Student Government Association voted in support of the addition of a new minor, therapeutic arts, to the TCU campus last week.

The new minor, which will be a part of the College of Fine Arts, is set to become available to students in either the fall semester of 2017 or the following spring semester.

Fine Arts student Alison Armstrong and Honors College representative Abbey Widick took the lead on the project and presented a resolution to SGA with all the information regarding the addition to gain official support.

“I think this will impact TCU, as a whole and as students individually, really positively,” Armstrong said. “The therapeutic arts are really important in our society…and this program is so unique.”

According to the American Art Therapy Association, there are no collegiate programs similar to the therapeutic arts minor in the state of Texas, so the new program will add a level of prestige to the College of Fine Arts and TCU overall.

“I think it really shows the diversity of majors and minors at TCU and it gives the College of Fine Arts the attention it deserves,” Widick said. “Compared to other colleges in Texas, I think it will really help draw in students.”

According to a survey of 248 TCU students across schools and majors on campus, 93 said they would be interested in the therapeutic arts minor and 29 said they were unsure.

Furthermore, because all the courses required to attain this minor are already offered, there will be no need for new faculty hires and there should be no additional financial strain on TCU.

“In our society, the therapeutic arts are practiced very commonly and it does a lot for those who receive it,” Armstrong said. “I think students will really benefit because fine arts students or pre-health students or education students or psychology students can all take what they learn in the minor and use it in the field to serve others.”