Building Skills and Growing Community on Day One with Foundation Studio at Otis College
In Foundation Studio, first-year students develop tools for creative judgment, resilience, and adaptability that will support them in their majors and beyond.
Photograph by Sarah Golonka/Otis College of Art and Design.
During their first semester in Otis’s Foundation Studio, students take three studio courses alongside a small cohort of peers, building both foundational skills and community. In the second semester, students can select studio courses based on their developing interests alongside liberal arts and sciences courses.
We asked Foundation Studio Chair TeaYoun Kim-Kassor to share what students can expect from the curriculum and how incoming students can prepare for their first year at Otis.
What is unique about Otis College’s Foundation Studio?
In the Foundation Studio, students discover what they are capable of before narrowing their focus. It is where students build the fundamental skills for their creative future.
Through different ways of communicating and problem-solving, students develop strong core skills. The Foundation Studio doesn't ask students to give up the direction they already have. It gives them opportunities to expand it.
What can students expect from the curriculum?
Foundation Studio offers opportunities. Over the course of the year, students experience various ways of seeing, thinking, and making while developing skills and working habits that will support their future studies.
The experience is intentionally interdisciplinary. An Animation student, for example, benefits from understanding form, materials, and figure drawing, just as a Toy Design student benefits from drawing, color, composition, and visual communication. These experiences help students make connections across disciplines while beginning to develop their own creative direction.
How can incoming students best prepare for entering Otis and Foundation Studio?
Come prepared to be curious, engaged, and willing to try things that may be unfamiliar. Students do not need to arrive knowing exactly what kind of artist or designer they will become; what matters most is being willing to participate, manage their time, accept feedback, experiment, and grow.
Learn more about Foundation Studio at Otis College
Foundation Forward
Otis lets students start undeclared, and the Foundation Studio program allows them to explore various majors and minors to find the best fit. In the fall semester, each academic program hosts a Foundation Forward meet and greet for all interested first-year students. During the spring semester, elective courses offer students the chance to explore a major, helping them build confidence before entering a major in their second year.
Start in Spring and Stay on Track
Students with sufficient transferable credits may be admitted to the spring semester as second-semester Foundation students. These students can progress directly into their sophomore year the following fall.
View the Foundation curriculum
