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Each year thousands of students prepare portfolios, application essays and entrance exams in order to gain entrance to one of nation’s top art colleges. Whether graphic design, illustration, painting, photography, or sculpture is your passion, the art colleges listed below offer the most prestigious and honored training available. With innovative coursework and respected faculty, these art colleges offer the best in fine art and design education.

Rhode Island School of Design
One of the top art colleges in the nation, the Rhode Island School (RISD) of design attracts students from across the United States and boasts students from 44 different countries. RISD has been recognized by the U.S. News & World Report as a number one fine arts graduate program (an honor shared with the following two art colleges). RISD offers 17 graduate majors in addition to 16 graduate majors.

School of the Art Institute of Chicago
A premiere fine arts college, the School of Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) is tied with RISD and the Yale School of Art for the U.S. News title of Number one fine arts graduate program, but has been ranked number 1 for photography, number two for painting, and number three for visual communications as well as sculpture. Partnered with the museum the Art institute of Chicago, SAIC grants students access to the best art resources downtown Chicago has to offer. Open to advancing technology, SAIC’s Art and Technology Studies department offers classes in 3D animation, digital sound, robotics, and wireless technology. Also, SAIC offers each student 24 hour access to more than 26 software programs and claims to have integrated technology into “every artistic discipline.”

Yale School of Art
The Yale School of Art is a collaborative community that, as a professional art school, offers only Masters of Fine Arts degrees in photography, painting, printmaking, sculpture, and graphic design to the select few admitted students. Admission is highly competitive and in 27 1215 applicants vied for one of the 55 open places. The MFA program functions as a minimum two year residency ending with a faculty-approved thesis presentation.

School of Visual Arts
The School of Visual Arts (SVA) has two Manhattan locations, one on the West Side in the Chelsea neighborhood and another on the East Side in the Gramercy Park neighborhood. Specializing educating aspiring professional artists, SVA has produced many well known graduates including cinematographer Harris Savides, comedian Sam Brown, actor Jared Leto, and director Carlos Saldanha.

Cooper Union
With perhaps the richest history of the top art colleges, Cooper Union was founded in 1859 and in 186 was the sign of a historic address by then presidential hopeful Abraham Lincoln (an address now referred to as the Cooper Union Address). With an advantageous location in New York City, Cooper Union offers students close access to some of the most impressive museums and art centers in the world. Admitting only four percent of its applicants and offering each admitted student a full scholarship valued at $12,, Cooper Union is one of the most sought after art colleges in the nation.