<p>Hi everyone</p>
<p>I'e seen a lot of Master of Fine art program rankings, but does anyone know the rankings of art programs for undergraduate? including schools like RISD, Carnagie Mellon, MICA, Washington in St. Louis, etc.?</p>
<p>I'm pretty sure there aren't any specific rankings...
However, I have done vast and thorough research on the top art schools in the country...</p>
<p>Historically, RISD, Pratt, MICA, SAIC, and SVA are the top top overall art schools.</p>
<p>There are a large number of terrific MFA programs. However, they vary in terms of specialty programs. Some of the more notable schools are: Yale, RISD, UCLA, USC, CalArts, Pratt, MICA, Syracuse, SAIC, Carnegie Mellon for certain programs, University of New Mexico, RIT for certain programs, etc. This should get you started.</p>
<p>Check out this thread<br>
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/330137-art-program-rankings.html%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/330137-art-program-rankings.html</a></p>
<p>My daughter did not want "art school" per se so we were looking for good programs last year. She ended up at the University of Oregon, partly because of the facilities and because the community really supports the arts. </p>
<p>Good luck with your search!</p>
<p>thanks! </p>
<p>anyone know about Washington in St. Louis's art program? from portfolio review, I remember the MICA admissions officer mentioned it has a really strong art program.</p>
<p>Please note that the "art program rankings" link above includes ONLY university art programs so independent art schools like RISD, SAIC, MICA, etc. are excluded.</p>
<p>True - it is really difficult to find any comprehensive lists of art programs. Makes it very tough for students looking for the right fit. Where we live PAFA is very highly regarded, yet I rarely see it mentioned here on CC. I have had artists recommend it over MICA, SAIC, etc, yet many students know nothing about it.
I wonder if there is an elusive listing/ranking somewhere out there that we have all missed!</p>
<p>PA Mom, I think the main reason why you don't see anything about PAFA posted here is because CC is all about college and university programs. PAFA is considered more of a "trade school" for artists, since it offers only a certificate upon completion of the program. All of the schools mentioned frequently here offer BA or BFA degrees.</p>
<p>I understand that PAFA recently added some liberal arts classes and will start offering a BFA, so perhaps it will get more recognition in the future.</p>
<p>Good point - they actually did add the bachelors program this year. They also have a program with Penn, sort of a dual enrollment thing which is cool. My daughter would love to have attended there, but was torn about not getting the experience of living on a campus, etc. Right now her goal is to get her Bachelor's degree at her university and then go to PAFA for her master's. She's hoping to be able to get the best of both worlds.</p>
<p>One of the things that she loved about PAFA was the focus on fine arts. She has met a number of artists who studied there or teach there and all praise it highly.
Maybe we will see it become more recognized now!</p>
<p>I started by checking out the NASAD website. (National Association of Schools of Art and Design.) I got the list of schools for our state.</p>
<p>Then I went through all the websites for all the schools who were members of NASAD in our state (about 14 I think - 3 art schools and the rest state or private universities). I checked for the programs my son wanted and eliminated the ones that didn't have the fields he wanted (illustration and animation), although I kept a few on the list who didn't actually have an illustration degree per se (since only art schools seem to have illustration degrees) but had something that sounded close, such as a Drawing and Painting degree, or 2-D Studies. If there was no animation mentioned at all I eliminated them from consideration, but a minor in animation was okay.</p>
<p>At least one school on the list does not need a portfolio for admission, but all art majors enter as simply BA in art...in their second year they must pass a portfolio review to get into the BFA program for whatever concentration they want. (Ohio University.) </p>
<p>All of them, of course, require a portfolio for consideration of scholarships.</p>
<p>Wash U in St. Louis has a top-notch art department. Some other strong schools are Virginia Commonwealth University and University of Wisconsin. Generally speaking, any school with a highly ranked MFA program will also have a strong undergraduate program. I do not think the Gourman Report has an accurate list. It might help to select a few areas of possible interest, since art departments are often not equally strong in each subfield.</p>
<p>The University of Southern Mississippi has excellent and very rigorous BFA programs in drawing and painting, sculpture and ceramics, graphic design and art education. They have trained many successful artists. Their BFA art education program is accredited by NASAD, NCATE, SACS, and INTASC. The master of art education degree entrance and program is very rigorous as well.</p>
<p>There are articles said animation has been a hot subject and well taught in Canada too. Is there any recommendation from you Guys? I’ve got a friend trying to go learning there, and your helps are very much appreciated.</p>
<p>I think it’s a good idea to keep in mind a vague idea of the kind of art you’d like to do. In my research, despite many schools being “good” schools their approach to art and design can vary wildly. </p>
<p>For example if you’re into the more conceptual side of fine art you may find schools like the school of the art institute of Chicago, the school of the museum of fine arts and cooper union more amenable to you. If however you are more interested in getting a rigorous technical training RISD, Pratt and SVA would be the places to go. Although RISD is NOT the place to go if you foresee yourself pursuing a lot of work in different media. </p>
<p>Also, you will find that different schools have different strengths. If you wanted to major in photography, you’d probably end up looking at schools like SVA and Parsons. But if animation was where you were at you’d be interested in RISD, Calarts and Otis. If you were into glass blowing, RISD would be the hands down choice.</p>
<p>The one student from washington u in st louis that i met was not a fan of it. She felt like there was no real community for the art majors and that the wider student body thought frat parties and athletics were more important than anything else. That said, i did meet her at a cooper union open house and she definitely seemed to be looking for a place that was more encouraging of a conceptual/contemporary approach to art.</p>
<p>Also keep in mind that if you are completely serious about becoming a professional designer/animator/illustrator the right art school will give you a considerable advantage.</p>