Smaller College/University offering BFA in Studio/Visual Art

Chance Me / Match Me
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We are looking at a wide range of schools for studio and visual arts, possibly with a focus on illustration. D26 likes art schools like SAIC, MassArt, MICA, etc. but also wants to consider “regular” colleges and universities that would give her a more traditional college experience. She’s leaning toward wanting to attend a school that offers a BFA (as opposed to a BA) because she wants the rigor and focus a BFA requires.

Lots of big universities have art schools that offer this type of degree. And most of the art schools that are part of the larger universities are small. But I’d like to know what are some of the smaller universities…or even smaller colleges, if such a thing exists…that offer a BFA in studio or visual arts?

I’m aware of Wash U, Lipscomb and Belmont. Wash U is a reach for anyone but she may give it a shot. Although we haven’t visited Lipscomb and Belmont, I’m worried they are too religious for her preference. There is also Willamette but from the website it looks like their BFA program is only offered through their standalone art college which is in a different city (and thus doesn’t provide the broader college experience).

Are there other smaller (2-10K students total) traditional colleges or universities that offer a BFA in studio or visual art?

Thanks!

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I’d fact check this before using the BFA as a screen. There are highly rigorous BA programs, and somewhat “loosey-goosey” BFA programs. The nomenclature does NOT tell you how focused a student needs to be to complete the degree!!!

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Yes, my D25 also is planning an Art major (leaning toward BFA instead of BA) and we are finding there are a lot of schools that fit this description.

As you mention, some of these schools such as WashU are very reachy , but many others have very accessible admissions rates. Lots of them are departments within public non-flagship universities, and the quality of the Art departments can be really good-- sometimes as good or even better than that of independent private Art Schools.

As an example, I know a married couple where the wife teaches at a private Art School and the husband teaches in the Art department of a nearby public non-flagship, and both of them advise me to send my kid to the public because the Art teaching is just as good, it will save close to $20K/yr, and there are more opportunities to switch majors or pick up a minor in a non-art field. Also the public has a wider variety of student types (i.e. not just “art kids”) although whether that is regarded as a positive or a negative depends on the student.

Anyway, we are from the upper Midwest, and one midsize public university with a great art and design department is UW-Stout. Stout is located about an hour East of the Twin Cities. It is the State of Wisconsin’s public polytechnic college, and has a bunch of ABET engineering majors as well as many BFA art and design majors. Also some traditional liberal arts majors. No matter the major, the school has a very hands-on, “learn by doing” philosophy.

(Incidentally, we also did explore Willamette because we have family in the area, but you are right the actual BFA programs are in Portland separate from the regular campus.)

ETA: I agree with @blossom above regarding BFA vs. BA. You can absolutely find BA programs that have as much art rigor, breadth of course offerings, and quality of facilities as some BFA programs. Basically you have to dig. For example, does the program offer ceramics, how often, what can it fire?

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Rest assured we are researching all options thoroughly.

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Also on the reachier side, but Tufts has a BFA program as well as a joint degree program (BFA + BA/BS).

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We looked at some similar schools for my aspiring studio art major.

Tufts does offer a BFA, but we could not get past the fact that the art school is not on the main campus. It’s in downtown Boston near the MFA which could be a 45 shuttle each way with traffic. It seemed like the college experience would feel a little disconnected and stressful to be going back and forth so we crossed it off the list.

We also liked MassArt for so many reasons, but were concerned there wasn’t strong academic offerings other than art. RISD/BROWN has an amazing program, but incredibly difficult to get into.

Small liberal arts colleges with strong art departments offering a BA in Studio Art and an artistic community on campus became our focus. Wesleyan in CT, Smith College in MA and Clark University in MA were top of the list (our focus was New England only).

In the end, my student loved Smith, got accepted ED and will go there in the fall. There is a great art community, art museum on campus and the open curriculum allows for a double major and a lot of academic flexibility.

Good luck with your search!

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These schools have BFA arts programs and I think almost all of these campuses will meet the flagship price of many northeastern states’ colleges:

I don’t have the energy to go through each of the following schools, but I strongly suspect they have BFA programs:

  • Aquinas (MI): About 1200 undergrads

  • Arcadia (PA ): About 1900 undergrads

  • Marywood U. (PA ): About 1900 undergrads

  • Mississippi College: About 2700 undergrads

  • Saint Ambrose (IA): About 2100 undergrads

  • U. of Dallas (TX): About 1400 undergrads

  • U. of Evansville (IN): About 1700 undergrads

  • U. of Hartford (CT): About 4100 undergrads

  • U. of Puget Sound (WA): About 1600 undergrads

ETA: I am going to page @BentWookie, and you may also find this thread of interest: Studio/Visual Art at Elite LACs?

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@green92 Thanks! We had the same reaction to Tufts. I wanted her to like that one so much but there were a lot of things she didn’t like about it even beyond the fact that SMFA is isolated from the main campus. She won’t apply. Probably applying separately to RISD and Brown but not dual degree and both are still big reaches even individually. Loved Wesleyan and will apply - but some reservations about art class offerings (obviously more limited than a BFA) which is actually why she is thinking of looking at BFA. Clark is a possibility, especially because she does have some interest in game design. We had not looked at Smith but will research that - thanks. She did find the art department at CT college to be really strong even though it’s a BA…but just couldn’t get past the fact that the (beautiful) campus felt too insular and isolated from the surrounding community. She’s picky for sure…

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@AustenNut thanks! We haven’t looked at SUNY schools and will research them. Arcadia is also on our list to research. Visited Hartford and I’m so sad she didn’t like it. The campus felt too insular and the surrounding neighborhood was rough. Will look into some of the others you mention. Thanks again.

ETA I spent a long time reading the thread you mention and there is some good info there for sure. We definitely added some schools to the list from that thread! LAC don’t seem to have BFA options though and still looking for some of those (will also apply to some BA programs at LAC). Thanks!

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You may want to consider:
Pratt Institute in Brooklyn (art school w/BFA, but also has non-art majors and more of a campus, with sports teams and a small pretty quad so some traditional collegiate feel)
Alfred U. in upstate NY - has an art school, I think. w/BFA, but not sure, and also more traditional majors
Connecticut College, has a strong BA in studio art, as part of a LAC.
My D24 was considering art schools and applied to some, but ended up at a LAC, where she is taking art classes but unsure of major at this point.

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I am not aware of any LACs that offer a BFA (which is somewhat antithetical to the idea of a liberal arts education), but there are definitely ones that offer a more substantial art curriculum than others. Skidmore, for example, offers a B.S. in art, which sounds funny but it’s because Skidmore requires students take more art courses for the degree than a B.A. requires. (This is how Skidmore explained it to us.) Bard also has a reputation as a being extremely art focused.

Other schools, however, will have many curriculum/degree limitations that may limit art students’ ability to take a majority of art courses. Swarthmore, for example, essentially limits students from taking more than a third of their total classes in their major. So if you’re looking at a BA from an LAC, you might pay attention to such requirements and favor more open curriculum oriented colleges like Smith and Wesleyan.

And then there are schools like Yale and UCLA, which only offer BAs in art, but also have the most elite MFA programs around. I can’t imagine an art degree from either would hold a budding artist back.

Of the schools that offer BFAs, WashU has a reputation as having a little more academic flexibility for BFA students, so the kids at Sam Fox can explore more and pursue other disciplines. You might also check out VCU, which has an outstanding art program. VCU itself is very large but I think VCUarts is about 3,000 students. It’s like having a a dedicated art college attached to a more traditional university. My D24 also liked BU’s art program a lot, but it’s a lot smaller.

My D24 strongly considered WashU and was very tempted by its BFA program but ultimately chose Pomona. The problem with a BFA program is that it requires a big commitment from the very beginning of the freshman “foundation” year, in which students usually take ~8 art course and ~2 electives. If your kid is 100% committed to art, that’s not a problem. But if your kid wants to explore a little more, it can be a concern. D24 likes Pomona and its art program, but she recognizes that she’s not getting the full art-college experience and has some concerns about internship/career paths down this less trodden road at Pomona, which as about 7-12 art majors per class. She’s focused a little more on meeting her gen ed requirements her first year, so she’s only taken one art class per semester. On the other hand, she has a job at Pomona’s art museum and Pomona’s art facilities are amazing. She is also likely to add Pomona’s PPE major (philosophy, politics, and economics) as a second major, so it’s good that she has Pomona’s flexibility. Our thinking is that if she wants to pursue art after college, she’ll probably seek an MFA, for which Pomona will not hold her back.

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What about Beloit?

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Messiah University in Pennsylvania offers a BFA major in studio art but, like Lipscomb and Belmont, it may be too religious for your daughter’s preference.

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@BentWookie can I DM you to get some more specific thoughts…:slight_smile:

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One more thought…take a look at the study abroad/away options offered specifically for studio art majors. We really liked BU’s college of fine arts and the study abroad option just for art students in Venice. I think it’s Wesleyan that offers a study away option for art students at a full art school in NYC for a semester. These are really amazing ways to supplement the on campus art programs offered in unique, deep dive ways.

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Thanks that’s a great suggestion. My D did a Summer program at BU and didn’t like it…how is that even possible…I don’t know. But I’ll definitely look into the specific program you mention and really great to know about Wesleyan too. We didn’t learn about that program on our tour. Thanks!

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I have 2 artsy kids, both looked at art schools and small liberal arts schools with strong studio art programs. One ended up at art school and the other is starting at a liberal arts school in the fall.

Our list for small arty liberal arts schools included:
Wesleyan, Sarah Lawrence, Hamilton, Bard, Conn College, Kenyon, Skidmore, Oberlin, Chapman, Bennington and Vassar (most only offer BA). We also looked at the Wash U and Tufts combo programs.

Art schools with a campus-y feel were: RISD, Pratt & CalArts. We also looked at state schools each time around and were impressed.

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