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Facts and Figures

For more than 150 years the College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) has served as the foundation of creative excellence at Syracuse University.

Founded	1873
Dean	Michael S. Tick
Schools and Departments	7
Undergraduate Programs	23
Graduate Programs	15
Faculty	135 full time; 150 part time (approximately)
Staff	64 staff (approximately)
Undergraduate Students	1,642
Graduate Students	196
Alumni	29,500 (approximately)

Fun Facts

When it was founded in 1873 as the College of Fine Arts, VPA was the first degree-conferring organization of its kind in the United States.
The college's first alumnus graduated in 1875 with a bachelor of painting degree.
When the Department of Music was founded in 1877, it was one of the first in the country to grant a degree in music and to require four years’ study in both music and theory.
The college offered one of the nation’s first academic programs devoted to the study of communication and rhetoric.

More VPA History

Our timeline offers highlights from our early days to the present.