Art & Its Role in Engineering Education

December 8th, 2025

By Phoebe Lashley, Multimedia Specialist

How important do you believe visual design is in a course or in the classroom? As an artist and graphic designer, I would say it is just as critical as the course content. Design influences how society interacts and perceives everything – so why not consider good visual design in education?

A blog post written by Turning Art, The Strategic Impact of Art in Higher Learning, shares insights and presents research that suggests that art plays a critical role in the classroom by not only creating a welcoming/visually appealing space, but also increasing student outcomes and engagement. A well designed space is just as important to foster creativity within the students as the course material.

Students self-report substantial improvements in various aspects when exposed to well-designed learning environments, including increased engagement (84%), enhanced grades (72%), greater motivation to attend class (72%), and heightened creative abilities (77%).

TurningArthttps://blog.turningart.com/art-in-higher-education

FSE values prioritize excellence, bold thinking, and innovation – so as educators, we have the opportunity to search for ways to uplift our students and create spaces where they can excel and feel like they belong during their university experience.

Whether your institution teaches fashion, engineering, law or linguistics, the principles are universal: students thrive when they feel seen.

Sachan WilliamsTimes Higher Education

Art has always been an integral part of the human experience and should exist in spaces where we innovate and nurture the minds of our future.

References

Mac, M. (2024, February 2). The strategic impact of art in higher learning. The TurningArt Blog. https://blog.turningart.com/art-in-higher-education

Pratte, L., Paterson, K., & Martinez, K. (2025, May 23). Values – ASU engineering. Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering. https://engineering.asu.edu/values/

Williams, S. (2025, September 4). Designing inclusive welcome experiences in creative education. Times Higher Education. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/designing-inclusive-welcome-experiences-creative-education