Art is one way societies express ideas, culture, and creativity. Global art sales increased by 4% year over year to an estimated $59.6 billion in 2025. The United States remained the largest art market, accounting for 44% of sales by value.
The United States has made significant contributions to the global art world and is home to internationally recognized art schools. New York City became an important center of postwar art as Abstract Expressionism shifted the art world’s focus from Europe, particularly Paris, to New York.
For students interested in art and design, U.S. colleges and universities offer a wide range of undergraduate programs. Below are five institutions and programs to consider.
Top Art Schools in the USA
1. Yale University
The first school on our list is Yale University, a research university and a member of the Ivy League.
Yale College, Yale’s undergraduate division, offers a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in art. Students who want to major in art apply directly to Yale College. The program offers visual arts courses in a liberal arts setting. Introductory courses emphasize visual formulation and articulation, while courses numbered 200 through 499 provide increasingly intensive study in disciplines such as graphic design, painting and printmaking, photography, and sculpture.
The studio-based curriculum helps students develop skills across media, connect artmaking with art history and theory, and build proficiency in at least one artistic discipline.
2. Maryland Institute College of Art
The second school on our list is the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). Founded in 1826, MICA describes itself as the oldest independent, continuously degree-granting college of art and design in the United States.
The General Fine Arts (GFA) major includes core courses at the sophomore, junior, and senior levels and open electives in two categories.
The first elective category includes seven fine arts courses totaling 21 credits. The second category allows four electives totaling 12 credits from any studio department.
The program supports exploration across media and studio disciplines.
First-year applicants submit academic transcripts and a portfolio. International applicants whose first language is not English must generally submit a valid TOEFL, IELTS, PTE, or Duolingo score unless they qualify for an exemption. MICA’s current minimum scores are TOEFL 75, IELTS 6.0, PTE 58, or Duolingo 105. A well-curated portfolio can strengthen an applicant’s chances of admission and merit scholarship consideration.
3. School of the Art Institute of Chicago
The third school on our list is the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), which is ranked 11th globally in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2026: Art & Design.
SAIC’s most popular undergraduate degree is the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio. The interdisciplinary program allows students to explore 13 art and design disciplines. Students interested in art and technology can use facilities that support areas such as virtual reality, digital fabrication, neon and light, retro technologies, and bio art.
The BFA in Studio is a 120-credit undergraduate program. Students can pursue interdisciplinary study or focus their coursework through areas such as architecture, interior architecture, designed objects, and performance.
First-year applicants submit the Common Application, transcripts, an artist’s statement, one letter of recommendation, and a portfolio of 10–15 recent and strong works. SAIC awards merit scholarships based on a holistic review, and it also administers need-based grants. International undergraduate students are eligible for merit-based scholarships but not need-based federal aid.
4. Columbia University
Columbia University was founded as King’s College in 1754 and has long-standing ties to New York City. Its School of the Arts is the academic home for undergraduate majors in Creative Writing, Film and Media Studies, and Visual Arts that lead to a Bachelor of Arts degree awarded by Columbia College or the School of General Studies.
For students interested in studio art, Columbia offers a Visual Arts major. The Visual Arts Program offers studio classes as part of a liberal arts education and as a path to a major, minor, or joint major with the Department of Art History and Archaeology. The combined Art History and Visual Arts major requires 16 courses and 49 to 57 points, depending on course selection.
Columbia’s New York City location also gives students access to museums, collections, architectural sites, and a broad range of visual art experiences.
5. University of Southern California
The final school on our list is the University of Southern California (USC). USC is located in Los Angeles and includes schools, centers, and institutes across a broad range of fields.
At USC’s Roski School of Art and Design, undergraduate students can pursue the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art (BFA Art), Bachelor of Fine Arts in Design (BFA Design), or Bachelor of Arts in Art (BA Art). The BFA programs provide intensive studio or design study, while the BA Art is a liberal arts degree with room to combine art or design with another area of interest.
Roski’s curriculum encourages students to explore and combine media. BFA Art students may take studio courses in areas such as painting and drawing, photography and video, and sculpture and ceramics. BFA Design students work with 2D and 3D design media.
The United States is an important center for modern and contemporary art. The institutions above offer established art and design programs, but students should review each program’s current curriculum, admissions requirements, tuition, and scholarship details before applying.
We hope this article was helpful. Feel free to visit our Study in the USA Page and Available Programs for International Students for more information about university programs and scholarship opportunities in the country.
