Colleges With The Best Fine Arts Programs: US News & World Report List

A scene from UCLA Art Graduate Open Studio in December 2011 (art.ucla.edu).

Which school is ranked as the best college to earn a Masters of Fine Arts?

According to US News & World Report, it's Yale University. But there are a couple art schools and the University of California, Los Angeles nipping at Yale's heels.

US News ranked the top graduate schools with fine arts programs, based on the results of a peer assessment survey by art school deans and other top art school academics.

Check out the 8 schools with the best fine arts programs:

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• Yale University

  New Haven, CT <em>Photo Credit:<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MainCourtyard.jpg" target="_hplink"> Jdbrandt</a></em>

• Rhode Island School of Design

  Providence, RI <em> Photo Credit: <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rhode_Island_School_of_Design,_Providence_RI.jpg" target="_hplink">John Phelan</a></em>

• School of the Art Institute of Chicago

  Chicago, IL <em>Photo Credit: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:School_of_the_Art_Institute_Chicago_Grant_Park.JPG" target="_hplink">Alanscottwalker</a></em>

• University of California--Los Angeles

  Los Angeles, CA <em> Photo Credit: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Janss_Steps,_Royce_Hall_in_background,_UCLA.jpg" target="_hplink">brent</a></em>

• Virginia Commonwealth University

  Richmond, VA Photo Credit: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:VCU_Snead_Hall_by_Jeff_Auth.JPG" target="_hplink">Jeff Auth</a>

• California Institute of the Arts

  Valencia, CA Photo Credit: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cal_Arts_entrance.jpg" target="_hplink">Coolcaesar </a>

• Carnegie Mellon University

  Pittsburgh, PA Photo Credit: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:CMU_Hamerschlag_Hall.jpg" target="_hplink">mewtu/cpt</a>

• Cranbrook Academy of Art

  Bloomfield Hills, MI Photo Credit:<a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cranbrook.JPG" target="_hplink"> Danielcausa</a>

• Maryland Institute College of Art

  Baltimore, MD Photo Credit:<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MICA_MAIN_BUILDING.jpg" target="_hplink"> Spike55151</a>

For the full list, head over to US News & World Report's website.

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Comments

[fieldsart]

01:29 PM on 04/29/2013

I was lucky enough to study under my father Chester Fields, but i do wish I had some formal training especially in digital arts - www.chesterfieldsbronzes.com

[smhc]

01:34 PM on 01/28/2013

I think to study art in a vacuum on a college campus surrounded by other silly college students -- is not really conducive to truly studying art -- especially strange to attend a school that is not even in a major city -- NYC museums have some of the best art ever created (and chock full studios and galleries -- and bars -- occupied by actual working artists) -- why study in Providence or New Haven (though nice to visit the Turners sometimes)?

[smhc]

01:11 PM on 01/28/2013

If I were to choose today I'd find the best aetelier school -- not a 4 year program with a bogus degree. You want to be an artist and really study art (non-commercially) -- that's what you need to do. Grand Central in NYC or Florence Academy of Art in Italy -- and there are many good ones. Most BFA hacks could never handle a truly intense program. Posers think they are artists after one foundation year.
I learned this lesson a little late in life (might as well save the cost and time of the BFA if you want to be a fine artist). Today tuition is so ridiculously high, it makes less sense than ever to go for the degree. Just find the best mentors to study under and work hard at it.

[Petergowoofwoof]

11:37 PM on 10/09/2012

Cooper Union needs to be in the top 3 on this list... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooper_Union

[a space alien]

07:28 PM on 06/26/2012

I'm proud to say that with my Bachelor of Fine Arts I'm an alumnus of the The School Of The Art Institute Of Chicago. :-)

[lighthunt]

10:53 AM on 06/06/2012

where is cooper union? This list has some of the WORST colleges for fine arts...

[smhc]

02:11 PM on 01/28/2013

Near Astor Place on the IRT. It's free and very limited number of spots. Has a test -- RISD has similar test (like draw a shoe, an interior, and Tippy the Turtle). You actually have to be able to draw to get in -- might be tough for those Yalies.

[Trey Cool]

03:06 AM on 06/05/2012

University of North Texas should be much higher on this list. They are the best grad school for fine arts in Texas. No one from Texas considers UT to have a superior program over UNT. Even visiting professors from UT have told me that UNT has the best program in Texas.

[Mat Gleason]

01:37 PM on 06/02/2012

IN an historical era epitomized by the free flow of information and the universal access to it, the very notion of an art school bestowing some mystical betterment of an aspiring artist is quaint bordering on hokey, a laughably outdated sentiment.

Artists need materials training and professional mentoring. Today's big name art schools hardly offer either of these. And to say that they are overpriced is an understatement.

[brooklyncitizen]

09:18 PM on 07/28/2012

It is ironic that there are even schools to "teach art" yet none teach skills.Art has become fashionable and is just another product to be consumed . We are not humble enough to appreciate Art as other countries do.

When I travelled in Africa and India art was everywhere, it was functional and part of the lifestyle. Here we cordon it off and house it in overpriced buildings and charge lots of money to those that can afford to view it.

Still nothing can move me as much as Art. MOMA and the MET are sacred places.

[tommigirl32]

10:53 AM on 08/12/2012

Yes ok, but tell me what schools give you the needed connections and with a fine art degree lets say in painting from Yale...I can assure you it opens doors in Manhattans's very closed art and gallery world. As someone who is an artist but majored in a field with more so a guaranteed steady income (all though my field is getting dumbed down and horrendously attacked at every level possible, suffering massive cuts and lay offs...guess yet, yes Teaching in the Public Ed. sphere. Get this some of us teachers have very good educations and the job is ridden with obstacles such as beyond our control called childhood poverty in the USA. Anyhow, not to digress I wished I would have taken that leap and my talents to Yale it's a meal ticket in art to sit with the "right" people who give an artist opportunity, connections, and exposure to the public.

[mlw1965]

01:20 PM on 06/02/2012

This is pure propaganda.

[SangZe]

10:04 AM on 06/02/2012

Where's Cooper Union? This is a phony list.

[RhiannonRings]

12:15 PM on 06/03/2012

Pratt is missing too..

[whaat]

07:55 AM on 06/02/2012

Check out the most successful artists - most do not have a degree in art - You do not need an art degree to be an artist - you already are one - Go to your studio and work - that is the best school - educate yourself - that way you develop your own techniques rather than be a clone of someone who is hyped for the moment

[alrderblight]

07:34 PM on 06/04/2012

Name three prominent contemporary artists under the age of 45 that have not gone to prominent school.

Good luck.

[whaat]

08:43 PM on 06/04/2012

It depends on what you define prominent contemporary artists - I know prominent artists who have gone to prominent schools that do crap art.
I know many successful artists who have not gone to any art school - If you want famous artists - fame does not equal good artists - prominent artists who are successful are not necessarily good artists - so please define what you mean as prominent.- and what is your definition of good art?

[wesley kimler]

02:31 AM on 06/02/2012

One thing this article gets right is UCLA with a picture of the terrific under the radar long time LA artists Don Suggs -painter, photographer, and sculptor -all done at a very high level -lucky student whoever she is. -Don shows at LA Louver in Venice.

[lecloche]

01:43 AM on 06/02/2012

Hey all you people mitchin' and boanin'! It's U.S. News & World Report. What did you expect?

[UVA1983]

07:28 PM on 06/01/2012

Actually, it's VCU that is nipping at Yale's heels according to the listing -- which is pretty impressive considering the disparity in endowment this school has compared to Yale. Go VCU!!

[RaisonInPhilly]

06:35 PM on 06/01/2012

For all those asking where's Pratt, they're absent because they are horribly mismanaged. When I applied there they first lost my application, then they found it and said they'd notify in two weeks of there decision, never heard anything back and they never cashed the check I wrote for the application fee. That was TWO years ago. I ended up getting my MFA at PafA in Philly and have absolutely zero regrets! Unless you're looking for a finishing school this list is irrelevant. Find a program with instructors whose work you connect with and go there, the rest is just politics.