Art Institute Versus Art School

So what's the difference between going to an art college and going to an art institute? Think of the Art Institute franchise as a vo-tech school for artist wannabees. While this may sound insulting, it is not intended to be so. One criticism of fine art colleges is that they lack in teaching practical skills that allow their graduates to find jobs in the art industry.

Fields of Study

The Art Institutes that have sprung up over the United States in recent years offer practical, hands-on training in all kinds of visual and culinary arts and include graphic design, advertising, interior design, web design, photography, audio and visual production, visual and game programming, fashion design and fashion merchandising. The Art Institutes also offer vocational training at their International Culinary Schools that includes training in bakery and pastry arts, beverage management and general culinary management. (One hopes that Gordon Ramsey of Hell's Kitchen fame is not an instructor, nor a graduate.) There are Art Institutes located in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and British Columbia.

Cost Comparison

The tuition cost of the Art Institute is significantly less than that of a traditional art school. A typical traditional art school may cost up to $27,000 for one year of tuition (not including the cost of art supplies). An Art Institute year of two semesters of 15-credits per will cost you approximately $6,500-that is a huge price differential.

Online Learning

Art Institutes also offer the added bonus of online learning from anywhere in the world, not for all courses of study, but certainly for things like web design and graphic design. Check out the Art Institute web site for an extensive list of successful alumni who are business owners and creative professionals working in the fields they trained in. The working alumni of the Art Institutes include professional chefs, restaurateurs, art directors, creative directors, photographers, sound engineers and interior designers.

Degrees and Accreditation

At the Art Institutes you can obtain an associate's, bachelor's and/or master's degree that is accredited through the Art Institute of Pittsburgh by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, the Accrediting Council of Independent Colleges and Schools, the American Culinary Federation and the Council of Interior Design Accreditation.

Fine Art or Commerical Art?

Perhaps a criticism of the Art Institute business model is the lack of a general, liberal arts education that is offered through most fine art colleges. For example, many fine art colleges stress learning to write and other required courses may include anthropology, sociology and even science.

Another criticism of the Art Institute experience is that classical and academic methods of learning to draw may be lacking. For example, fine art students at a traditional art college are required to take several semesters of life drawing courses, which means drawing from a live, nude model, and the study of anatomy. But as a student was once overheard saying, "You don't need to learn how to build a table to draw a table." So perhaps learning anatomy is overkill if the goal of the student is to become an illustrator or web designer.

With over 40 locations around the United States and through online courses, the Art Institutes offer a wide variety of artistic and creative career choices no matter where you live.

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