In today’s market place, companies seek cutting edge designs and branding to maintain brand dominance. Graphic designers and artists with sharp creative skills and branding techniques are in high-demand by marketing and advertising companies.
To compete for these lucrative jobs, students need the best education possible without accruing much debt. They also need a school where the student-to-faculty ratio is low, so students receive personalized attention.
Top 5 Art Colleges in Florida
| Rank | School | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Central Florida | Orlando, Florida |
| 2 | University of West Florida | Pensacola, Florida |
| 3 | Florida Gulf Coast University | Fort Myers, Florida |
| 4 | Florida International University | Miami, Florida |
| 5 | Florida State University | Tallahassee, Florida |
To aid students in this daunting task, we compiled a list of the best art colleges in Florida that best fit these criteria. We included information about additional degrees a school may offer for students interested in careers other than graphic design.
In the event of a tie, we awarded both schools the same ranking (in no particular order.) We then skipped a number to ensure we concluded with the number 15.
Best 18 Art Colleges in Florida
University of Central Florida
Orlando is host to the University of Central Florida, a public school with a full-time student body of about 61,000. Students may major in art, studio art, and art education, to name a few, to prepare for various creative careers.
School Overview
University of West Florida
Located near Pensacola, the University of West Florida is a smaller institution with approximately 6,800 full-time students. The Department of Art and Design offers graphic design, digital art, studio art, art studio, and art history degrees.
School Overview
Florida Gulf Coast University
Located in Fort Myers, Florida Gulf Coast University is a public school and has around 11,200 full-time undergrads. The Bower School of Music and the Arts offers degrees in art, art history, and digital media design.
School Overview
Florida International University
Located in University Park outside of Miami, Florida International University is a public institution that offers degrees in art, digital arts, graphic design, studio, art history, and art education. FIU has over 27,000 full-time undergraduates that are from various ethnicities.
School Overview
Florida State University
Located in Tallahassee, Florida, Florida State University is a large state school with 29,000 full-time students. The College of Fine Arts offers majors in art, dance, theatre, as well as Facility for Arts Research. FSU has other art-related colleges like the College of Motion Picture Arts and the College of Arts and Sciences.
School Overview
University of Florida
The University of Florida’s School of Art + Art History offers various majors like art education, museum studies, and exhibition venues. The Digital Worlds Institute, a separate department within the School of Art, prepares students for digital communication and storytelling careers and computer science.
School Overview
University of South Florida
The University of South Florida is a top-ranked public school with a full-time student population of around 25,000. Located in Tampa, the College of Arts includes the schools of art history, music, theatre, and dance, to name a few.
School Overview
University of North Florida
The University of North Florida, located in Jacksonville, offers a degree in Fine Arts with a concentration in Graphic Design and Digital Media. There are over 10,400 full-time students at the University of West Florida, and it is located on a nature preserve minutes from downtown Jacksonville.
School Overview
Flagler College
Flagler College is a private school located in St. Augustine and has approximately 2,500 full-time students. The Art and Design program emphasizes studies in advertising, art history, arts administration, film studies, graphic design, to name a few.
School Overview
University of Tampa
The University of Tampa is a private institution with approximately 9,000 full-time students. The school’s Department of Art and Design offers art, visual arts, graphic design, design, and art therapy degrees. They also offer a minor in therapeutic art.
School Overview
Florida Atlantic University
Florida Atlantic University, in Boca Raton, is a public university with around 16,000 full-time students. The Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters prepares students for careers as ceramics, printmaking, graphic designers, photographer, and sculptors with curriculums specializing in these disciplines.
School Overview
Jacksonville University
Jacksonville University has about 2,400 full-time students on its urban campus. The Linda Berry Stein College of Fine Arts has the School of Performing Arts and the School of Art and Design. Students can find various majors in the School of Art and Design like animation, ceramics, film, and sculpture, to name a few.
School Overview
Florida Southern College
Florida Southern College, located in Lakeland, is a Frank-Lloyd Wright-designed campus often voted “most beautiful” campuses. With over 2,000 full-time undergrads, the college offers degrees in graphic design, art history, museum studies, film, interactive and game design, and studio art.
School Overview
Ringling College of Art & Design
Located in Sarasota, Florida, the Ringling College of Art & Design is a small, private school with a student enrollment of around 1,500. The school has 13 majors ranging from creative writing to virtual reality development.
School Overview
Eckerd College
Eckerd College is a private college that sits on 188 pristine waterfront acres in St. Petersburg. The liberal arts college has a full-time enrollment of about 1,900 students and offers a degree in visual arts. Students with a visual arts degree can find careers as an architect, fashion designer, gallery owner, urban planner, to name just a few.
School Overview
Stetson University
Stetson University is a small, private institution located in DeLand near Orlando. Stetson’s College of Arts and Sciences offers programs focused on art, digital arts, and theatre arts. The majority of the over 3,000 full-time students live on campus, and most agree that their professors put great effort into teaching.
School Overview
University of Miami
The University of Miami has a comprehensive selection of majors ranging from Africana Studies to Art-Studio and Theatre Arts. The school is located in Coral Gables, Florida, and has approximately 10,500 full-time students.
School Overview
Rollins College
Rollins College is a liberal arts school located in Winter Park just outside Orlando. The college has approximately 2,400 full-time students and offers degrees in art, art history, dance, theatre arts, writing, and music.
School Overview
How We Ranked The Schools
We searched institutions in the state of Florida that offer degrees in art or art design. Next, we choose schools that varied in size, tuition, and notoriety. We compiled this data and ranked the schools based upon two criteria:
- Yearly cost based upon living in-state plus room, board, materials, etcetera.
- Student-faculty ratio.
Lastly, we compiled points by ranking them based upon the lowest tuition and lowest student to faculty ratio.
If you’re still unsure about what school is best or have any other questions about this and different degrees, please contact us for assistance after reading our list.
If you work for one of these institutions but found our data incorrect, please contact us to revise.
