The University of Tampa’s strong commitment to the arts is demonstrated in its variety of degree programs and numerous on-campus opportunities for students to hone their craft. Off-campus, the University's downtown location puts it in the heart of Tampa’s arts and culture experience, within walking distance of the David A. Straz, Jr. Center for Performing Arts, Tampa Theatre, Tampa Museum of Art, Amalie Arena and many local galleries and performing arts venues.

Visual Arts

Art students pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree can specialize in drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, ceramics, photography, graphic design, digital arts and electronic media. The R.K. Bailey Art Studios provides a 30,000 square-foot space for students to work and houses the Scarfone/Hartley Gallery, which exhibits student and professional work, and the innovative STUDIO-f visiting artist program, bringing to campus prominent artists such as Louisa Chase, Ed Paschke and Audrey Flack.

Performing Arts

In the Department of Speech, Theatre and Dance’s musical theatre program students receive training and experience through participation in stage productions and dance events. Student productions take place at David Falk Theatre, a fully equipped, 1,000-seat historic theater built-in 1928. Recent works include The Importance of Being Earnest, Schoolhouse Rock and Into the Woods. Students also participate in the Spring Dance Concert, showcasing choreography by faculty and guests such as Ann Reinking (Fosse, Chicago) and Dave Clemmons (Les Miserables, Civil War), and Dance Happenings, in which student-choreographed works are performed at sites around campus.

Music

Music students have many opportunities to perform both on campus and throughout Tampa Bay. Performing ensembles include Collegiate Chorale, Opus, Wind Ensemble, Chamber Orchestra, Jazz Ensemble, Spartan Band and more. Numerous concerts, student recitals and other events are held throughout the year. The Department of Music is housed in the Ferman Music Center, a faculty-designed 11,000 square-foot facility featuring a digital recording studio as well as band and choral rehearsal rooms, private practice rooms, faculty studios and classrooms.

Film and Media Arts

One of the fastest-growing programs at UT, the Department of Film, Animation and New Media's Film and Media Arts degree gives students the opportunity to write, shoot, direct, produce and edit their own films using state-of-the-art equipment and production facilities. They learn from faculty whose films have been screened at the Cannes, Sundance and Toronto film festivals. The program frequently brings to campus Hollywood producers, directors and others to give UT film majors a real-world perspective on the film business. Students also have interned on several locally produced films.

Literary Arts

One of only 30 in the country, UT’s Bachelor of Arts in Writing degree prepares students for careers in creative or professional writing. In the creative writing concentration, students learn the art of fiction, poetry and drama have the opportunity to be published in Neon, the University's student literary magazine. Creative writing majors also benefit from the Writers at the University series, which brings celebrated, critically acclaimed authors such as Derek Walcott, Margaret Atwood and Li-Young Lee to campus to discuss their craft in person. In addition, the University publishes the Tampa Review, an award-winning international literary journal, featuring art, stories, interviews, poetry and creative nonfiction from across the state and around the world.