The thing about art school is that it’s kind of like you’re going to a technical school. It creates skills and you learn how to use tools — you learn how to make things from scratch, and you learn how to communicate to figure out what you want.
-Artist, Paul Anthony Smith
In the last few posts we’ve spent time distinguishing traditional university art programs from art school BFA programs. We’ve also thought about how location (New York City versus a smaller city or town) might affect your educational experience. In this post, we spotlight Rhode Island School of Design and School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where we talk to award-winning sculptor, installation artist and SAIC alum, Selva Aparacio, to illustrate the BFA experience at a top art school outside of New York City. Finally, we’ll consider how all of the art schools compare, and why, specifically, an art school versus a university art program might be the best choice for you.
Program Spotlight: School of the Art Institute of Chicago
The BFA in Studio Art is the most popular degree at School of the Art Institute of Chicago, a well-regarded art school located in downtown Chicago and one that has produced many notable artists over the years, including Jeff Koons, Georgia O’Keefe, and Joan Mitchell, among others. Similar to the School of Visual Arts in New York City, which was featured in our last post, SAIC gives students the opportunity to study across disciplines for the duration of the program. This interdisciplinary freedom allows them to discover the medium they work best in rather than expecting them to select only one course of study, as RISD does, which we explore further below. Every student is different. Some might enjoy the flexibility of exploration, while others might be overwhelmed by too many options. At SAIC, you can choose.
For artist Selva Aparacio, choosing to study only one discipline at SAIC helped her make the most of her time there. “If I were to offer one piece of advice to prospective students of the program, it would be to resist the temptation of being overwhelmed by the vast array of possibilities that SAIC offers. Instead, focus on a specific path and stay committed.” This kind of dedicated focus helped her to hone her craft and she graduated with a highly developed artistry in sculpture. She has since won many awards for her work and has a solo show opening at the DePaul Art Museum in Chicago this year. And though her singular study of sculpture was beneficial to her process and ultimately her career, Aparacio encourages students to supplement their learning with other courses. She says, “Look for special class opportunities, such as Scientific Drawing at the Field Museum or advanced studio classes where you will be assigned a studio on campus to work on more ambitious projects.”
In addition to interdisciplinary freedom, SAIC also boasts state of the art facilities and a museum on campus that, for Aparacio, was a memorable part of her time there. “One of my favorite [memories] was the daily journey through the Art Institute’s museum collection on my way to the sculpture building. This experience, walking through layers of history and culture, was profoundly inspirational and truly unique.” SAIC’s campus teems with the artistic energy of its 158-year legacy in arts education. When visiting BFA programs and gathering information to make the right selection, be sure to pause and feel the energy of the buildings, studios, and outdoor spaces as well as the museums and the facilities you’ll be working in and ask yourself: does this place inspire me?
SAIC’s BFA program also has the option to emphasize art education or writing, which means that if you identified teaching or perhaps multidisciplinary art that incorporates narrative or fiction as one of your long-term artistic goals (which we covered in Post 3), then SAIC would be a practical choice to reach that goal. SAIC’s internship program pairs students with working artists and is another way to bolster your artistic career. These factors – along with their off-campus study requirement and their curriculum that extends beyond the arts into social sciences, humanities and technology – create a holistic education that supports all the dimensions of life as an artist.
Program Spotlight: Rhode Island School of Design
Rhode Island School of Design was founded by women in 1877, ten years after the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and long before women had the right to vote. Widely considered the top art school in the country, it is situated in the western part of Providence’s College Hill neighborhood adjacent to Brown University and has produced many famous artists such as Kara Walker, Francesca Woodman, and Shepherd Fairey. Artist and musician Chris Frantz of Talking Heads told the New York Times: “One thing that was instilled in us at RISD was that it’s OK to copy people and be influenced and inspired by the artists who have come before you, but if you ever want to be taken seriously, then you have to be able to dig down really deep and reveal something that’s unique unto yourself.” RISD is a serious school for serious artists.
RISD prides itself on “placing as much emphasis on thinking, curiosity and context” as they do on making art. Prospective students should expect a rigorous curriculum focused on the development of creativity and a strong artistic voice. After a foundational first year of exploration, students will choose a discipline to focus on for the rest of their time in the program. They will also have the option of selecting an additional concentration, like a minor, from subjects like Literary Arts and Studies to Computation, Technology and Culture. Finally, students have access to the unique and popular Nature Center where they can take classes in the growing field of biodesign.
In lieu of an off-campus study requirement, like SAIC, RISD offers research trips focused on arts and crafts as well as a wide selection of extracurricular clubs for students. One club, the NASA Rover Club, is a student-run organization that designs an extraterrestrial vehicle for NASA’s Rover Challenge, and attracts art students who are interested in mechanics and design. One alumnus, artist Lindsay Moreau who studied Industrial Design at RISD, said of her time in the club, “The hands-on approach and the way each detail was carefully thought out and discussed made me certain that I had chosen the right major.” These are a few of the many ways that RISD provides its students with the necessary enrichment to develop and feel confident in their art. It even offers a unique 5-year combination program with Brown University, which we discuss in more detail in Post 8.
Ultimately, RISD’s BFA program, like many others, is a place of discovery with a network of creators lifting each other up. It stands out among other art schools for its rigor and the seriousness with which it encourages students to dig into and define their own artistic presence. Current Jewelry + Metalsmithing (J+M) student, Eleanna Feldman, says of her experience at RISD, “I’m surrounded by so many people who are just so incredible at what they do, and I really feel like I need to step it up and push myself harder. I feel like a lot of what is valuable about this environment is the constant need to push yourself. And that’s been very inspiring to me.”
See the chart below which includes comparative information on features for the country’s top art schools outside of New York City.
| Name | SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) | RISD (Rhode Island School of Design) | CalArts (California Institute of the Arts) | SAIC (School of the Art Institute of Chicago) | MICA (Maryland Institute College of Art) | MassArt (Massachusetts College of Art and Design) |
| Location | Savannah, GA | Providence, RI | Valencia, CA | Chicago, IL | Baltimore, MD | Boston, MA |
| Number of Students | 13,444 | 2,084 | 940 | 2,806 | 1,694 | 1,876 |
| Arts Majors | 36 Majors | 18 Majors | 17 Majors | 15 Majors | 14 Majors | 18 Majors |
| Arts Minors | 81 Minors | RISD offers 6 concentrations (similar to minors at other colleges) | 5 Minors | 23 Minors Link |
8 Minors | |
| Factors to Consider | Animation and Sequential Art are two of SCAD’s most popular majors With three campuses, it is one of the largest art schools in terms of enrollment. The main campus is in the vibrant and historic Southern city of Savannah. They have another campus in Atlanta and a satellite campus in a medieval village in France. The scope and breadth of SCAD is comparable to that of a university and offers students a more well-rounded experience than most art schools. | RISD is known for its rigorous course load. As a student at RISD, you will be expected to work extremely hard and emerge from the program with a strong work ethic and artistic practice. It is considered by many to be the top art school in the country, so students are held to a very high standard. RISD is also known for its active and highly supportive alumni network. If you are searching for a campus with extensive artistic opportunities and experiences outside the classroom, however, it is important to keep in mind that RISD is located in the smaller city of Providence, RI (versus a metropolitan area like NYC or LA). | CalArts is located in Los Angeles, a city with a vibrant, thriving art scene and a history of subversive art-making. When Walt Disney and others founded the school in the 1960s, Disney even hoped to recruit visionary artists like Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí as professors. CalArts is known for its countercultural and unconventional atmosphere and approach to art Nontraditional artists, in particular, will thrive in this experimental and conceptually rigorous program. | SAIC is a vanguard art school. Its 150-year history places it at the forefront of arts education in the country. Similar to RISD, the school’s prestige opens doors for its students after graduation. SAIC’s faculty founded the Art Institute of Chicago, making the museum (the third largest art collection in the world) available to SAIC students as a second classroom, providing invaluable opportunities for artistic study. | MICA is known for its versatile GFA (General Fine Arts) degree, which allows students the flexibility of choosing an interdisciplinary, theme-focused, or multimedia approach to design a personalized art degree. MICA’s location in Baltimore is also a cornerstone of its program. A bold and diverse city, Baltimore offers MICA students the canvas to create inspired, visionary, and subversive art. | MassArt emphasizes interdisciplinary study and peer collaboration. It encourages real-world experience by connecting students with internships at top design agencies, studios, and art-focused organizations. Its location also fosters networking opportunities with nearby galleries, universities and art institutions, like the Museum of Fine Arts. Since MassArt is a state-funded school, its tuition is more affordable. |
| Atmosphere of program | Shaped by its home in Savannah, SCAD’s atmosphere is distinctly Southern. The student body is known for being welcoming and professors are distinguished as kind and nurturing mentors who generously help students achieve their utmost artistic potential. While students should expect a rigorous workload, they also have three-day weekends (SCAD doesn’t conduct classes on Fridays), so they have time to relax, reset and catch up. | While each of RISD’s departments, from architecture to painting, has its own unique identity, the hard work, respect, and fairness displayed by RISD students is consistent across the board. RISD accepts some of the top art students in country, so there is a healthy sense of competition but also a sense of solidarity amidst the challenging and extensive coursework that forges strong and lasting friendships. RISD encourages collaboration across disciplines and artistic exploration to spark the kind of thinking required to make great art. | One CalArts BFA student referred to their experience as “Hogwarts for artists,” while another said it was like “being inside of the womb of a super supportive and wild hippie mother.” CalArts is indeed magical and wild when it comes to its experimental and collaborative approach to art. Because the school embraces the unconventional, CalArts enrollees are rarely “traditional” college students, which lends a quirky openness to the program and sparks creativity. | SAIC, like RISD, has a strong focus on fine arts. It is dedicated to encouraging and developing students’ artistic thinking and helping them hone their voice as artists while also teaching sustainable practices to lean on once they graduate. SAIC focuses on developing true and authentic artists, and its admissions office describes the SAIC atmosphere as “very collaborative and explorative.” | MICA is a serious school for students who are equally serious about their artistic practice. It has a polite and respectful student body that is dedicated and works hard to achieving their creative potential. The school values a holistic sense of mental and physical well-being that goes beyond students’ coursework. MICA’s faculty create an encouraging atmosphere for students, supporting them as they hone their creative talents to realize their future dreams. | Kindness and openness are leading characteristics of the MassArt program; a sense of community is actively fostered between both students and faculty. Faculty sincerely care about facilitating their students’ success, and students appreciate the faculty’s connections to the Boston art scene. The many creative opportunities Boston has to offer also lend the program an exciting and abundant space to make art. |
We hope that after reading about SAIC and RISD, as well as considering the chart above that breaks down each top art school’s offerings, you can clearly see that a variety of factors demand consideration when choosing the right program for you. Art schools focus solely and intimately on artistic discipline, craft, technique, and theory. They teach you, unequivocally, how to be an artist, but they also provide you with a community of other artists that will support you long after you graduate. Of SAIC, Selva Aparacio reminds prospective students to “remember that the friendships you forge during your time at SAIC will last a lifetime. This community will be an invaluable resource throughout your career, so be open to learning and sharing, as the more we learn, the more we can give back!” This is true of any art school and an important factor to consider when choosing which kind of art program is right for you.
In our next post we’ll leave the art school environment behind and take a look at art majors at the country’s Ivy League universities.
The college admissions process can be overwhelming, and it may feel difficult to know where to start. At Collegiate Gateway, we are eager to share our expertise and guide you on your admissions strategy and the path to your “best fit” college. Please feel free to contact us! As always, we’re happy to help!
