What You’ll Learn

All students majoring in art at Vermont State start in the B.A. in Fine Arts program. You will gain a strong foundation in a variety of artistic disciplines, including drawing, sculpture, media arts and art history.  

If you continue with the B.A. in art, you will select a concentration in either studio arts, media arts, photography, or art history. The Studio Arts concentration allows you to explore a variety of mediums while Media Arts and Photography are more focused. The Art History concentration allows you to focus more intently on historical and contemporary works by other artists. Each concentration has a senior portfolio or capstone project as a culmination of your studies. 

Outside the Classroom, In the Community

Art is meant to be shared. As a student, you’ll find abundant opportunities to reach beyond campus to build your resumé, network within the larger art community, and display your work: 

• Showcase your work at regional galleries such as The Castleton University Bank Gallery, the Christine Price Gallery and the Calvin Coolidge Library Gallery on the Castleton campus, The Quimby Gallery on the Lyndon campus, and the Visual Arts Center on the Johnson Campus. 
• Visit major cities to soak up arts and culture. You might travel to Boston or New York City for lessons in art history with your senior seminar. 
• Expand your community with the Student Art Club, a student organization, which sponsors visiting artists, film series, studio visits, and collaborative projects as well as trips. 
• Engage with world-class art within easy reach at venues such as the Hood Museum, Williams College Museum, Clark Museum, Mass MOCA, Middlebury College Museum, and Fleming Museum, to name a few. 
• Work as an assistant for local and regional artists and intern in galleries, museums, art organizations, public relations firms, graphic design firms, and professional studios. 
• Study abroad to fuel your creativity by exposure to art and culture in another country. Art students have studied in Canada, China, England, Greece, Holland, India, Ireland, Italy, Nepal, South Korea, Tibet and more. 

Special Facilities

You’ll find professional art facilities at each of our three campuses that host our Fine Arts program.  

• Castleton: Explore a variety of artistic mediums with major studio workspaces in the Fine Arts Center dedicated to printmaking, painting, sculpture and ceramics, drawing, and photography. The Wooldridge House provides a unique venue for woodworking, welding, carving, and outdoor sculpture installations. It also houses dedicated studio space for art majors to work on independent projects.  
• Johnson campus: Enjoy a hub of artistic endeavor in the Visual Arts Center. The large facility houses multiple studios for painting, printmaking, ceramics, sculpture, woodworking, and photography. You’ll also find a computer lab for digital art, a quiet room for focused study, a dedicated community art room, and two public art galleries. 
• Lyndon campus: Get the space you need to work on your projects with two well-equipped art studios. The Quimby Gallery is an active exhibition venue for students, faculty, and visiting artists

What You’ll Learn 

During the Creative Writing B.F.A. program at Vermont State, you’ll develop in three distinct areas that combine to give you a great foundation for many career directions. 

• As a creative writer: You’ll practice the craft in a number of genres with the support and mentorship of experienced faculty who will help you hone your style. By the time you graduate, you will have created a nearly book-length manuscript in your genre of choice. 
• As a reader: You’ll grow in your ability to analyze, interpret, savor, and explain literature. Your study of theory and close reading of texts will broaden and sharpen your thinking in any context. 
• As a professional: You’ll gain experience with the basic elements of production and publishing, including using the modern tools of digital media. You will understand how to make a living as a writer or editor in areas like journalism, marketing, and publishing. 

Outside the Classroom, In the Community 

As a student in the program, you’ll get to share your writing and engage in the production and publishing process through: 

• The Green Mountains Review: This award-winning literary magazine publishes poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, literary essays, interviews, and book reviews by both well-known writers and promising newcomers. In one of your required courses, you’ll work with fellow students over the course of a semester to produce an issue of the journal. This means that, before you even graduate, you will have your name on the masthead of a journal cited as one of the top literary magazines in New England. 
• Pamplemousse: Choose to work on our undergraduate student literary journal and learn to do everything from writing and editing work for publication to soliciting submissions and meeting publication deadlines. Pamplemousse publishes high-quality, forward-thinking, innovative, and well-crafted writing in many genres and styles. 

Internships: Gain industry experience, forge career connections, and enhance your skills for the job market during a summer internship placement.

Special Facilities

• The perfect setting:​ Fuel your inspiration and find creative solitude in the picturesque mountains, forests, and valleys of Vermont.  
• Digital labs: Take your creativity into the 21st century. Get access to computer labs where you’ll find iMacs equipped with Adobe Creative Suite and other digital media tools. 

What You’ll Learn 

As a Vermont State Theater Arts student, you’ll learn the following to set the stage for success in your career:  

• Watch Top-Level Theater: Each year, our Theater Arts students spend a week in either New York City or London to catch some shows on Broadway or in the West End.   
• Gain Confidence in Competition: Students participate in the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival in contests for acting, stage management, and different types of design.  
• Become a Lifelong Learner: You’ll see the value of learning from your peers, asking questions, and taking a bold approach to innovation in your career.  

Outside the Classroom, In the Community 

Our Theater Arts students think and do. You’ll have options for internships and jobs to strengthen your skills. And you’ll create a network of theater professionals in Vermont and beyond. Some of those experts may become longtime mentors for you in your career.   
 
We’ll give you the space to dream, with the support of our close community.

Special Facilities

• A Real Stage: The John and Susan Casella Theater at Vermont State Castleton is a 484-seat proscenium-style theater. In this “laboratory,” students work with a range of leading-edge technical features, including a fly system, intelligent lighting, concert sound capabilities, high-quality recording equipment, and more. 
• The Black Box Theater is a small, intimate performance space, which seats up to 60 audience members. It is primarily dedicated to student production and studio work. 

What You’ll Learn

Vermont State’s dental hygiene bachelor’s degree program gives you thorough training with advanced knowledge that goes beyond the typical associate degree in the field to provide maximum career flexibility after graduation. 

Effective care as a hygienist is built on a solid understanding of the underlying science as it relates to health. You’ll gain this understanding through courses including Human Anatomy & Physiology, Elements of Microbiology, and Introductory Chemistry. 

Then you’ll master the concepts and techniques particular to dental hygiene, reinforcing what you’re learning and gaining experience through extensive clinical practice beginning in your first year.   

Finally, you’ll explore areas like public health, education, management, and psychology that will both enhance your ability to provide holistic care and expand your knowledge for broader career opportunities, including non-clinical dental hygiene jobs.  

Outside the Classroom, In the Community

From your first year, you’ll be serving and interacting with members of the local community in our on-campus clinic. 

In our Mobile Dental Lab, you’ll take your skills to local schools and care facilities to provide vital oral health care to those who need it most.

Special Facilities

• Dental Hygiene Clinic: Help provide affordable and accessible dental care to the surrounding community while honing your skills through clinical practice in our well-equipped 22-chair on-campus facility.  
• Molar Mobile Dental Lab: Take your skills out into the community, providing basic dental care at schools, at managed care facilities, and with our mobile clinic.   

The A.S. portion of the degree, focused on clinical practice, is accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA). 

What You’ll Learn

The Dental Hygiene bachelor’s degree online program builds on your associate degree in dental hygiene to expand your knowledge and skills for wider career opportunities.  

In your courses, you’ll explore topics like public health, education, dental practice management, sales, and research to both expose you to the rich variety of opportunities in the field and to build competencies that will prepare you to take advantage of them. 

You will also build knowledge in areas like psychology that will empower you to provide better, more holistic care to the patients you serve.  

The exact courses you will need to take will depend upon which credits transfer from your previous college coursework.

What You’ll Learn 

Vermont State’s Electromechanical Engineering Technology degree program takes a unique, interdisciplinary approach to bridge the traditional gap between engineering disciplines. It prepares you to bring skills and knowledge from both mechanical and electrical engineering to bear in solving challenges in the modern design and manufacturing context. 

In your first two years, you’ll follow the associate in engineering curriculum for either mechanical engineering technology or electrical engineering technology.  

During your third and fourth years, you’ll take advanced courses in both disciplines while continuing to build your skills in math and areas like mechanical drawing and computer modeling. A concentration will give you extra exposure to the area opposite to that of your associate degree. (For example, if your associate degree was in mechanical engineering technology, your concentration will be in electrical.) 

You’ll also complete a robust, team-based final design project that will give you the chance to bring everything you are learning together to tackle a real design challenge. 

Outside the Classroom, In the Community 

As an electromechanical engineering technology student at Vermont State, your fourth-year team design project will give you the chance to unleash your creativity and test your abilities on a real-world challenge of your choosing.  

Recent student teams have created a device to gather data from a surfboard and developed a robot-controlled foosball table.  

Special Facilities 

As you earn your electromechanical engineering technology degree, you’ll get lots of hands-on experience with the technologies used in the analysis, design, and manufacturing of electrical and mechanical components in our electrical and mechanical labs.  

Equipment available includes oscilloscopes, function generators, soldering stations, power supplies, 3D printers, PC board fabrication, machining tools, testing equipment, and computer workstations.   

This program is accredited by the Engineering Technology Accreditation Commission of ABET.  

What You’ll Learn

You’ll learn the knowledge and skills necessary to solve complex engineering problems with precision and efficacy. We emphasize designing innovative solutions for technical challenges and effective communication in both technical and non-technical settings. Our practical focus means you’ll conduct tests and experiments and collaborate in team settings. We’ll help you develop your abilities as an engineer, preparing you to make a positive impact on society through your work. 

Outside the Classroom, In the Community

During your final semester of study, you will prepare and present a capstone project of your choosing. We also maintain close relationships with local businesses in the industry to connect students to internships, cooperative learning opportunities, career coaching, and more. 

Special Facilities

We provide dedicated analog and digital labs, giving you space to practice and develop skills. 

Equipment available includes oscilloscopes, function generators, soldering stations, power supplies, 3D printers, PC board fabrication, machining tools, testing equipment, and computer workstations.

The Electrical Engineering Technology program at Vermont State University is accredited by the Engineering Technology Accreditation Commission of ABET. 

What You’ll Learn 

Vermont State’s B.A. in Communications starts with courses that orient you to the discipline and help you explore the ethical dimensions of media creation.  

From there, you’ll choose from one of four concentrations to focus on the area that matches your career goals: 

• Cinema Studies & Production 
• Journalism (with a broadcast or multimedia focus) 
• New Media 
• Communications 

The last of these concentrations, communications, allows you to select courses from any area — a great option if you’re not sure of your career direction or want to gain as much breadth as possible. 

Whichever concentration you choose, a hands-on capstone project in your fourth year will give you the chance to demonstrate the skills you’ve developed and showcase your best work. 

Outside the Classroom, In the Community 

At Vermont State, you’ll be making an impact, even as a student. Opportunities include: 

• Be a source of local news: Get involved in writing and producing stories for Lyndon’s News 7 station, serving 10,000 households in 14 surrounding towns. 
• Keep the campus community informed: Publish your perspective in The Spartan, Castleton’s campus newspaper and website. 
• Help local businesses reach their market: Work with a team of students to plan and create marketing assets for businesses and nonprofits. In the Content Lab, you’ll promote community development and build your professional portfolio.  
• Gain unique professional experience: Take part in an internship and build your skills, confidence, and connections. Student placements have included ESPN, Vermont Public Television, Batman: The Dark Knight Rises, Burlington Free Press, and Dope Jam Records.    

Special Facilities 

• News 7 broadcast studio: Gain experience with all aspects of television news production with the same technology used in newsrooms around the country. The studio is completely HD with Ikegami cameras, Avid newsroom software, GrassValley switchers, and the technology to broadcast live on location.  
• Media production: Get access to studio space and industry-standard tools for all kinds of media creation, including Black Magic cameras, Panasonic broadcast cameras, and iMacs equipped with Adobe Creative Cloud software.  

What You’ll Learn 

Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and human behavior. In forensic psychology, the insights and tools of psychology are applied in the realm of criminal justice, including everything from the psychological evaluation of individual defendants to the study of criminal behavior more broadly. 

In Vermont State’s Forensic Psychology bachelor’s degree program, you’ll start with the same courses required for the major in psychology and gain a broad understanding of foundational concepts in the discipline.  

Then, you’ll choose several options from a set of courses focused specifically on the forensic setting, including Police Psychology, Criminal Behavior, and Psychology & Law, that will build your knowledge in this sub-discipline.  

In your final year, you’ll have the option to complete an internship for real-world experience in the field or an independent project to build advanced research skills in preparation for further study.  

Outside the Classroom, In the Community 

In the final year of the program, you’ll apply what you are learning outside the classroom through either an internship or an independent research project. Faculty will work closely with you to tailor your senior experience to your interests and future goals. 

Past internship placements have included Vermont Police Departments, the Vermont Department of Corrections, law offices, and the Rutland County State’s Attorney’s Office, among others. 

Students have completed research projects examining rape culture on campus, recidivism in the criminal justice system, and topics related to addiction. 

Special Facilities

We have a learning lab space that we are currently outfitting with equipment to collect physiological data such as heart rate, electroencephalograms, etc. to expand the research possibilities available to you. This lab also includes a virtual reality setup to experiment with emerging uses of this technology in the field of forensics. 

What You’ll Learn

Vermont State’s bachelor’s in construction management program provides a comprehensive education that will thoroughly prepare you for management positions. 

You’ll study materials and building systems for residential and commercial structures, build practical skills in areas like surveying, drawing, and computer-aided design, and master the intricacies of project management from initial estimates and proposals through completing the work safely, on time, and on budget. Coursework in accounting, marketing, human resources, and other core business areas will equip you to take an active role in promoting broader business goals or starting your own enterprise. 

The program is practically focused, giving you an abundance of hands-on experience in various aspects of the job through classes like Concrete & Steel Lab, mentored internships, and projects that require you to prepare detailed proposals for large and complex projects. 

Outside the Classroom, In the Community

At Vermont State, you’ll gain practical experience with several real-world opportunities to develop the skills you learn in the program. One or more summer internships give you in-depth exposure to the various aspects of project management. In your final year, you will join with fellow students in preparing and presenting a comprehensive project proposal for the regional Associated Schools of Construction Competition. 

Recent Employers

• Consigli Construction 
• DEW Construction 
• Engelberth Construction 
• Greenman-Pedersen Inc. 
• HP Cummings 
• J.A. McDonald, Inc. 
• K&E Electric 
• Naylor and Breen Builders 
• Neagley and Chase Construction 
• New England Air Systems 
• PC Construction 
• Pike Industries 
• Trumbull-Nelson Construction 
• Whiting-Turner Construction 

Special Facilities

The Construction Lab is a dedicated space for the Construction Management program. It includes areas for lectures and classes, group work, and hands-on practice with the tools, systems, and materials of the construction management profession, including concrete testing equipment.

Graduation Rates and Headcounts

Graduation rates and headcounts appear for accreditation purposes.