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Best 20 Art Colleges in New York in 2024

January 26, 2024 | Admin

Art Colleges in New York
1

CUNY — College of Staten Island

  • New York City, New York

CUNY — College of Staten Island is one of the best value art colleges in New York. The art program allows students to focus on studio art, photography, or art history degrees. The art department features an outstanding faculty of art historians and artists and a nurturing environment where students can learn the profound value of the arts in the contemporary world. Art majors can choose from a bachelor of arts and bachelor of fine arts with a concentration in studio art and can further specialize in drawing, printmaking, painting, or sculpture.

School Overview

Tuition: $6,930
Acceptance Rate: 100%
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2

CUNY — York College

  • New York City, New York

Students at CUNY — York College can pursue a bachelor of arts with a major in minor in studio arts. The studio art program is designed to help students gain fundamental knowledge and skills of art production as well as an understanding of art history. The curriculum allows students to develop a concentration in areas including painting, sculpture, photography, and computer graphics. Students undertake group-oriented coursework, fundamental skills courses, electives, and advanced projects.

School Overview

Tuition: $6,930
Acceptance Rate: 53%
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3

Marymount Manhattan College

  • New York City, New York

Marymount Manhattan College offers students more than one of the best art colleges in New York. Students live and study in the heart of New York City, within walking distance of the Met, MoMA, Guggenheim, Frick, and Cooper-Hewitt. Art majors can choose from concentrations in art history, graphic design, illustration and animation, photography, and studio art. All concentrations give students opportunities to participate in hands-on coursework, work in a variety of media, and showcase their work in exhibitions.

School Overview

Tuition: $35,680
Acceptance Rate: 78%
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4

CUNY — City College of New York

  • New York City, New York

The art department at CUNY — City College of New York combines the historical perspective with a contemporary view of art and the liberal arts. Students can choose to pursue a bachelor of fine arts in electronic design and multimedia or a bachelor of arts in art with a concentration in studio art, art history, digital design, photography, or art education. The City College of New York offers state-of-the-art facilities including studios and multimedia labs managed by a superior faculty and staff.

School Overview

Tuition: $6,930
Acceptance Rate: 48%
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5

CUNY — Queens College

  • New York City, New York

The art department at CUNY — Queens College offers students a choice of a bachelor of arts or a more intensive bachelor of fine arts. Bachelor of arts students can major in art history, studio art, or art education, while bachelor of fine students can major in design, photography and imaging, or studio art. All art students can choose to further specialize within their chosen majors. Students pursuing a bachelor of arts gain a well-rounded liberal arts education, while those opting for a bachelor of fine arts have access to a more in-depth course of study, including hands-on studio courses.

School Overview

Tuition: $6,930
Acceptance Rate: 48%
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6

College of Mount Saint Vincent

  • New York City, New York

The Division of Communication, Art, and Media at the College of Mount Saint Vincent provides a robust theoretical understanding of the principles and practices of various fields including art history, communication, studio art, and visual arts and experimental media. All students have access to a professional faculty, first-hand experience in and outside the classroom, and the college’s strong network of industry leaders.

School Overview

Tuition: $39,500
Acceptance Rate: 78%
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7

CUNY — Brooklyn College

  • New York City, New York

The School of Visual, Media, and Performing Arts at CUNY — Brooklyn College offers a bachelor of arts in art. The faculty at Brooklyn College is drawn from a community of distinguished art figures for our faculty, as well as visiting artists, art historians, critics, and curators. Have access to New York’s museums, galleries, and lectures and presentations by artists and others from the local art community. Art majors work in a suite of studios and workrooms and benefit from a specialized art library.

School Overview

Tuition: $6,930
Acceptance Rate: 44%
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8

CUNY — Lehman College

  • New York City, New York

The Department of Art at CUNY — Lehman College offers a bachelor of arts majoring in art history or studio art, a bachelor of fine arts in art, and a bachelor of science in computer graphics imaging. Studio art majors can choose to further specialize in ceramics, computer-generated imaging, design, drawing, painting, photography, printmaking, or sculpture.

School Overview

Tuition: $6,930
Acceptance Rate: 40%
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9

CUNY — Baruch College

  • New York City, New York

CUNY — Baruch College offers a fine art degree through the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences. Students have access to one of the best art colleges in New York, featuring the Maker Hub at the Lawrence N. Field Center for Entrepreneurship, partnerships with New York City institutions including the Rubin Museum of Art, external arts programs, and the Baruch Performing Arts Center.

School Overview

Tuition: $6,930
Acceptance Rate: 39%
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10

Manhattan College

  • New York City, New York

Manhattan College‘s Art History & Digital Media Art department is part of a vibrant arts community that exists on campus, in New York City, and around the world. The college boasts award-winning faculty and relationships with world-class museums, galleries, and artists in the New York metropolitan area, including internship opportunities with museums and galleries, graphic design firms, magazines, and production companies. Courses utilize world-class museums, concert halls, art galleries, architecture, and theaters to bring course material to life.

School Overview

Tuition: $40,400
Acceptance Rate: 75%
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11

CUNY — Hunter College

  • New York City, New York

CUNY — Hunter College offers both a bachelor of arts and bachelor of fine arts in studio art. Foundational courses explore the basic principles of various media, while advanced courses emphasize individual exploration. concentrations are available in ceramics, drawing, new genres, painting, photography, printmaking, and sculpture. Students gain practical experience by assisting with all organizational aspects of curating an exhibition as well as exposure to the vibrant New York cultural scene and its world-famous museums and galleries.

School Overview

Tuition: $6,930
Acceptance Rate: 36%
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12

St. John’s University — Queens Campus

  • New York City, New York

St John’s University — Queen’s Campus a bachelor of fine art with majors in fine art, illustration, graphic design, and photography, providing an intensive art school curriculum within the context of a liberal arts university. The school’s mission is to provide challenging visual arts degree programs with the goal of developing visually sophisticated artists and designers who are intellectually driven, ethically conscious, and critically aware. The program is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design, which sets the highest standards in the arts for undergraduate and graduate art degrees nationwide.

School Overview

Tuition: $43,160
Acceptance Rate: 73%
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13

Pace University

  • New York City, New York

Pace University offers both a bachelor of arts and bachelor of fine arts in art. The bachelor of arts program provides a general, liberal arts education to students in the fields of both art and design. Students have access to classes in painting, drawing, sculpture, film and video production, printmaking photography, digital media, and art history alongside lecture courses, internships, and study abroad. The bachelor of fine arts is a professional program in art and design, featuring focused study in a selected studio area. A portfolio review is required for admission into the bachelor of fine arts program.

School Overview

Tuition: $45,832
Acceptance Rate: 76%
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14

School of Visual Arts

  • New York City, New York

The mission of the School of Visual Arts is to educate future generations of artists, designers, and creative professionals. The school offers a faculty of distinguished working professionals, a dynamic curriculum, and an emphasis on critical thinking. Students can pursue a bachelor of fine arts with majors in advertising, animation, cartooning, computer art and animation, design, film, fine art, illustration, interior design, photography and video, and visual and critical studies. Graduates from the School of Visual Arts include Academy Award winners, Emmy Award winners, Grammy winners, MacArthur Fellows, and Guggenheim Fellows.

School Overview

Tuition: $46,800
Acceptance Rate: 72%
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15

Wagner College

  • New York City, New York

Wagner College offers degrees in art, art history, film and media studies, and art and early childhood education. The fine arts program includes study in drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, photography, ceramics, and graphic design. Students develop and hone observational, practical, and analytical skills while developing their own artistic voices. Experiential study allows students to reflect on their work and become independently motivated and engaged in the field.

School Overview

Tuition: $48,010
Acceptance Rate: 70%
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16

The New School

  • New York City, New York

The Parsons School of Design at The New School offers a bachelor of fine arts with majors in architectural design, communication design, design and technology, design history and practice, fashion design, fine arts, illustration, integrated design, interior design, photography, product design, and strategic design and management. All undergraduate students share a common first-year experience before studying painting, drawing, sculpture, and 4D media. Fine art students have access to museums and galleries, opportunities for internships, and the ability to engage with active artists through the faculty and visiting artist lecture series.

School Overview

Tuition: $50,460
Acceptance Rate: 57%
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17

Pratt Institute

  • New York City, New York

The fine arts major at the Pratt Institute combines deep study in the student’s chosen field of practice with a broad education in the liberal arts and sciences. Concentrations are available in drawing, painting, sculpture and integrated practices, printmaking, and jewelry, and students are encouraged to plan unique course combinations by pairing requirements with electives that amplify their emerging studio practice. All fine arts majors produce a thesis project in their final year, culminating in a public exhibition of their work on campus. Pratt Institute graduates pursue diverse creative and professional careers as studio artists, community artists and educators, critics, curators, gallerists, creative entrepreneurs, and arts administrators.

School Overview

Tuition: $51,754
Acceptance Rate: 51%
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18

The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art

  • New York City, New York

The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art offers a bachelor of fine arts. The program is structured around an integrated curriculum that fosters connections between disciplines, as well as between traditional and new media. The studio experience affords the opportunity for the development of individual artistic vision in dialogue with collective debates and experiments within an intimate community of artists. Following the completion of a first-year foundation program, concentrations are available in drawing, film and video, graphic design, painting, photography, printmaking, and sculpture. Elective studio classes and seminars are also offered on a rotating basis.

School Overview

Tuition: $44,550
Acceptance Rate: 16%
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19

New York University

  • New York City, New York

New York University is one of the art colleges in New York offering the greatest diversity in its fine arts course selection. Students can choose to pursue a degree in art history from the College of Arts and Science, collaborative arts, interactive media arts, game design, or photography and imaging from the Tisch School of the Arts, studio art from the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, or individualized study in visual arts from the Gallatin School of Individualized Study. New York University is internationally regarded as one of the most prominent and respected research universities in the world, featuring top-ranked academic programs and a vast alumni network.

School Overview

Tuition: $54,880
Acceptance Rate: 20%
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20

Columbia University

  • New York City, New York

Students at Columbia University can pursue a visual arts program offering studio art classes as a component of a liberal arts education. The aim of the interdisciplinary program is to enable visual arts students to explore every conceivable form of visual expression. Concentrations are available in drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, printmaking, and video. Key components of the program include a seminar in contemporary art practice, a senior thesis, art studios for majors, and graduate student mentors, as well as opportunities for students to exhibit their work in their final semester.

School Overview

Tuition: $56,880
Acceptance Rate: 6%
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Still not sure which art degree is right for you? Use our Degree Finder tool to help you decide.

Our Ranking Methodology

To determine how to rank each college, we researched and evaluated each school’s estimated annual cost of tuition and undergraduate acceptance rate. We used in-state tuition rates where available. We took annual tuition rates directly from each school’s website and acceptance data from Google. We sorted each school first by the cost of tuition (lower is better) and then by acceptance rate (higher is better), letting each value make up equal portions (50%) of the final rankings.

If you work for one of the schools we ranked and you notice an error in the information we used to rank you, please feel free to contact us and let us know so we can make a correction.

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