<p>Which are the best schools for art studio (painting)? I am not looking for a specialized "art academy", but a full fledged college/university where I can develop my art talent as a serious academic discipline and pursue psychology, sociology, or business as a minor. Are any of the Ivies or top twenty well know for their art studio departments? Also, although I am familiar with the normal application process (and know the GPA and SAT expectaions), I don't know much about the portfolio process (and expectations) which is required of art applicants. Can anyone shed any light on the topic of portfolios. Are portfolio expectations killer-high at good art schools? How do admissions evaluate subjective work? e.g., is abstract, "pushing-the-envelope" creativity valued more than excellent representational technique?</p>
<p>49, For admissions to a "full service" university or college you seldom need to submit a portfolio. You usually don't declare a major until sometime in your sophomore year. At that time, some art departments require a portfolio in order to be accepted into the program; most do not.</p>
<p>The exceptions are combination programs between liberal arts colleges/universities and art colleges such as Brown/RISD and Tufts/Boston MFA and some other specific arts programs within universities such as at CMU.</p>
<p>Having said that, I would still strongly recommend that you submit an optional portfolio with your application as artistic ability is considered a plus at many colleges. See instructions for the portfolio under "supplementary materials" on the individual college websites. I'd also suggest putting together an art package that would include a resume of classes, awards, accomplishments; a personal statement; and an additional recommendation from an instructor or mentor.</p>
<p>Whether the portfolio is required or supplementary, I don't think you'd find a prejudice between abstraction vs representational work. The art department would be looking for creativity, technique and ability to handle a variety of media. </p>
<p>Among the Ivy league, Yale and Brown have excellent art departments. In addition to the joint program mentioned above, as a regular student at Brown you may take classes at RISD.</p>
<p>Among smaller LACs with good academics I'd recommend the following for art studio: Williams, Wesleyan, Hamilton, Kenyon, Conn College, Skidmore. If you are female, Smith.</p>
<p>There are several medium to large universities that have good art departments: Cincinnati, JHU, CMU come to mind, but there are many others.</p>
<p>Not all of these have business per se, although all would offer economics.</p>
<p>Admissions to these colleges ranges from extremely selective to moderately selective. Those that don't require portfolios base admissions on grades/scores, recommendations, essays and extracurriculars. Art ability would be considered an extracurricular.</p>
<p>For schools that *require *portfolios, the portfolio is obviously more important. The Brown/RISD program, for example, is highly competitive.</p>
<p>Many good LACs have strong programs in painting. Also, consider Johns Hopkins. They have a relationship with MICA, which reputedly has one of the best programs in painting in the country.</p>
<p>Yale is probably the top Ivy for visual arts. However, the Brown+RISD program is highly regarded as well.</p>
<p>for painting specifically as a major</p>
<p>Rochester Institute of Technology
Birmingham Southern College
Northern Arizona University
University of San Francisco
University of Hartford
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Drake University
Boston University
University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth
Ferris State University
University of Missouri-St Louis
Washington University in St Louis
College of Santa Fe
SUNY College at Buffalo
SUNY College at New Paltz
Kent State University-Kent Campus
Ohio University-Main Campus
University of Oregon
Arcadia University
Marywood University
Temple University
Rhode Island School of Design
University of Dallas
University of Houston
University of North Texas
The University of Texas at El Paso
Brigham Young University
Virginia Commonwealth University
Central Washington University
University of Washington-Seattle Campus
Western Washington University</p>
<p>Thanks momrath for your thoughtful response. I forgot to mention that I will be applying as a third year transfer student and so I will be expected to declare a major on my application. If I select art studio as my major, a portfolio will be required. While I understand what is expected regarding GPA, SAT, essay, LoR, etc of the academic portion of an application, I really don't have a clue about what my portfolio should convey. Your note about a broad range of media is helpful. Thanks again.</p>
<p>i.e., a third year transfer from a community college. I have asked my instructors about a portfolio and they do not seem very informed. One told me that I should include work from class. But those sort of things are often of the nature of an exercise designd to provide practice with a specific skill or concept.</p>