NOTE: The Jewelry and Metal Arts discipline is not accepting applications for the 2023-24 academic year.

The School of Art and Art History offers BFA, MA and MFA degrees in the area of Jewelry and Metal arts. These degree programs emphasize the development of individual artistic expression while focusing on conceptual and technical skills necessary for professional achievement. Students are encouraged to create freely without any media boundaries, producing jewelry, hollowware, flatware, mixed media objects, steel and titanium bicycles, sculpture, installation, furniture, light fixtures, and artful consumer products intended for mass production.

Graduates of the Jewelry and Metal Arts program have gone on to successful careers in education, humanities, commercial & art-jewelry production, gallery management, and other arts related fields. The Jewelry and Metal arts program also offers Art Education and General Education coursework that offers new skills and perspectives to a variety of students throughout the University of Iowa Campus.

The Jewelry and Metal Arts program moved into the new Visual Arts Building in 2016. The state-of-the-art Metals studio is equipped to facilitate traditional and contemporary techniques including metal fabrication, small- and large-scale casting, metal forming, enameling, lathe and CNC work, etching, patination, polishing, powder coating, and hydraulic forming. The Metal Arts area also houses a 250-gallon copper electroforming facility (the largest in any academic setting), and a 130-gallon aluminum anodizing tank.

In addition to our metals studio, The Visual Arts Building houses a fully-equipped woodshop, foundry, and mold-making area, along with a rapid prototyping suite that includes a CNC laser cutter, plasma cutter, mill, and lathe; TIG welders; and a 2’ x 4’ vacuum thermoforming machine.

Secured, semi-private studios are also provided for BFA and MA/MFA candidates to allow for the development of ambitious, advanced work.

More info about our BA/BFA program can be found here: https://art.uiowa.edu/undergraduate-program/studio-art and our MA/MFA program here: https://art.uiowa.edu/graduate-program/studio-art.

Selected works by Jewelry and Metal Arts alumni