Concert venues and museums are on almost every downtown St. Petersburg block. Folks from all over the world come to visit, yet the only university in town has some students wanting more out of the only art major offered.

At the University of South Florida St. Petersburg there seems to be something for everyone. The bay is nearby for environmental and bio majors. The city is walking distance for mass communications and anthropology majors, but for the art loving students here the only option they have is Graphic Design. Although the need for Graphic Designers are in high demand, for many students they were hoping for something more.

“I’m upset about the lack of art at this campus. USF Tampa campus has graffiti in the bathrooms and the atmosphere at USFSP just isn’t artsy,” said freshman and Graphic Design major Kasi Nelson.

Nelson (Above) said she had a love for traditional drawing and painting throughout high school but “thought I would be drawing in college, but digital is taking over. There’s not many of us Graphic Design majors.”

So, what major do students at USFSP take? The answer? Biology.

A total of 35 undergraduate degree programs are offered at The University of South Florida St. Petersburg serving over 6,000 students. Even though there appears to be a bounty of options at the lovely waterfront campus, most of its student’s study Biology.

“Graphic Design kids take a lot of heat from STEM Majors, they think it’s easy and that they can easily do what we do,” said Nelson.

Students like Kasi Nelson and Toni Pucinischi feel as if art is being pushed to the back burner, “there are not a lot of teachers for us and it feels as if we get the left-over teachers,” said sophomore Pucinischi. The lack of support for these students looks like it might cause them to consider an art education at another location.

“I’d like to be a wedding photographer, that would be super rad, that’s why I’m thinking of switching to USF Tampa campus at some point, because they have more choices and more opportunities,” said Pucinischi.

The campus and surrounding area have a good chance at keeping Nelson at the St. Petersburg campus.

Not every Graphic Design major here views the stand-alone art major as a negative feature. Students like 20-year-old Junior, Gavin Jones, “I know the school system. University of South Florida Tampa carries the fine arts and I don’t mind that.”

Jones is an active student on the USFSP campus and is involved in several activities. He is a Resident Assistant, Graphic Designer for the USFSP Connect Team in addition to doing videography for the student events on campus. He said he feels that his major works better here because of the tightness of the Graphic Design community. When asked if he ever considered transferring to Tampa campus, “can commute to Tampa, it’s only like 45 minutes away. Plus, the art community is more proactive here than it is in Tampa.”

University of South Florida St. Petersburg has summer classes that offer more fun art classes for the students to take, but it seems that many of the students don’t know about them. “I learned how to use Photoshop and all of the creative cloud programs thanks to the classes here,” said Jones.

Jones is another student that loves drawing and is using his Graphic Design knowledge and degree as a basis for illustration. He says that he can learn a lot from the Graphic Design community and will use illustration as a personal activity and Graphic Design to bring in the real cash.

Graphic Design majors may be able to welcome some new art majors into the community within the next few years. According to a proposed USFSP Master Academic Plan, USFSP wants to add an undergraduate art history major with a concentration in museum studies in the next one to three years. In addition to, a theater arts undergraduate major in the next two to four years.

In the meantime, if Graphic Design majors and students all over the USFP campus are looking for some extracurricular art activities to be involved in, they can join figure drawing every Saturday, Sunday, and Thursday at Morean Arts Center located on 719 Central Ave from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

St. Pete is also home to the SHINE Mural Festival, where artists from all over the world come to add their touch to the walls of the business' on Central Ave, check out this link featuring SHINE 2017 that is coming oh so soon, http://shineonstpete.com/ !

Students can also check out Creative Mornings which started in New York City by Tina Roth Eisenberg, to promote open space for fellow creatives and like-minded individuals. Now Creative Mornings can be found in cities all over the world and St. Petersburg is one of them. Jim Breen, a graduate of USFSP, who has created art for clients such as Bruno Mars and The Grateful Dead recently hosted a creative morning at Three Daughters Brewing located on 222 22nd St S, St. Petersburg, FL.

“Keep working even though you’re broke,” said Breen. Learn more about Creative Mornings by visiting https://creativemornings.com/cities/sp

Don’t be afraid to look in the community for other art opportunities while the USFSP Master Academic Plan ponders the adding of other art majors. There seems to be hope in the next few years for the art students here at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg.