappa Pi was founded over a century ago to recognize creativity, scholarship and talent in the visual arts. Belmont’s Eta Phi Chapter was established in 2010 under the guidance of its first student president Katie Boatman, with Professor Jim Meaders serving as the faculty sponsor from the Department of Art. Eta Phi was the 200th chapter inducted into the Kappa Pi fraternity enabling art majors to grow artistically as well as intellectually. Kappa Pi members operate the student-run Meaders Gallery, organize fundraisers and collaborate on projects to grow as artists and designers.
Nashville provides excellent opportunities for our students to find unique and meaningful internships that can lead to employment beyond graduation. Our professors connections within the industry have helped guide our students to success.
Watkins Students Past Internships- Frist Art Museum
- Universal Music Group
- Nashville Predators
- Sony Music
- Daybreak Arts
- Lifeway
- Red Arrow Gallery
- Metro Nashville Public Schools
- Target
- Billabong
- Redpepper
- Big Machine Label Group
- The Nashville Scene
- Country Music Hall of Fame
- Disney
- Cheekwood Botanical Gardens and Art Museum
- Native Magazine
- GS&F
- Third Man Records
And many more...
Gracie Stover | BFA in Art Education, 2018
“I went on a Maymester to Italy, and it is by far one of the best things I have ever done. We even did a weekend trip to Barcelona (yes, Spain for the weekend)! I still often reference history I learned or art I saw when I teach now. My major at Belmont was Art Ed, which is a hard program to get done in 4 years. My Maymester helped me knock out hours so that I didn’t have to take 18 credits per semester, which was a huge gift that I highly recommend you give yourself. It is truly one of the best decisions I ever made.”
Photography Students
Senior Art Crawl
Annual Exhibition and College Awards Reception