BA in Art Education K–12 Licensure Program Overview
In ߲Ƶ’s Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Art Education K–12 licensure educator preparation program, you’ll learn how to teach your students to see art as an expression of beliefs, values, and philosophies.
Encourage students to find the beauty in art and to express themselves through their own art.
Andrew Morgan
amorgan@nec.edu
603.428.2349
In ߲Ƶ’s Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Art Education K–12 licensure educator preparation program, you’ll learn how to teach your students to see art as an expression of beliefs, values, and philosophies.
| Comprehensive | Holistic | Hands-On |
| Study a wide range of traditional and tech-driven methods of artistic expression. | Liberal arts curriculum designed to nurture a broad perspective. | Fieldwork practicum and senior exhibition prepare students for real-world settings. |
By earning your Art Education bachelor’s degree, you can develop instruction competencies to help K–12 students develop their creative skills. You’ll also be able to teach students valuable skills, such as teamwork and attention to detail.
You’ll not only learn how to become an art teacher, but also further strengthen your artistic skills across a wide range of mediums, including painting, photography, 3D design, and digital imaging. This can help you build expertise that’s applicable in many professional environments.
In NEC’s BA in Art Education K-12 licensure program, you can:
An art education bachelor’s degree can prepare you to become an art teacher, alongside other careers inside and outside classroom settings. This versatility means you may be able to apply your artistic skills in a field relevant to your interests, such as museum work and mental health support.
| Art Teacher
$49,280* |
Art Therapist
$49,820* |
Curriculum Developer
$72,330** |
| *Salary data from Payscale as of April 2024
**Salary data from Payscale as of February 2024 |
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NEC offers 60 associate and bachelor’s degrees, as well as more than 20 master’s degrees and two doctoral degree programs, all delivered by dedicated faculty focused on giving students opportunities to live what they learn. With access to many clubs, outdoor activities, natural areas, internships, and professor-led trips, NEC students have many ways to meet new people and try new things.
At NEC, the world is your classroom.

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Associate Professor, Education
Office: CEI 207
Phone: 603.428.2937
Email: jmorris@nec.edu
Expertise, Awards, and Achievements
Expertise:
Certifications:
Awards and Grants:
Educational Background
EdD in Curriculum, Teaching, Learning, and Leadership; Northeastern University
MEd in Secondary English Education and Special Education, ߲Ƶ
BA in English, ߲Ƶ
AS in General Studies, New Hampshire Technology Institute
Research Interests
Bio
Dr. Jessica Morris is an Associate Professor of Education at NEC, specializing in curriculum design, experiential learning, and community-engaged teacher preparation. She earned her EdD in Curriculum, Teaching, Learning, and Leadership from Northeastern University, an MEd in Secondary English Education and Special Education from NEC, and a BA in English from NEC, following an AS in General Studies.
Dr. Morris began her career as a public-school educator, serving as a special education case manager and middle-school English teacher, including work in alternative education settings. She joined NEC as an adjunct faculty in 2012 and became full-time in 2018. Her work spans teacher licensure, accreditation processes, curriculum development, and academic advising. She also serves as the faculty advisor for Kappa Delta Pi/Alpha Kappa Epsilon, the International Honor Society in Education.
Her professional interests center on rural education, place-based curriculum, and strengthening pre-service teacher preparation through community partnerships. Through a Project Pericles Mellon Faculty Leadership Grant, Dr. Morris led NEC’s engagement work with Washington Elementary School, where teacher candidates completed more than 1,260 hours of field-based learning while examining rural educational equity, staffing shortages, and multi-age instructional models.
Dr. Morris collaborates closely with the Henniker Historical Society on research related to the town’s 12 original school districts. She integrates archival materials, historic schoolhouse research, and oral histories into curriculum design for K–12 classrooms. Her upcoming sabbatical project, Rooted in Place: Rural Stories as Social Studies, builds upon this work by developing narrative-based teaching resources using World War II letters from Weare, NH, and other local histories.
A highlight of her recent work includes leading NEC students on an immersive academic travel experience to Scotland through a partnership with the University of Edinburgh’s Moray House School of Education. Students engaged in cross-cultural dialogue, shared narrative-based fieldwork projects, and explored global perspectives on rural schooling and community identity. The exchange deepened students’ understanding of place-based education and strengthened NEC’s international experiential learning opportunities.
Outside of her academic work, Dr. Morris enjoys outdoor adventures and travel and is known for “harassing fish” in any season. She is the proud parent of two college-aged children who continually inspire her work, her teaching, and her belief in the transformative power of education.
NEC’s Art Education bachelor’s degree program typically takes about four years to complete.
NEC’s BA in Art Education K–12 licensure program consists of 128 credits. These credits are broken down as follows:
Education Core (40 credits)
Art Education Content (46 credits)
Liberal Arts & Sciences Core Curriculum (38 credits)
Electives (4 credits)
A BA in Art Education can help you develop the instructional skills needed to be an effective art education teacher. It can also help you bolster your own creative skills, which can help prepare you for a broad range of career options outside a classroom setting.
You can enroll in NEC’s BA in Art Education K–12 program by applying directly on the NEC website. NEC doesn’t charge an application fee or require standardized test scores.
Earning a BA in Art Education degree can help you positively impact student creativity. Learn how NEC can help you shape your future.