Experiential and Artistic Opportunities in the Creative Arts

In 2021, Stetson University received a $14 million gift from the estate of Ms. Antoinette LaValle.  Part of this money established an endowment to support full-tuition scholarships for students majoring in the Creative Arts, including Studio Art, Digital Arts, Museum and Curatorial Studies, or Theatre Arts.  LaValle Scholar-Artists applicants need to demonstrate a passion for honing their talent in a liberal arts setting, with application materials establishing that the applicant has tremendous potential to interpret the world around them and to communicate that interpretation through their chosen field. 

First-time in college or transfer students majoring in any of the Creative Arts who are awarded the LaValle Scholarship are eligible for up to four years of this full-tuition scholarship. The LaValle Scholarship is one of Stetson University's Premier Programs.

LaValle Scholarship

In 2021, Stetson University received a $14 million gift from the estate of Ms. Antoinette LaValle.  Part of this money was designated as an endowment to support the experiential learning, scholarly work, and creative practice of current students in the Creative Arts Department.  This means that the original amount will sit untouched as it generates income that can be awarded to students as small grants of up to $2000 per year per student.  This money can be used to cover costs associated with senior projects or similar scholarly and creative work.  Faculty can also apply for LaValle funding to support experiential learning opportunities in their classes.

CURRENT STUDENTS:

To receive LaValle funding, you must apply!  Your faculty mentor can help you with editing your proposal, but you must take the initiative to get the process started.  Click here for the LaValle ELF - Student Application form

FACULTY:

Click here for the LaValle ELF - Faculty Application form  (Note: in order to see the visiting artist budget rubric embedded in the form, you must be logged into your OneDrive.)

Ann West Hall was a studio artist who graduated from Stetson with a BA in Studio Art.  Through her generous estate planning, upon her death Stetson University received funds to establish several endowments to support the arts at Stetson.

VISITING ARTIST FUND

One of the Ann West Hall endowments supports bringing visiting artists to campus (either in person of virtually) to enrich the arts curriculum.  Faculty across the Creative Arts brings in many practicing artists to campus to give artist talks, demonstrations, student studio visits and critiques, and presentations.  Many of these opportunities are open not only to students in class but also to the greater Stetson community.  Faculty can apply for this funding here:  Ann West Hall Visiting Artist funding application.  (Note: in order to see the visiting artist budget rubric embedded in the form, you must be logged into your OneDrive.)

PURCHASE AWARDS

Another of the Ann West Hall endowments supports purchasing student art for accession into the Stetson University Permanent Art Collection. 

There are two student exhibitions every year, hosted by the Hand Art Center.  In the second half of the fall semester, the Hand Art Center sponsors the Juried Student Art Exhibition which is open to all students at Stetson.  The Creative Arts Department faculty are able to use funds from this AWH endowment to purchase art from this all-student show. 

In the spring semester, the Hand Art Center works with the seniors in Studio Art and Digital Arts and their faculty to host the senior exhibition.  The senior exhibition has grown such that the student's work is showcased on several sites around campus in addition to the galleries in the Hand Art Center.  The Creative Arts Department faculty are able to use funds from this AWH endowment to purchase art from the senior show.

Purpose: The College of Arts and Sciences Dean's Office awards undergraduate students modest supplemental grants to help support their scholarly and creative activities, such as work associated with their senior projects or similar scholarly and creative endeavors by seniors; joint proposals are welcome.

Amount of awards: The Dean's Fund awards no set amount, but $500 should be considered a large award. The amount awarded depends, in part, on the nature, purpose, and amount of the request. Students are expected to contribute to their own professional development and are expected to assume 1/3 of the costs associated with their request. The department of the student's major should also contribute at least 1/3 of the costs. If possible, the student should seek funding from other sources, such as a Stetson Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) grant or an honor society. The Dean's Fund will support no more than one proposal per academic year for each student.

Timing of awards: Grants are awarded on a rolling basis. Typically, applicants receive notification within three weeks from when the student's faculty mentor completes the faculty mentor evaluation form. Dean's Funding approval must be obtained prior to any proposed purchases. Any funds awarded will be distributed to the student as a reimbursement of actual expenses for approved expenditures with proper documentation (e.g., original, itemized receipts) after the student has submitted the appropriate documentation.

Application for Dean's Funding can be found here.

CREA Critique Guidelines

Critiques are an essential part of the learning process in the Creative Arts Department. During critiques, students present work that is complete or still in progress and receive feedback from their peers and instructor. To ensure critiques are productive for everyone, students are expected to follow these guidelines:

• Come prepared to present work that reflects genuine effort. Critique is most valuable when the work presented demonstrates thoughtful engagement with the assignment. Submitting rushed or minimally developed work limits meaningful feedback and reduces the value of the experience for the entire class.
• Be actively engaged throughout every presentation. Critique is not a time to tune out when your own work is not being discussed. Feedback offered to others often raises questions and ideas that can improve your own creative practice.
• Maintain a culture of mutual respect. Productive critique depends on trust, professionalism, and a shared commitment to helping one another improve as artists and creators.
• Create space for creative risk-taking. Students should feel comfortable experimenting, trying new approaches, and making mistakes. Critiques should support growth and exploration, not discourage it.
• Provide constructive, specific, and respectful feedback. Focus on the work rather than the individual. When discussing works in progress, emphasize suggestions that can help strengthen and develop the project before its final form.
• Listen to feedback openly and professionally. Presenting students should be prepared to consider feedback thoughtfully, even when it challenges their assumptions or creative decisions.
• Respect the privacy of the critique process. Work shared in class may not yet be ready for public viewing. Do not photograph, record, distribute, repost, or otherwise share another student's work outside the classroom without their explicit permission.

The FIEA Undergraduate Summer Research Experience fosters collaboration between intellectually motivated Stetson students and the University of Central Florida's Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy graduate game-development program.

If you are interested in studying and immersing yourself in any aspect of game-development, interactive entertainment or simulation, you should consider this experience. It is designed to provide Stetson students with access to the facilities, curriculum, faculty and students found at FIEA's downtown Orlando campus. These facilities include FIEA's motion capture studio, recording studio, sound stage, concept rooms, VR/AR labs and game room.

Selected students are exposed to the latest game-development processes for producers, artists and programmers and are expected to pursue a self-designed research project (similar in format and scope to Stetson University's ;SURE program). Some of the potential areas that this research project could explore include real-time modeling and animation, audio and sound engineering, virtual reality, storytelling, mobile programming, production management, and general game design. The student will have a coordinator as faculty mentor to oversee and assist in any observational studies.

Complete information and application can be found here.

The Hand Art Center is Stetson's art museum. Located on the Palm Court, nestled between Sampson Hall and the duPont-Ball Library, the Hand Art Center (HAC) is home to the University's permanent art collection and extraordinary collection of works by Oscar Bluemner, the Hand Art Center houses two student exhibitions each year, including an all student exhibit in the fall and the senior exhibition in the spring.  There is a Bluemner exhibit each semester, and the other gallery spaces include a variety of exhibits throughout the year, and coupled with an array of programming, the Hand Art Center hosts a wide array of cultural credit opportunities for current students. The Hand Art Center is staffed by a full-time director and a student staff, allowing students the opportunity to be involved in all aspects of museum operations.

The Hand Art Center and other close museums including, but not limited to, the University Archives, the Gillespie Museum on campus, the Museum of Art DeLand, and the African American Museum of the Arts in DeLand, provide unique, hands-on opportunities for our Museum and Curatorial Studies students to learn about collection management and museum operations.

Stetson University's Hand Art Center is home to the University's extensive collection of works by Oscar Bluemner.  Donated by the artist's daughter, Vera Bluemner Kouba, Stetson University holds over 1000 pieces in our extraordinary Bluemner Collection.  The curator of the collection is Dr. Katya Kudryavtseva, Associate Professor of Art History and Program Director of Museum and Curatorial Studies. 

Stetson Showcase is a celebration of achievement that was established to foster an appreciation for academic excellence at Stetson University. Student presenters share their research through presentations, portfolios, posters, readings, music and theater performances, art shows, and multimedia work. They present their programs in professional settings for audiences that include judges, faculty, fellow students and interested members of the community.

All Stetson students are eligible to take part in the Stetson Showcase. Any classroom project/paper, summer internship results, senior project, recital performance, artwork, short story, poetry or other academic topic is eligible for presentation.

Complete information and application can be found here.

https://www.stetson.edu/administration/registrar/The Stetson Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) is a signature program that fosters excellence in research and creative activity. The centerpiece of the program is an eight-week research-intensive experience where each student works on an individual project under the mentorship of a Stetson University faculty member. In addition to the summer experience, students present their research findings and outcomes at various venues throughout the subsequent year. The overarching goal of the program is to develop informed graduates equipped with skills and dispositions to tackle complex challenges. Each year undergraduate scholars are selected through a university-wide competition to work with a faculty mentor on a summer research project.

Complete information and application can be found here.

In addition to the assorted information listed above on this webpage, additional resources available to Stetson students includes:

The duPont-Ball Library:

Large poster printing is available at the duPont-Ball Library

Students interested in exploring more creative opportunities should definitely check out the Innovation Lab in the Library.

Student Support Services can be found here: 

• Academic Advising, Academic Success, Tutoring are all available in the Hollis Family Student Sucess Center (duPont-Ball Library):  [email protected]  |  386-822l7345 - The Writing Center is located elsewhere in the Library
• Accessibility Services:  [email protected]  |  386.822.7127
• Information Technology (IT) Support:  [email protected] | 386.822.7271
• Registrar’s Office:  https://www.stetson.edu/administration/registrar/  | [email protected]  |  386.822.7140
• Residential Living & Learning:  [email protected]  |  386.822.7201
• Student Accounts/Bursar:  [email protected]  |  386.822.7050
• Student Financial Aid:  [email protected]  | 386.822.7120
• Student Counseling Center:  Griffith Hall |  386.822.8900 (in an emergency, please call 911!)
• Student Health Services:  [email protected]  |  386-822-8150

OR search the Stetson University website’s A-Z index: https://www.stetson.edu/other/search/

Remember to include/have ready your student ID number (800#)  🤠

The Studio Art Program has a number of studios: Drawing, Painting, Ceramics, Sculpture - all of which are available 24/7 for students who are enrolled in any of our studio classes.  Additionally, the Duncan Studio is our advanced student studio where seniors and some other advanced students are given permission to set up their own space\ for the year; students who are given space in Duncan are also give permission to be in their spaces 24/7.  Unfortunately, we are not able to allow students not-enrolled in studio art classes to use the studio spaces.

Studio Art also has established course fees for the studio art courses, which means students have all the materials they need as soon as their first class!   Additionally, generally speaking, Studio Art classes do not require any textbooks.

• What is a course fee?

A course fee ranging from $65-125 will automatically be added to your student account for enrolled Studio Art courses. Applicable course fees will be listed in the Catalog. Below is a chart showing course fees for Fall 2026 and Spring 2027. This fee covers all supplies required for the course.

• Why are course fees being added?

Course fees allow us to pre-purchase supplies, ensuring every student has access to supplies on day one of class, without shipping delays. Adding course fees to student accounts means financial aid can be applied without waiting for a refund check. Purchasing in bulk reduces cost, meaning you will pay less (ex: The course fee for Painting I is $125. To purchase the same supplies independently is $160+.)

• Will I need to purchase any supplies?

Your instructor may provide a list of recommended supplies, or you may want to supplement provided supplies, based on your own preferences and project ideas. However, there is no expectation that you will purchase additional supplies for the course. 

• What supplies will I get?

For drawing and painting courses, you will receive a course kit that is yours to keep. It is expected that you keep and bring supplies from intro-level courses to upper-division courses (ex: your brushes and leftover paint from Painting I will be used again in Painting II). The course kit will be supplemented with bulk supplies and tools available to students in the studio. For 3D courses, all supplies and tools are provided and available to students in the studio.

• What happens if I drop the class?

If you drop a class during the add/drop period, your course fee will be refunded. If you received a course kit, you must return it. For late drops, there is no refund.

• Can I opt out of the course fee and purchase my own supplies?

No. 

• Will other CREA courses have fees?

For Academic Year 2026-2027, only Studio Art courses have fees. 

• Who can I contact with questions?

Your Studio Art course instructor or Associate Chair of the Creative Arts Department, Luca Molnar <[email protected]>.
Questions about your student bill should be directed to the Office of the Bursar <[email protected]>.

The Digital Arts Program subscribes annually to over 40 different software packages used across the Digital Arts classes.  These are all available on a 24/7 basis to in our DIGA labs to all sudents enrolled in any DIGA class.  

Digital Arts also has some specialized advanced studios: Blackbox for Photography and Video, Interactivity Studio, Large Format Printing, and the Greene Sound Studio.  These spaces are also available 24/7 to students in specific classes.  Faculty in those classes will give out the lock codes to students as/when appropriate.

Digital Arts collaborates with the duPont-Ball Library in providing equipment that Digital Arts students can borrow for their class projects.  The complete list is available on the Library's page which details the equipment and the check-out policies for this equipment.

Incoming students and their families often ask what kind of computer an entering student should buy to support their work as a digital artist.  While the software we have available can often run on either a PC or a Mac, the lab computers and faculty all use Macs, so students may wish to get an iMac so they're used to the iOS operating system. What, specifically, should you get?  Here's advise from Dr. Wolek, chair of Creative Arts:  "The biggest thing I stress is this: don't expect a computer you buy before your first semester to be powerful enough when you are doing senior project. It's better to get more entry-level model now (MacBook Air or Neo) and plan for a more robust update around Junior year (MacBook Pro). There is also related tools like cameras and audio recorders. We provide these too, but by the time they graduate, students will typically buy some gear for themselves. Try out our equipment first, then decide what you want to buy.  Maybe the best conversation parents and student can have is about setting a reasonable budget and talking through expectations about who pays for what. Something that you should get is a good hard drive to back up your work."  Reach out to us if you have any questions: [email protected] 

Theatre Conferences:

Florida Theatre Conference (FTC)

SoutheasternTheatre Conference (SETC)

United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT)

Funding support may be possible through the LaValle Experiential Learning Fund or other sources.  For more information, contact any of the Theatre Arts faculty or email [email protected].