Pratt Institute - Overview
Leading Design School in World's Art Capital
The Pratt Institute, founded in 1887 and located in New York City, is one of the country's leading art and design schools. Students at the Pratt Institute are immersed in a highly creative environment, both inside the classroom and off campus.
Pratt encourages its students to follow their own artistic visions. By pursuing education in the world's art capital, students have the opportunity to live in a city saturated with museums, galleries, and resident artists.
The Pratt faculty is composed of working artists and designers, who guide students in becoming creative professionals. The school's undergraduate programs include architecture, fashion design, and fine arts. In 2008, "DesignIntelligence" magazine ranked Pratt's architecture school as one of the country's best architecture programs.
An Urban Mix of Historic Buildings and Eco-Friendly Design
The Pratt Institute's main campus is located in a residential Brooklyn neighborhood of post-Civil War townhouses. It is less than 30 minutes from Manhattan. An urban mix of leafy green space, brick streets, and historic buildings, the Brooklyn campus spreads across 25 acres.
The school takes pride in its new administrative and academic center, under construction in 2010. The center is the first eco-friendly green building in the area that surrounds the Pratt campus. Being environmentally responsible is an important goal for Pratt, which created the Center for Sustainable Design Studies to integrate green design principles into its curriculum.
Degrees in Art and Design, Writing, and Architecture
Nearly 3,000 undergraduates attend the Pratt Institute, where they can choose from 24 majors. Pratt offers undergraduate study at 3 colleges: its School of Art and Design, School of Architecture, and School of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
The largest college at Pratt is its School of Art and Design, where students earn Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees in fields such as fashion design, film, and digital arts. B.F.A. degrees also are offered in programs focusing on photography and communications design.
At Pratt's School of Architecture, undergraduates enter a 5-year bachelor's degree program in architecture, or a B.S. program in construction management. The School of Liberal Arts and Sciences has 2 bachelor's degree programs: a B.A. in Critical and Visual Studies and a B.F.A. in Writing.
Core Foundation Year, Liberal Arts Requirements
Freshmen complete a core foundation year before choosing specialized study in their sophomore or junior year. In the foundation year, students are trained to increase visual thinking skills. They also learn how to be open to new ideas and techniques.
Pratt's School of Liberal Arts and Sciences plays an important role in undergraduate programs. Students seeking bachelor degrees must complete 25 percent of their coursework from a wide spectrum of liberal arts and science classes. The school's courses range from astronomy to foreign languages.
Real-World Link Through Faculty
With a faculty of working professionals, Pratt links students to the "real world" and rich artistic resources of New York.
For instance, professors in Pratt's fashion design program have owned couture design studios and been costume designers for television and film productions. Fashion design students at Pratt take field trips to New York City's fashion studios for a first-hand look at new trends and practices in clothing design. They also consult with New York City designers who critique their work.
Computer Art to Traditional Media
The latest techniques in new media are incorporated into arts programs at Pratt. An example is Pratt's digital arts program. Students in the program use the computer as a medium to create interactive and web-based art.
They study under distinguished professionals in the digital arts field, who have exhibited nationally and internationally. The faculty includes Carla Gannis, a painter who embraced electronic art, and Peter Frank, who creates interactive and Web-based art.
Traditional media also is represented at Pratt. Fine arts students specialize in ceramics, printmaking, painting, sculpture, drawing, and jewelry making.
Study Abroad Program
Students gain an expansive view of world art cultures through Pratt's study abroad program. The school offers travel to Tibet, Nepal, and India to explore the artistic traditions of the Himalayas. Architecture students go to Italy to study the architecture and culture of Rome. Fashion design students travel to the 3 major fashion capitals of Europe: London, Paris, and Milan.
Top Designers and Artists Among Notable Alumni
Pratt graduates have reached the top of their fields. Notable alumni include renowned architects, painters, photographers, and designers. Fashion designer Betsey Johnson is a graduate of Pratt. Actor-director Robert Redford also graduated from Pratt, along with cartoonist Edward Koren and photographer Robert Mapplethorpe.
A Rich Creative Culture in New York City
By living in New York City, Pratt students have abundant access to a rich creative culture of art, music, and literature. The Pratt Sculpture Park occupies the entire Brooklyn campus and is the largest sculpture park in New York City. In 2006, "Public Art Review" listed the park as one of the 10 best college campus art collections.
Nearby art havens include the Museum of Modern Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and the American Folk Art Museum. Music and performance art enthusiasts enjoy the Brooklyn Academy of Music, a performance arts center since 1861. Known as BAM, the center is a venue for artist talks and productions such as 21st century opera.