AMERICAN ACADEMY OF ART
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
The Academy
Founded in 1923, the American Academy of Art has been educating professional artists in the fine art and commercial art fields for eighty years. Beginning with a solid foundation of drawing and design, based on the classical academic tradition, the dedicated and distinguished faculty is committed to providing its students with artistic skills and knowledge of contemporary tools and techniques that enable them to build a successful career.
The American Academy of Art continues to build on its strong reputation of educating successful, professional artists. The Academy believes an artist must develop mastery of materials and understand how to depict the world in a realistic style. The American Academy of art prepares students to enter leading galleries, advertising agencies, and design and animation studios.
The Academy is granted authority by the Illinois Board of Higher Education to award the Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) and Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) degrees. The Academy is an eligible institution under government-insured student loan and grant programs. It is authorized under federal law to enroll nonimmigrant alien students and is approved by the Veterans' Administration.
Location
The Academy is located at 332 South Michigan Avenue in the heart of Chicago's education and museum district. Four colleges and universities are within walking distance, as are the Harold Washington Library Center and the Chicago Cultural Center. Classes encourage outside research at nearby institutions such as the Field Museum, the Adler Planetarium, Shedd Aquarium, Terra Museum of American Art, and The Museum of Contemporary Art. Each summer the city is filled with festivals from the Taste of Chicago to Jazz, Blues, and Gospel Fests.
Majors and Degrees
The American Academy of Art offers the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in several hands-on programs. Students can major in academic studies, design, foundations, illustration, life drawing, multimedia/Web design, painting, watercolor painting, and 3-D animation and modeling.
Academic Programs
Unlike a traditional academically oriented college or university, the American Academy of Art focuses primarily on the fine arts, in particular, those in the visual artistic mediums as mentioned in the previous section. Students are required to complete 133 credit hours to obtain a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in one of several different majors.
In the humanities and sciences portion of the curriculum, which is common to all majors, the student develops the necessary knowledge and skills to succeed in his or her chosen art career. Critical thinking, problem solving, and people skills are the cornerstones of the program. Students develop a historical perspective, learn professional standards and demonstrate interpersonal communication.
The design program focuses students on developing analytical skills and a critical eye for graphic design. Students work in teams to accomplish projects in print design, advertising design, and environmental graphics. Students produce professional-quality projects, including package design, posters, and logos.
In the foundations program, the fundamentals of art and life drawing courses give a thorough background in drawing the figure, composition, rendering, linear perspective, and color theory. Students are introduced to a variety of materials and techniques. Class projects include how to move from concept to sketch to thumbnail to finished work. The foundations year prepares students to think and work as artists and to continue into a chosen area of study.
The illustration program stresses mastery in all kinds of drawing techniques and media so that images convey emotions, tell a story, or market a product or idea. Students study various types of illustration, including editorial, advertising, and children's book illustration. Students develop an illustration style, a consistent body of work, and prepare a professional portfolio.
Professional artists are trained by drawing the human figure. The life drawing program emphasizes anatomical structure and its role in enhancing accuracy, rhythm, and meaning through projects involving the full figure, portraiture, and drapery studies. Attention is paid to the study of the styles and techniques of representational figurative work.
In multimedia/Web design, students learn the concepts, strategies, and techniques of working with digital media through the use and control of typography, images, animation, sound, and digital video. Students develop the conceptual framework to produce digital media along with the historical, legal, and social issues surrounding digital publishing.
The painting program emphasizes working with traditional oil painting techniques from life with special attention to painting the figure. Students learn composition, light and shadow, lines and edges, and depth of forms. The courses inspire the student to build an artistic style while building strong traditional skills.
Watercolor painting is tailored toward developing a high level of skill in this unique medium. Students develop mastery in drawing, composition, creativity, and technical refinement. Color, light, and translucency are some of the qualities explored as the student strives to attain a professional body of work.
Students in 3-D animation and modeling use software to create three-dimensional models and animations using lighting effects, camera angles, motion studies, digital video, and sound. The 3-D program trains students in both traditional skills, including sculpture and drawing, and 3-D digital skills.
Off-Campus Programs
The American Academy of Art offers a semester study-abroad program in Florence, Italy.
Academic Facilities
In addition to the studio areas provided by individual departments, the campus includes the Bill L. Parks Gallery, with revolving exhibitions, and the Irving Shapiro Library collection of specialized art resources. The Shapiro Library is filled with volumes supporting the curriculum, as well as computers with Internet and CD-ROM access. The Academy's archives contain more than seventy years of work by students, faculty members, and alumni. It contains, among others, works by Irving Shapiro, Thomas Blackshear, and Alex Ross.
Costs
Full-time tuition is $9340 per semester.
Financial Aid
It is the goal of the Academy to help every eligible student obtain financial assistance. The Academy participates in federal student financial programs. The level of financial assistance depends on demonstrated need as well as funds available, so it is wise to begin the process early. In fact, the Academy encourages the student to meet with the Financial Services staff even before enrollment is confirmed in order to assist the student in working out a plan to meet the cost of education.
Financial aid awards are based on a detailed analysis of need, taking into account many factors in addition to annual income. Also considered are total assets, debts, family size, marital status, additional family members in college, and recent changes in the family's financial status. In order to determine a student's eligibility, the student must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and the Academy's Application and Information Form and submit them to the Financial Services Office. Financial Services personnel are available to assist students and parents in the completion of the forms and to answer questions on the application process.
Faculty
The American Academy of Art is a professional community of artists, teachers, designers, support staff, administrators, and undergraduate and graduate students. The faculty brings professional work experience in art or a related field to their roles as mentors and educators; most are working professional artists. The majority of the 30 faculty members have master's degrees, and 90 percent of them work full time at the Academy. The student-faculty ratio is 15:1.
Admission Requirements
Applicants must be high school graduates. The Academy requires two rounds of interviews for all prospective applicants.
Application and Information
Prospective applicants must complete an application, which can be found on the Academy's Web site listed below, and submit the application along with a check or money order for $25. They must also demonstrate an advanced level of competence in studio arts through a portfolio review. The portfolio must demonstrate proficiency in the intended area of study. Two letters of recommendation are required. International students must demonstrate English proficiency by way of a minimum TOEFL score of 500 (paper-based test) or 173 (computer-based test).
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