Edinboro’s Art Depart­ment, which has about 500 students and is accred­ited by the National Asso­ci­a­tion of Schools of Art & Design (NASAD), offers a BFA in Studio Art with a concen­tra­tion in Woodworking/​Furniture Design. Students gain expe­ri­ence using a wide variety of hand and power tools, complet­ing assign­ments on topics such as chair design, box and cabinet construc­tion, bending wood and design­ing for production.

Students learn as they study the work of major design­ers and artists, then develop their own designs through sketch­ing, model making and creat­ing full-scale draw­ings. Oppor­tu­ni­ties are provided to apply for a variety of intern­ships and to make profes­sional connec­tions through travel to attend confer­ences, view exhi­bi­tions and visit profes­sional furni­ture design studios.

Empha­sis is placed on creative problem solving, crafts­man­ship and inno­va­tion in design so that students will be well-prepared for a career in the wood­work­ing and furni­ture design field.

“Though we have a rela­tively small studio, it is very well-equipped, giving students the oppor­tu­nity to try a lot of things. It is impor­tant to me to create a chal­leng­ing but also support­ive and inclu­sive atmos­phere in the studio, so that every­one can reach their fullest creative poten­tial. As I approach my 19th year of teach­ing at Edin­boro, I feel so lucky to be able to work with students, teach­ing what I love, and seeing how much their work and confi­dence evolves as they progress through the program.” ‑Karen Ernst, Profes­sor & Concentration Head

Follow Karen Ernst on Insta­gram

And check out:

PennWest Edin­boro Wood­work­ing and Furni­ture Design program, and their Insta­gram and Face­book pages