School

Sam Fox School, Washington University St. Louis

The Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis provides a rigorous education in architecture, art, and design with the outstanding collection of a world-class art museum and the unparalleled resources of a leading research university. Innovation and collaboration are at the core of our mission of interdisciplinary study and practice. We recognize that design and the visual arts play significant roles in inspiring solutions to social and environmental concerns and have formulated an educational model that is flexible and attuned to the global realities of our complex century.

With a nationally recognized faculty of artists, designers, architects, and scholars, we are a community committed to exploring the convergences of art, architecture, and design. Our students are responsive and responsible—engaged in applying the tools of our fields to effect positive change.

Whether you're a budding artist or an aspiring architect, the Sam Fox School has a place for you. We seek dedicated, passionate, and creative students to join our vital community of artists, architects, and designers. We offer robust programs across our four academic units: College of Art, College of Architecture, Graduate School of Art, and Graduate School of Architecture & Urban Design.

Head of School

Carmon Colangelo is the Dean of Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts

Carmon Colangelo joined the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts as its first dean in July 2006. As dean, Colangelo oversees the School's four academic units—the College of Art, College of Architecture, Graduate School of Art, and Graduate School of Architecture & Urban Design—as well as the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, home to one of the nation's finest university collections of modern art. Colangelo also serves as a member of the University Council and as the E. Desmond Lee Professor for Collaboration in the Arts.

A widely exhibited artist known for large mixed-media prints that combine digital and traditional processes, Colangelo's work has been featured in more than 20 solo shows and dozens of group exhibitions in Argentina, Canada, England, Italy, Korea, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and across the United States. His work has been collected by many of the nation's leading museums, including the National Museum of American Art in Washington, D.C., the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, the Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University, and the Saint Louis Art Museum.

From 1984 to 1996, Colangelo headed the Printmaking Department at West Virginia University and was named chair of the Division of Art in 1993. In 1997, he became director of the Lamar Dodd School of Art at the University of Georgia (Athens). Born in Toronto, Colangelo earned a BFA in Printmaking and Painting from the University of Windsor in Ontario in 1981 and an MFA in Printmaking from Louisiana State University in 1983.

Courses Overview

BFA Fashion Design

The BFA in Fashion Design provides practical experience designing for mass production, as well as one-of-a-kind pieces. Courses provide a working knowledge of industry standards and procedures, informed by history and current trends.

Life in St. Louis

Situated at the confluence of two great North American rivers — the Mississippi and the Missouri — the St. Louis region has been a favored destination since Lewis & Clark began their historic westward "Corps of Discovery" here in 1804.

Today, the pioneers of St. Louis are the engineers, scientists, business leaders, educators, artists and other innovative and creative professionals who are working at the forefront of a multitude of fields and endeavors. Thanks in large part to Washington University, other regional universities and key Fortune 500 corporations, St. Louis has developed into a national hub for important research and business development, especially in the fields of biotechnology and plant science.

Consistently ranked among the nation's most affordable and best places to live and raise families, the St. Louis region offers many opportunities to watch or participate in a wide range of sports, recreational activities and cultural events. Not far from St. Louis' urban core are the beautiful rolling hills of the Ozark Mountain region and outdoor activities such as hiking, canoeing and spelunking in some of Missouri's more than 6,000 caves.