Top 10 Fine Arts Schools

Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, Maryland

• Accreditation: Middle State Association of College & Schools Commission on Higher Education, National Association of Schools of Art & Design
• Notable alumni: Jeff Koons*
• $29,700 for one full year
• Recent visiting artists: David Byrne, Odd Nerdrum, Ben Katchor, Barry Levinson, Ishmael Reed.
• This writer is biased toward this school as both grandfathers attended when it was a drafting school, and this writer graduated from MICA in 1988. This art school is considered somewhat traditional in that it stresses learning to draw academically from nude models and life. This top notch art education will give you the problem-solving skills and discipline you need to conquer the world and find a job. MICA also cares about artists learning to write and has an incredible English Department faculty who will teach you how to write like a pro. Visit MICA to see if this funky, urban campus is for you.
• www.mica.edu

* per Jim Cain, MICA alum and former roommate of JK.

Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, Rhode Island

• While this is the priciest school on the list, RISD also has the best reputation, especially as a school for industrial designers.
• $32,858 for one full year
• Recent visiting artists: Alexander Isley, Joyce Scott, James Rosenquist
• Accreditation: American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB), National Association of Schools of Art & Design (NASAD), National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification (NASDTEC), New England Association of Schools & Colleges (NEASC)
• www.risd.edu

Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland, Ohio

• This art school was originally named the Western Reserve School of Design for Women.
• Recent visiting artists: Joyce Scott, Dale Chihuly, Mark Olitsky, Moe Brooker, Sam Gilliam, Elizabeth Murray
• $28,100 for one full year
• Accreditation: North Central Association of Colleges and Schools and the National Association of Schools of Art and Design and is also a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design and the Northeast Ohio Council on Higher Education.
• www.cia.edu

Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, Missouri

• Some of this art school's famous attendees include the animator Walt Disney and painter Robert Rauschenberg.
• Recent visiting artists: Chip Kidd, Marilyn Stokstad
• $27,220 for one full year
• Accreditation: Higher Learning Commission, a commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools and by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design.
• www.kcai.edu

School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois

• Notable alumni of this art school include Thomas Hart Benton, Leon Golub, Edward Gorey, Halston, Hugh Hefner, Jeff Koons, Bill Mauldin, Elizabeth Murray, Joan Mitchell, Georgia O'Keefe, Klaes Oldenburg, and Grant Wood.
• Recent visiting artists: Jim Elkins, Vito Acconci, Enzo Mari
• $32,550 for one full year
• Accreditation: North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, National Association of Schools of Art and Design. The School's Art Education program is certified by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), and shares reciprocity with most states in the United States. Its Art Therapy program is approved by the Education and Approval Board of the American Art Therapy Association.
• www.saic.edu

Otis College of Art and Design, Los Angeles, California

• Distinguished alumni include: Edith Head, Philip Guston and Robert Irwin.
• Recent visiting artists: Dave Hickey, Marsha TuckerAccreditation: The Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, The National Association of Schools of Art and Design.
• $28,346 for one full year
• www.otis.edu

California College of the Arts, San Francisco, California

• Notable alumni include Manuel Neri and Robert Arneson.
• Recent visiting artists: Hans Haacke, Catherine Wagner, Chip Lord, Amy Balkin, Yvonne Rainer
• Accreditation: Western Association of Schools and Colleges, National Association of Schools of Art and Design, the National Architectural Accrediting Board, and the Council for Interior Design Accreditation.
• $29,280 for one full year
• www.cca.edu

Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

• Recent visiting artists: Robert Colescott, Alexander Isley, James Elkins, Lisa Yuskavage and Vito Aconcci.
• Accreditation: National Association of Schools of Art and Design and the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. The Architecture Program is accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board.
• $22,270 out of state
• $12,398 in state
• Tyler School of Art is the bargain on this list, and also is a part of Temple University.
• www.temple.edu/tyler

Corcoran College of Art and Design, Washington DC

• www.corcoran.edu
• Recent visiting artists: Sam Gilliam, Larry Fink
• Accreditation: Middle States Commission on Higher Education
• $25,890 for one full year
• The Corcoran Gallery of Art is a fine museum amongst a sea of fine museums in Washington DC.
• www.corcoran.org/index.asp

Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York

• Notable alumni include Dave Berg (Cartoonist for Mad Magazine), Jules Feiffer, Eva Hesse, Robert Mapplethorpe, George Lois, Harvey Fierstein, Ellsworth Kelly, Peter Max, Beverly Pepper, Paul Rand, Robert Redford Robert Sabuda, Max Weber and Rob Zombie.
• Accreditation: Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, the National Association of Schools of Art and Design, the Foundation for Interior Design Education Research, and the National Architectural Accreditation Board.
• $29,900 for one full year
• www.pratt.edu