The Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University

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From the College

Founded in 1912, The Art Institute of Boston (AIB) is a professional college of visual arts that offers program and course work designed to prepare students to be professional illustrators, animators, graphic designers, Web designers, photographers, exhibiting fine artists, art teachers, and art therapists. AIB provides students with an intimate, challenging, and supportive environment that balances personal artistic expression with practical professional preparation.

AIB’s more than 500 students come from thirty states and fifteen other countries, creating a global community of young artists with a stimulating variety of backgrounds and viewpoints. The nature of the college allows students to form close ties with other students and with faculty and staff members, most of whom are practicing professional artists. Studio classes are small and intimate–with an average of 14 students per instructor–which allows for personal attention and an emphasis on self-exploration and the development of an individual style. Students are prepared for professions in the arts by exposure to the most current trends and technology in their fields and internships and freelance opportunities that provide them with professional connections for career opportunities after graduation.

The University also offers activities such as major exhibitions, student exhibits, lectures, art auctions, special event–related parties, as well as a visiting artist program that brings prominent artists to the campus for lectures and workshops.

AIB’s strengths as a professional college of the visual arts are combined with the resources of Lesley University, providing students with expanded educational opportunities that are not usually found at most independent colleges of art, yet preserving the character of a small, private art college.

The University provides a variety of dormitory housing options for students, including residences on the Cambridge campus of Lesley University, near Harvard Square (shuttle service provided).

The Career Resource Center at Lesley University provides career development and job search services to AIB degree candidates and alumni. Students are provided individual assistance and training in job search, career assessment, and decision-making skills that are used throughout a lifetime of employment. Workshops and special events are planned throughout the academic year on a variety of topics. The Artists Resource Center at AIB maintains current job listings and provides information on competitions, fellowships and grants, exhibition opportunities, and other resources for artists. Career counseling also takes place informally with faculty members and advisers within each department.

Master’s programs in expressive therapies and art education are offered in conjunction with Lesley University.

Boston is an extraordinary college town. Nearly 230,000 students live and study here every year at seventy institutions of higher learning. The city offers all the human and institutional resources expected in a major cultural, educational, and commercial center. World-class art exhibitions, concerts, lectures, theater, sports, and popular entertainment are among its riches. The spirit is cosmopolitan, but the setting is distinctive to Boston, with its historic neighborhoods, parks, and nearby New England rural and coastal areas.

The Art Institute of Boston students use the city’s extensive resources as a part of their learning environment in many ways–for artistic and academic research, for internships and job opportunities, and for personal recreation. Full-time students receive free admission to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

The Art Institute of Boston awards the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in animation, art history, fine arts, design, illustration, and photography. Students may elect to earn a five-year double-major B.F.A./Diploma in design/fine arts, design/illustration, or illustration/fine arts. AIB students also have the option to study for a dual B.F.A./M.Ed. in art education. An advanced professional certificate two-year studio-intensive program is offered in animation, design, or illustration.

Candidates for the design program can study advertising and corporate communications, package design, publishing and book design, and Web and multimedia design. The illustration program offers specializations in advertising, animation, book, and editorial. Fine arts students choose from drawing, painting, printmaking, and sculpture as concentrations, with courses available in ceramics, installation, and new media. Photography students specialize in commercial, documentary, fine arts, or media. An intensive precollege program is available for high school students throughout the academic year and the summer.

AIB’s challenging curriculum is structured to provide students with an understanding of the process of visual communication and expression, along with the social, historical, and cultural influences that shape the world and inform their imaginations.

AIB’s rigorous first-year foundation includes intensive study in drawing and visual perception. Photography students take a unique foundation, with a direct immersion in the conceptual, technical, and historic aspects of photography. The foundation supplies students with the skills, insights, and fluency of expression that are necessary to meet the challenges of further study in art.

After the foundation year, students choose a major that can include unique specializations, combined majors, and a wide variety of interdisciplinary courses and workshops. Students take core courses in their major and continue with more individualized instruction, working closely with the faculty of working professional artists, toward their personal and professional goals. Students prepare for careers in the visual arts with real world studio assignments and professional internships, giving them valuable firsthand experience in their intended fields.

As an integral part of their study, all degree and diploma students take a blend of required and elective liberal arts courses. These courses are designed to develop effective communication skills, give a firm academic grounding in the history of their major area of study, and allow students to pursue individual interests that stimulate their imaginations and interests.

AIB offers both day and evening degree credit courses during the fall, spring, and summer semesters. In addition, the continuing and professional education program offers evening and weekend courses, workshops, and intensive seminars in the areas of visual arts, liberal arts, and career development to be taken by artists, educators, and professionals.

AIB students may opt in their junior year to spend a semester abroad. They can choose to study the visual art, history, humanities, language, and culture of Italy at The Art Institute of Florence, of France at Pont-Avon School of Art, or of Ireland at The Burren College of Art. The Illustration and Design Departments offer an exchange with the Willem de Kooning Academy in the Netherlands, Ecole de Communication Visuelle in Paris, and Hochschule für Kunste, Bremen, Germany. Students may take a semester or an intensive yearlong course of study and studio work in New York City or spend their junior year at one of thirty-five schools in the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design (AICAD) located across the country. AIB also offers students the opportunity to take classes at the Boston Architectural College and the Maine Photographic Workshop.

The Art Institute of Boston’s facilities include five state-of-the-art Macintosh computer laboratories, an animation lab, an updated photography lab with color and black-and-white printers, a digital photography lab, a printmaking lab with etching and lithography presses, a wood shop, and a clay lab with kilns. Senior fine arts students have their own individual studios in which to create.

The Art Institute of Boston was selected to join the New Media Centers Program, a consortium of higher education institutions and digital technology companies dedicated to advancing learning through new media. AIB has newly expanded multimedia programs that use state-of-the-art technology and equipment.

The AIB library collection is devoted principally to the visual arts and contains more than 10,000 books, seventy-five serial titles, 45,000 slides, a video viewing room, and more than 500 art-related videos. The AIB library also subscribes to AMICO, the image database. The library has the National Gallery of Art’s American Art Collection on videodisc, a visual reference of more than 26,000 images spanning three centuries.

In addition, the Eleanor De Wolfe Ludcke Library at Lesley provides a state-of-the-art multimedia resource center and a collection of 100,000 books, 700 current periodicals, 2,200 computer software and CD-ROM titles, 650 film and video titles, media material, and circulating media equipment. Students have borrowing privileges at six additional libraries through the Fenway Library Online.

The Art Institute of Boston sponsors a full program of exhibitions and lectures by visiting artists. The gallery presents major exhibitions of contemporary and historical work by established and emerging artists, including the alumni of The Art Institute of Boston. Students have the opportunity to assist in mounting exhibitions and to personally meet visiting artists. A student gallery and reserved areas show student work year-round. Gallery South exhibits the work of student photographers throughout the year, including group and senior exhibitions.

Tuition for the 2009–10 academic year is $25,780. Room and board costs are $12,400 per year. Material and supply costs vary according to individual and departmental requirements. In general, foundation, fine arts, illustration, and design students spend approximately $1700 per year for supplies, while photography students can expect to spend about $3000 per year, with further expenses dependent upon the equipment chosen by the individual student.

Approximately 80 percent of students receive aid each year through AIB’s active financial aid program. Awards are made on the basis of need as determined by the United States Department of Education, which analyzes all the financial resources of the student. The Financial Aid Office’s goal is to help students meet established needs through a combination of Federal Pell Grants, Federal Stafford Student Loans, Federal Work-Study Program awards, other federal grants, scholarships, and state programs.

Various merit-based and need-based scholarships are available. The Art Institute of Boston administers more than $4 million in scholarships, financial aid, and loans for students each year. The application deadline is March 15 for need-based awards.

The Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University has 113 full- and part-time faculty members, 95 percent of whom have advanced degrees in their field; 90 percent are practicing artists, designers, illustrators, and photographers. The student-faculty ratio is 14:1.

Students at the Art Institute of Boston are represented in the Student Government Association of Lesley University. The SGA works to ensure that the needs of the entire student body are being met on campus, and serves as a liaison for all students with faculty, administration, and trustees.

In considering applications for admission, The Art Institute of Boston looks for artistic potential and personal commitment. A portfolio of original work is an important part of the application; academic grades, test scores, and extracurricular activities are also strongly considered. A school visit is strongly encouraged, giving applicants the opportunity to present their portfolios, discuss their goals and interests with an admission counselor, and determine how they may benefit from AIB’s programs. SAT or ACT scores are required of applicants who have graduated from high school within the past three years.

To ensure a place in the desired program of study and in order to meet application deadlines for financial aid, students are encouraged to apply by the priority application dates of February 15 for fall and November 15 for spring admittance. After these dates, applications are considered and accepted on a rolling basis as long as space allows. A complete application consists of an application form, essay, resume of accomplishments and cocurricular activities, transcript(s) of all courses completed, SAT or ACT test scores (B.F.A. candidates, U.S. only), and a portfolio. Transfer and international applications are accepted and encouraged.

For further information, students should visit the school’s Web site or contact an admissions representative at: