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  1. aeromancer27

    aeromancer27 New Member

    Anybody know anything about the Academy of Art College?

    http://www.academyart.edu/

    Thought someone might know about their programs and their degrees.

    Thanks.
     
  2. BillDayson

    BillDayson New Member

    OK, first of all it's changed its name to Academy of Art University. I don't think that all of its materials reflect that change yet.

    It's the largest art school in the United States, by enrollment. It's also one of the largest property owners in San Francisco, by all accounts. They have buildings spread from North Beach to South of Market. You see its distinctive logo everywhere in SF.

    I have no personal experience with either their online or on-campus courses. I've met some of their students in San Francisco though.

    My impression is that the school is much easier to get into than SF Art Institute or California College of Arts (formerly CCAC). It's sort of open admissions: definitely not selective. Nothing prestigious in the art world, but legitimate. Not everyone is talented, but certainly some of them are. I believe that its on-line students are free to take on-campus courses if they are in SF. Some students mix the two modes. It's expensive. AAU operates several galleries in SF and you see its students in the cafes. Cool art school types. A significant number of foreign students, many of them Asian.

    AAU seems a bit more oriented towards commercial art applications, as opposed to the SF Art Institute's uncompromising fine arts orientation. AAU was an early pioneer in offering new media courses, with studios full of computers when other art schools were still fixated on painting and sculpture. It maintains ties with a number of Silicon Valley companies. In the past they had some kind of relationship with Pixar animation studios, but I don't know if that's still the case. The on-campus BFA and MFA in interior design are accredited by FIDER, and if that accreditation extends to the online offerings (I have no reason to think it doesn't), then that would probably be a first in interior design.

    It's not regionally accredited. It is accredited by ACICS, NASAD (the National Association of Schools of Art and Design) and FIDER (Foundation for Interior Design Education and Research). In some states, one needs to have graduated from a FIDER accedited department in order to be licensed as an interior designer. It's also CA-approved, you betcha.

    They continue to expand their online offerings. These have grown to quite a lineup, almost certainly the most comprehensive DL art school in the world. (Don't ask me how they teach things like painting and sculpture by DL.) Btw, an MFA is considered a terminal degree in art practice and it can help qualify a graduate for college teaching.

    > MFA Advertising
    > MFA Animation | 2D
    > MFA Animation | 3D
    > MFA Animation | Games
    > MFA Animation | Modeling
    > MFA Animation | Visual Effects
    > MFA Computer Arts - New Media
    > MFA Fashion Design
    > MFA Fashion Merchandising
    > MFA Fine Art - Figure Painting
    > MFA Fine Art - Non-Figure Painting
    > MFA Fine Art - Sculpture
    > MFA Graphic Design
    > MFA Traditional Illustration
    > MFA Interior Architecture & Design
    > MFA Photography - Fine Art

    > BFA Advertising
    > BFA Animation | 3D Modeling
    > BFA Animation | Background Painting
    > BFA Animation | Character Animation
    > BFA Animation | Games
    > BFA Animation | Storyboarding
    > BFA Animation | Visual Development
    > BFA Animation | VFX/Compositing
    > BFA Fashion Design
    > BFA Fashion Merchandising
    > BFA Visual Merchandising and Store Design
    > BFA Fine Art - Paint & Drawing
    > BFA Fine Art - Sculpture
    > BFA Graphic Design
    > BFA Graphic Illustration
    > BFA Traditional Illustration
    > BFA Interior Architecture & Design - Residential
    > BFA Interior Architecture & Design - Commerical
    > BFA Photography - Advertising/Illustration
    > BFA Photography - Fine Art
    > BFA Photography - Documentary

    Plus many associates degree and certificate programs.

    http://online.academyart.edu/degrees.html
     

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