University of Houston’s College of the Arts Marks 10 Years of Growth

For decades, the University of Houston has been home to nationally recognized visual and performing arts programs. Ten years ago, those disciplines were brought together under one umbrella: the Kathrine G. McGovern College of the Arts.

This year, the college celebrates 10 years of growth and impact. By transitioning the schools of music, art, and theater and dance from the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, University leaders aimed to enhance student success, strengthen community engagement and promote interdisciplinary arts education.

The move also reinforced the role arts institutions play in shaping thriving cities and supporting other industries by helping attract and retain talent.

“A city like Houston can’t be a national leader in industries like health sciences, energy or technology if it doesn’t have a thriving arts community,” founding Dean Andrew Davis said.

But great art doesn’t happen in a silo. To bridge the gap between UH and Houston’s arts ecosystem, the college partners with several local organizations, including the Alley Theatre. The theater has a long history of collaboration with UH, including partnerships with playwrights-in-residence who premiered and directed works there.

“You really can’t have great arts in a city if you don’t have a great university,” said Dean Gladden, managing director emeritus of the Alley Theatre.

Over the past decade, collaboration between the University and Houston’s arts institutions has also shaped how the college develops new programs.

Houston is a destination for the arts, and UH’s central location and proximity to arts institutions help strengthen the University’s reputation as a hub for arts education, scholarship and innovation.

These collaborations also give students hands-on training to prepare for careers as artists, educators and arts leaders.

UH’s M.F.A. in Acting program in partnership with the Alley Theatre allows students to work professionally in residence at the Alley during their third year. The apprenticeship-style residency includes understudying roles, performing, taking master classes and working closely with professional actors.

At the program’s conclusion, students graduate with professional credits, a union card and a degree — foundations for launching professional theater careers. The program’s first cohort begins residencies this coming fall.

“It’s so important to us to have a university that can train actors that we can eventually put on our stage,” Gladden said. “They can work at other theaters throughout the community and be involved in the entire theater ecosystem in Houston.”

Since the college’s formation in 2016, leaders have expanded programs and curriculum to address emerging trends in the arts industry while attracting premier educators and students.

Nevaeh Law, a sophomore theatre education student, said she chose to study at UH because of the strength of the School of Theatre and Dance and the growth opportunities the University provides.

“Being in Houston allows me to stay connected to a vibrant arts community and engage with creative work both inside and outside the classroom,” she said. “I was drawn to a program where I could explore multiple areas of theater while also developing leadership and community engagement opportunities.”

Notable additions to the college’s curriculum include the music therapy program, Arts and Health initiatives, musical theater coursework, multiple arts leadership certifications and the Moores School of Music’s Mariachi Pumas program.

“There are so many students who come to the University of Houston to major in business, engineering and other fields because they know they can participate in the mariachi program,” Davis said.

The college’s first cohort of music therapy students began this fall. The program helps meet the growing national demand for music therapists and provides students with a foundation in music along with both musical training and clinical experience.

The college’s divisions such as the Blaffer Art Museum, Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts and the recently merged Public Art of the University of Houston System have also helped draw visitors to campus and increase the college’s visibility across the city.

“Putting all the arts together has allowed them to be seen more by the city of Houston and to make visible the contributions that the arts can bring,” said Jo Dee Wright, a UH board of visitors’ member and member-at-large for the college’s dean’s trustees.

Endowment revenue grew 58% from 2018 to 2025, signaling donors’ confidence in UH as an arts-serving institution.

As technology advances and artificial intelligence continues to shape creative industries, college leaders said the curriculum will continue evolving to prepare students for a changing arts landscape.

Davis said this could include expanding production-focused coursework and training students for on-camera work in addition to stage performance. The college recently launched a film and media production certificate program to help meet statewide demand for production leaders.

The college’s anniversary also coincides with UH’s upcoming centennial in 2027. As part of the $43 million Centennial Construction Project, Wilhelmina’s Grove reopened last year in the heart of the University’s Arts District, featuring an amphitheater with a covered stage, raised seating areas and improved accessibility.

Davis said the college could also expand facilities in the future to support emerging opportunities in technology and interdisciplinary collaboration, including film and television studios, sound stages, music production spaces and design facilities.

Wright said investing in student artists strengthens both the future arts workforce and the audiences who sustain it.

“We used to say that the arts at the University of Houston was the best kept secret,” she said. “Now we don’t want it to be the best kept secret. The secret is out of the box now.”