Connect. Collaborate. Create.
Step into a community where art becomes a way of seeing, shaping, and serving the world.
The Arts Collective is a cohort for you to explore your creative calling—whether through visual art, music, writing, theater, or other forms of expression. You don’t need to major in the arts to join. You just need a desire to listen, create, and problem solve within Calvin's arts-invested community. You’ll take courses together, travel to places rich in the arts, and participate in events that stretch your imagination and deepen your understanding of the arts as a force for renewal.
Who Can Apply?
- Those entering Calvin as a first-year student in Fall 2026
- Students from any major who are eager to engage who want to engage in arts-based learning and community
- Creatives who are curious, collaborative, and eager to grow
If you are starting Calvin after 2026, please send us your information (see form below) and we'll invite you to apply when the application is open to you. Email cohorts@calvin.edu with questions.
Important Dates
Application opens on August 1. The deadline to apply is January 15. Find all dates and deadlines below!
Why Join the Arts Collective?
Collaborate with diverse perspectives
Travel and learn
Explore creativity and calling
Immerse in the arts
Visit Us
Are you planning a visit to Calvin? Ask your admissions counselor to schedule a meeting with an Honors Scholars representative during your visit. We'd love to meet you and answer your questions!
Cohort Application Deadlines and Interviews
Application
August 1: Applications Open
Apply to Calvin and to Cohorts. You can apply to more than one cohort, but you can only participate in one.
January 15: Cohort Application Deadline
Application deadline for Cohorts and Honors Scholars.
Interview invites sent late January.
Interviews
February: Interviews
Cohort interviews:
- February 20–25, virtual
- February 27, in person at Calvin Discovery Day
March: Cohort Offers Sent
Arts Collective Program Map
Other Activities
Head off campus to explore an arts-centric city with staff or faculty from the Arts Collective. The travel course will earn elective credit and take place in your second year.
Attend six arts-based events sponsored by the Arts Collective during each of your first two years. Events range from workshops to studios to guest speakers to field trips off-campus! In your third and fourth year, participation will be optional but encouraged.
Be part of at least one campus arts group for a minimum of two semesters during your first two years.
Curriculum
Arts Collective students take courses together to fulfill several Calvin Core (general education) requirements. Here is a sample of the set of courses you might take with the Arts Collective.
- Fall: Arts Collective Community and Commitments (CORE 100) and Visual Culture (ART 153)
- Spring: Urban Sociology (SOC 202)
- Fall: Arts and Rhetoric Core course (e.g., Music Appreciation)
- Spring: Literature of Faith (ENGL 250)
