Art School Rankings

<p>What is a good place to see the rankings of Art Colleges?</p>

<p>All the usual places- US News website etc. although these are usually about the grad schools not the undergrad side of things which can vary greatly.</p>

<p>Also, read the stickies in the college selection forum about rankings. You could run a truck through the holes in the criteria. It’s a guide but only a tiny element of the factors to consider.</p>

<p>In my opinion, all rankings are questionable,but art school rankings are the most questionable of all.</p>

<p>First, U.S. News rankings is for grad school and NOT undergrad.
Second, Art schools have different strengths. They are very oriented towards certain majors and weak in others. Thus, giving an overall rankings seems idiotic.</p>

<p>For example, University of Cincinnati Art and Design program, where my daughter attended was wonderful for certain design majors such as Interior Design, Architecture and Industrial Design and Transportation Design. However, for fine art related disciplines, I wouldn’t recommend the school.</p>

<p>School of Visual Arts has a tremendous curriculum and contacts in animation and 3d animation,but I wouldn’t recommend them for interior design or fine art. You really need to check out the school and see what their stronger majors are. Just don’t go by rankings.</p>

<p>Don’t depend on rankings too much. I said this in another post elsewhere but look at the teachers and curricula at art schools. I learned this from my S. He’s a great visual artist and got a C- in graphic design. Graphic design bores him to death and he hates it. As an artist, you probably have things you love to do and things you don’t. Most schools will spend a year building up your artistic foundation. After that, you want great professors teaching more of what you love while allowing you the flexibility to evolve as an artist.</p>

<p>That’s a lot to do especially if you are about to apply now.</p>

<p>Also, look for a place that has a lot of options. Many students change their major after or during the foundation year. My D went from painting to fiber. Some schools she considered didn’t even have fiber as an option and I wonder what she would have changed to if she had gone there.</p>