In determining the Top 14 Undergraduate Visual Art Colleges in the United States for 2010 the following factors were considered: Art Schools must have Accreditation by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD), an Acceptance Rate of no more than 80%, and a Retention Rate of over 70%.
In seeking a career as a fine artist, painter, illustrator, sculptor, printmaker, interior designer or graphic designer, the schools below are the ones to consider for a serious artistic career.
Quality art colleges have to be picky to ensure a quality batch of undergraduate art students who challenge and inspire each other to achieve higher artistic goals. A school’s retention rate is a good measure of how well a college works to keep their students happy and motivated to stay. The only accreditation for Art Schools and College is that offered by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design. Don’t go to Art School without the NASAD seal of approval.
Below are the current top 14 undergraduate art schools in the United States listed in alphabetical order.
Art Academy of Cincinnati • Cincinnati, Ohio
- Acceptance Rate: 21.4%
- Number of undergraduate students: 164
- Tuition: $21,500
Art Center College of Design • Pasadena, California
- Acceptance Rate: 59.6%
- Average retention Rate: 87.8%
- Number of undergraduate students: 1,470
- Tuition: $31,076
California College of the Arts • San Francisco, California
- Tuition: $33,254
- Acceptance Rate: 76.8%
- Average retention Rate: 74.5%
- Number of undergraduate students: 1,355
College for Creative Studies • Detroit, Michigan
- Average retention Rate: 76%
- Tuition: $29,985
- Number of undergraduate students: 1,365
- www.collegeforcreativestudies.edu
Columbus College of Art and Design • Columbus, Ohio
- Tuition: $25,146
- Acceptance rate: 68%
- Average retention Rate: 79.5%
- Number of undergraduate students: 1,599
Maryland Institute College of Art • Baltimore, Maryland
- Tuition: $34,090
- Acceptance Rate: 51.7%
- Average retention Rate: 85.5%
- Number of undergraduate students: 1,633
Massachusetts College of Art and Design • Boston, Massachusetts
- Tuition: In-state: $8,400; Out of State: $24,400
- Acceptance Rate: 51.4%
- Average retention Rate: 84.2%
- Number of undergraduate students: 2,199
Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design • Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Tuition: $26,050
- Acceptance Rate: 74.7%
- Average retention Rate: 73.5%
- Number of undergraduate students: 666
Minneapolis College of Art and Design • Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Tuition: $29,700
- Acceptance Rate: 55.5%
- Average retention Rate: 85.2%
- Number of undergraduate students: 685
Otis College of Art and Design • Los Angeles, California
- Tuition: $31,360
- Acceptance Rate: 53.4%
- Average retention Rate: 80.5%
- Number of undergraduate students: 1,140
Pratt Institute • Brooklyn, New York
- Tuition: $34,880
- Acceptance Rate: 41.9%
- Average retention Rate: 85%
- Number of undergraduate students: 3,107
Rhode Island School of Design • Providence, Rhode Island
- Tuition: $36,659
- Acceptance Rate: 29.3%
- Average retention Rate: 94.8%
- Number of undergraduate students: 1,926
Ringling College of Art and Design • Sarasota, Florida
- Tuition: $29,440
- Acceptance Rate: 69.8%
- Average retention Rate: 83.3%
- Number of undergraduate students: 1,229
University of the Arts • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Tuition: $31,000
- Acceptance Rate: 44.8%
- Average retention Rate: 79%
- Number of undergraduate students: 2,183
More info on unranked, specialty schools (this is the U.S News and World Report euphemism for art schools and art colleges) here.
Mary Rayme - Mary Rayme is a graphic designer and arts educator with a BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore.
Join the Conversation