Our list of top art schools

[kevinl2046]

I am having a hard time finding a good list of art schools. I looked at the USNEWS Fine arts rankings but those were for graduate schools. So how about we start a list here? I think it will be best to divide our list into art schools and university art departments.
Try to give a short summary if possible.

I'll start..

Great Undergraduate Art Schools and Departments

Art School:

Pratt
SCAD
Parsons
Art Institute of Chicago

University Departments:

Carnegie Mellon University
http://www-art.cfa.cmu.edu/

Carnegie Mellon School of Fine Arts This school provides tons of vocational training so students are ready for any type of art work once they graduate. There is also top notch engineering and science departments.

Williams College
http://www.williams.edu/art/

Small Liberal Arts college with a very intense curriculum. Top ranked school in the nation with relatively strong art department in liberal arts colleges.

Washington University St. Louis
http://artsci.wustl.edu/~artweb/washUSoa/

5000 or so undergrads, so I would expect the university's art school doesn't have a homogenous student body. A new, gigantic art building is planned to be constructed, but I don't know how long that will take.

[Jon Roark]

I attended Fashion Institute of Technology (http://www.fitnyc.edu/html/dynamic.html) in Manhattan in the mid 1980's. I found it to be an excellent experience. I'd already graduated from a liberal arts college which was a great experience, but an art degree from that sort of environment was virtually worthless. Liberal arts is a great place to develop the thinking side, but terrible to develop drawing or painting skills. There just isn't enough time to put into drawing classes and the students tended to take on this attitude of, "I've had drawing 101 and 201, so I know how to draw." even if they didn't really know how to draw. I appreciate both experiences greatly. I felt that many of the students in the program at FIT ended up with excellent drawing skills, but really needed to go on to a liberal arts experience because they hadn't developed the intellectual side of things (drawing and painting 8 hours a day doesn't leave much time for reading and studying). The thing I truly respect about FIT is the fact that the instructors were expected to be working in the field, not out getting doctorates in education. We were learning from professionals who knew their way around the industry and that was a wonderful experience. It was not the pedigree driven club that higher education can be at many liberal arts colleges. One of my teachers told me that the students had a portfolio day at the end of each semester and the day after that, the teachers had a portfolio day because they had to show they had been working also. It was a great place for me!

[Danny]

Is there one (Good Art School) in Texas .

[Mandy Valin]

I was considering Pratt, but I dont like the idea of going to school in Brooklyn for two years, so I think I'm going for the University of the Arts in Philidelphia, has anyone heard of it?

[David81]

Hey Alde, University of the Arts has a good reputation and is in a good area of Philadelphia. Did you apply yet and what do you want to major in?

David

[Rose Queen]

Don't forget Art Center College of Design in Pasadena!

http://www.artcenter.edu/

[Mandy Valin]

Haven't applied yet, but they received my SAT scores and they sent me and application and a letter asking to consider their school. I was gonna wait until school starts again to apply.
Im gonna major in Fine Arts, Painting and Drawing.
College is still a huge mystery to me, I really have no idea whats going on

[pyrabug]

i'm surprised no one has mentioned RISD (http://www.risd.edu).

i remember in high school while applying to schools my art teacher stressed this school to us along with Pratt and Parsons. they have an extremely competitive program.

[pop miasma]

hi, some of you may have seen my posts in the intro and colored pencil forums...when i saw this post i thought of the list i've used as a base for my own art school search. i got it from a book containing information on colleges, their rankings, and so forth. it's the only top undergrad art program list i've ever seen. i wouldn't reccommend taking what any single college book says as the end-all truth on the subject, but nevertheless it does provide some aid, since it can help you find new schools to investigate. before i found this list i didn't even know suny - purchase existed, and now i'm considering applying since i've checked out more info on it. anyway, on to the list:
small colleges and universities: alfred university, bard college, brown university, furman university, hollins college, kenyon college, lake forest college, manhattanville college, suny - purchase, randolph-macon women's college, university of north carolina - greensboro, scripps college, skidmore college, smith college.
large colleges and universities: boston university, carnegie mellon university, university of cincinnati, cornell, harvard, university of michigan, new york university, university of pennsylvania, university of rochester, washington university in st. louis, university of washington.
art schools: art center college of design, california institute of the arts, cooper union, maryland institute college of art, massachusetts college of art, moore college of art & design, north carolina school of the arts, otis college of art & design, parsons, pratt, rhode island school of design, school of the art institute of chicago, school of visual arts.

i really hope this helps ! once again, not the end-all or anything i'm sure; i haven't investigated all of these schools in detail, and other schools i've looked into have some great programs but are not on this list...but i thought it really helped me branch out and find out more about schools i didn't know much about.

i'm entering my senior year in high school this fall, so this is a subject i've given a lot of thought to...please excuse the massive length of my post.

[artinoils]

I am amazed no one has mentioned Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts...in Philadelphia...it's top notch and the best credential you could receive.
PAFA

[Mandy Valin]

I'm hearing so much about Pratt here! I got info in the mail about them ,and I really dont know what is so great about them
Does anyone know what it is that makes people recommend Pratt?

[RoshSok]

Alde, Pratt is supposed to be good--but I've heard they have high standards grades-wise and SAT-wise...i think over 1100. I have a good friend from high school who goes there and he loves it.

The other thing is that they're expensive, but so is SVA and the other art schools in the metropolitan area (or anywhere that is).

Hope this helps
Rosh

[DanaT]

If you just want excellent art instruction and are not concerned about a BFA, the Art Students League of New York, has world famous instructors and a full time schedule of classes in painting and drawing, and other media.

[Mandy Valin]

Im not worried about getting into a school, grades-wise ( i got around 1300 on SATs ), as I am getting in, paying and then hating it there, and I have no way to know really if Im going to like it
Also, Im not really sure what to look for in a good art school.

[lavendarMist]

Originally posted by Alde
I'm hearing so much about Pratt here! I got info in the mail about them ,and I really dont know what is so great about them
Does anyone know what it is that makes people recommend Pratt?

I am going to be attending pratt this fall, I applied to RISD, SCAD, Ringling School of art and Design, Chicago Institute of Art, and Laguna College of art and design. I was excepted into them all but Pratt really stud out from the rest.

1. Pratt is in Brooklyn Nyc, the cultural center of the USA, probably the world. But the nice thing about it, is that it is a campus. It is not scattered about the area. There are great buildings dorms, and professor housing all gatted in on a great grass mall in the center, with security at all of the entrences. There are sculptures about the lawn that are changed regurlary.

2. The faculty is still involved in their field. They stay in tuch with new devlopments and trends in the majors and their work is recognizable.

3. The students, I felt when I visited the school like they were all dedicated and were all very caring. Visiting RISD i felt that the students were cold, they felt that they were the best and didnt seem to be to friendly. But when I visited pratt I felt like I was right at home. I could talk to any student and they were very nice and polite.

4. Graduates get good jobs. Because the industry knows the level of expertice that Pratt graduates have been raised to. Major companies like Disney, hire pratt graduates.

Hope this helps.
Kat.