Carol Oster was born in Brooklyn, New York. She received a BFA from the University of Arizona in 1978, and an MFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York City in 1989. Carol received a Fellowship in Architecture from the New York Foundation for the Arts in 1990, and has exhibited in NYC, Seattle, Washington and Tucson, Arizona.

In addition to the studio work, Carol is an artist/consultant for the architecture firm of Site Design Resources (SDR). She has worked with the architects at SDR in the culmination of many successful site specific art elements since 1997, projects include; three new community centers for The New York City Housing Authority, (in Brooklyn, Harlem, and Staten Island) and streetscapes for The Rockefeller University and The Battery Park City Authority.