The U.S. has a number of quality art programs.
Those wishing to pursue a life or career in the arts have many choices of where and receive their training. Because art is such an individual process, determining where the best school or program is can be a challenge. A handful of U.S. art programs are regarded as the best in the country and have a history of producing talented artists.
Rhode Island School of Design
The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in Providence is ranked at the top of the list of fine art programs by U.S. News & World Report in 2008. The art school is competitive, accepting only 19 percent of applicants. The Ivy League setting makes RISD unique. The campus joins Brown University, a partner college that shares educational and academic resources with the art school.
RISD offers 16 undergraduate and 17 graduate-level degree programs in the arts and in design. The student body is made up of around 2,000 students, most of which are pursuing bachelor's degrees. High school students may be admitted into RISD's "pre-college" program to prepare them for a future in art school.
Rhode Island School of Design
2 College Street
Providence, RI 02903
401-454-6100
risd.edu
The Cooper Union
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, usually just referred to as Cooper Union, is a school located in lower Manhattan in the East Village. The fine arts program at Cooper Union is highly selective with only 5 percent acceptance, and is considered one of the most versatile programs in America. Students are not expected to fulfill the requirements of a particular major en route to their bachelor's in fine arts. Instead, students merely choose a particular number of courses that interest them and will help them grow as an artist.
The school strives to instill social awareness in students so they will create art that visually communicates what they understand about history and culture.
The Cooper Union
30 Cooper Square
New York, NY 10003
212-353-4100
cooper.edu/art
Art Institute of Chicago
Next door to Chicago's Grant Park, the Art Institute of Chicago is a cutting-edge art school offering a wide variety of options for art education to its students. Those attending this highly prestigious art school can take part in unique programs not offered in other art schools. Art and technology, arts administration, theory and criticism, art education, art therapy, fashion design, filmmaking and visual communications are some of the many courses of study available to students in this program.
The Art Institute of Chicago moved into its current home in 1976, where it joins the institute's museum. The campus-museum is the largest of its kind in the U.S. Prior to its relocation near Grant Park, the school's history dates back to 1866, when it was known as the Chicago Academy of Design.
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
37 South Wabash Ave.
Chicago, IL 60603
312-629-6100
saic.edu
