Shape the future of arts — starting here at Purdue
At the Patti & Rusty Rueff School of Design, Art, and Performance, we don’t just teach the arts—we ignite them. Our undergraduate and graduate programs span Art/Design Education, Film and Video, Industrial Design, Integrated Studio Arts, Interior Design, Music, Sound for the Performing Arts, Studio Arts and Technology, Theatre, and Visual Communication Design.
In Fall 2024, we expanded our creative frontier with two bold new majors—Design Studies and Interdisciplinary Performance—giving students even more pathways to explore their passions, refine their talents, and launch meaningful, future-ready careers.
Our home, Yue-Kong Pao Hall of Visual and Performing Arts, is a hub of inspiration: the Mallett and Hansen Theatres, two state-of-the-art dance studios, a professional recording studio, the Music Computing Lab, the Rueff Galleries, and a multitude of specialized studios and labs. Across campus, we bring our creativity to life in renowned venues such as Elliott Hall of Music and Stewart Center.
Our internationally acclaimed faculty are more than teachers—they are practicing artists, performers, designers, directors, composers, and scholars who publish, exhibit, lecture, and perform around the globe. They bring their experience and connections directly into the classroom, mentoring the next generation of innovators in the arts.
Here, you will join a vibrant, collaborative community of thinkers, makers, and storytellers. You’ll gain the skills, confidence, and vision to make your mark—whether on stage, on screen, in the studio, or in the world.
Accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design, the Council for Interior Design Accreditation, and the National Association of Schools of Theatre, the Rueff School offers an exceptional and inspiring arts education—within the resources and reach of a world-class research university.
Welcome to where your future begins!
Dr. Cheryl Zhenyu Qian
Interim Head, Rueff School of Design, Art, and Performance
Professor, Industrial and Interaction Design