← All rankings
Art & Design

Best Colleges for Art and Design

Art schools deliver something academic universities can't: studio culture. Daily critique, exposure to working artists, and a community that pushes you. The schools below are the ones where employers and grad programs look for portfolios. If you're certain art is your path, dedicated art schools often beat liberal-arts-with-an-art-department options.

Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

  1. 1

    Rhode Island School of Design

    Rhode Island · Private nonprofit

    19%
    acceptance rate
  2. 2

    Yale University

    Connecticut · Private nonprofit

    4%
    acceptance rate
  3. 3

    School of the Art Institute of Chicago

    Illinois · Private nonprofit

    77%
    acceptance rate
  4. 4

    California Institute of the Arts

    California · Private nonprofit

    32%
    acceptance rate
  5. 5

    Maryland Institute College of Art

    Maryland · Private nonprofit

    77%
    acceptance rate
  6. 6

    Carnegie Mellon University

    Pennsylvania · Private nonprofit

    12%
    acceptance rate

Want this ranking, but for YOU?

One metric only tells part of the story. Take our 5-minute quiz and we’ll rank every school by how well it fits your specific profile — academics, cost, social life, outcomes, and environment.

Take the quiz