The University of the Arts

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From the College

The only university in the nation devoted exclusively to educating creative individuals in art and design, the performing arts, and media and communication, The University of the Arts (UArts) is located in the heart of Philadelphia’s vibrant professional arts community. More than 2,300 students from forty states and thirty countries are enrolled in the undergraduate and graduate programs. For more than 135 years, UArts has defined creativity. Composed of the College of Art and Design, the College of Performing Arts, and the College of Media and Communication, the University offers intensive concentration within a major field as well as creative challenges in multidisciplinary exploration. Founded in 1876, the College of Art and Design is one of the country’s leading art colleges, with nationally renowned design, fine arts, and crafts departments. Since its founding in 1870 as the Philadelphia Musical Academy, the College of Performing Arts has expanded to include a School of Dance, with programs in ballet, modern, jazz, and tap, as well as a School of Theater Arts, with acting, applied theater arts, theater design and technology, and musical theater. In 1996, the University inaugurated the College of Media and Communication to prepare students for careers in emerging fields, such as multimedia design, electronic communication, information architecture, computer-generated design, electronic arts and performance, and writing for film/TV.

The University sponsors a variety of activities and regular gallery and museum trips to New York City and Washington, D.C. One fourth of the students live in University housing, which provides coed apartment-style accommodations with complete kitchen and bath facilities and laundry rooms on the premises. Resident advisers live on each floor, and there is 24-hour security. Out-of-town freshmen are guaranteed housing if their contracts are received by June 1. The University also assists students in finding off-campus residences.

The graduate programs of the University of the Arts offer an impressive combination of strengths: exceptionally accomplished faculty members, a remarkably individualized and interactive learning environment, access to outstanding facilities and resources, specialized studios, and programs of study that are both highly focused and highly flexible. UArts offers graduate degrees in art education; book arts/printmaking; ceramics, painting and sculpture; industrial design; jazz studies; museum communication; museum education; museum exhibition, planning and design; music education; and teaching visual arts. A postbaccalaureate certificate in crafts is also offered.

The UArts campus spans the Avenue of the Arts from South Street to Walnut Street and is part of the business and cultural hub of Center City Philadelphia. Next door to the University’s historic Hamilton Hall is the city’s magnificent Kimmel Regional Performing Art Center; in adjacent blocks are the famous Academy of Music, Wilma Theater, and the University’s Merriam Theater, which books touring Broadway shows for the general public and hosts UArts student performances. The area also has world-class museums (Philadelphia Museum of Art and Barnes Museum), galleries, music and dance facilities, superb restaurants, and retail stores. Of historic importance, but also modern and sophisticated, the city is at the same time a series of small, close-knit neighborhoods with verdant squares. Fairmount Park provides facilities for sports activities and picnicking. UArts has the reputation of being the safest campus in the city.

The College of Art and Design confers the B.F.A. degree in animation, crafts, film/animation, film/digital video, graphic design, illustration, multidisciplinary fine arts, painting/drawing, photography, printmaking, and sculpture and the B.S. in industrial design. It also offers a certificate program in art education and a concentration in art therapy. The School of Music confers the B.M. in composition, instrumental performance (with a jazz/contemporary focus), and vocal performance. A four-year diploma in music is also available. The School of Dance offers the B.F.A. in ballet, dance education, jazz dance, and modern dance. The School of Theater Arts offers the B.F.A. in acting, musical theater, theater design and technology, and theater management and production. A two-year certificate is available in dance and music. The College of Media and Communication also confers the B.F.A. in multimedia and in writing for film and television and the B.S. in communication.

Students are attracted to UArts because of its dynamic, creative atmosphere. Whether majoring in dance, sculpture, graphic design, or multimedia, they enjoy interacting with their talented peers in other disciplines. The Freshman Project, the culmination of the required first-year writing course in liberal arts, provides the first opportunity for freshmen to work with students in other majors on a cross-disciplinary creative project. Students are further encouraged, to the extent that their busy schedules allow, to take elective courses outside their chosen major. All students take a total of 42 credits in liberal arts, which gives them vital exposure to humanities, social science, and science and provides them with the historical and theoretical framework of their major field.

The freshman year in the College of Art and Design is devoted to the Foundation Program; its focus is exploratory, allowing students to investigate various disciplines before deciding on a specific major. Students are assigned to small sections, each with a team of 3 instructors. In the fall, students take two-dimensional design, three-dimensional design, and drawing; in the spring, they may substitute a Time and Motion course for one of these. General program requirements vary from department to department. At the end of the freshman year, students select a major in animation, crafts, film/animation, film/digital video, graphic design, illustration, painting/drawing, photography, printmaking/book arts, or sculpture, and they may add a concentration in art education or art therapy. A wide variety of internship experiences is available to qualified students. A minimum of 123 credits is required for graduation, including 18 credits in the Foundation Program, 42 credits in the major, 42 credits in liberal arts, 15 credits in electives (9 credits of which must be taken in a department other than the major), and 6 credits in other areas outside the major. Students may request credit by exam in liberal arts subjects and by portfolio exam in studio art subjects.

In the College of Performing Arts, the School of Music program stresses individualized training, with a performance emphasis. Students undergo intensive training in theory and musicianship. Private lessons are supplemented by master classes and ensemble work. In the School of Dance, two years of ballet, modern, and jazz dance are required before students choose a major in the junior year. Electives include improvisation, repertory, partnering, Spanish dance, ethnic dance, character, and mime. In the School of Theater Arts students can choose one of three majors. Acting majors focus on developing a strong rehearsal and performance process through a wide range of acting, speech, and movement techniques. Musical theater majors train in a similar foundation technique while strengthening their skills in music and dance. Theater management and production majors study a range of disciplines, such as stage management, directing, playwriting, dramaturgy, production and arts administration, and mask and stage combat, preparing for careers or graduate study in these or related fields. The design and technology major explores the full spectrum of theatrical design and technical production. In the College of Performing Arts, a minimum of 126 to 130 credits is required for graduation, 42 of which must be in liberal arts. Participation in the 17-credit MATPREP Program enables students to complete bachelor’s and master’s degrees in teaching music in five years. The University has close working relationships, including internships, with professional theater, dance, and music groups in Philadelphia and elsewhere. Students are also encouraged to seek professional roles.

The College of Media and Communication was inaugurated in 1996 in recognition of new artistic opportunities that have arisen from advances in digital technology. In the College’s B.F.A. program, Writing for Film and Television, students learn to create feature length screenplays, episodic television series, and movies for television. In addition, students take courses in film history, history of television, video production, and cinema arts. In the B.F.A. program in multimedia students receive a broad education that focuses on the integration of image, sound, text, and interactivity into works that tell stories. The program is designed to prepare students to work in fields in which close interaction among arts disciplines, digital fluency, collaboration, and effective communication are key components. The B.S. in communication is for students who wish to work in media related industries–television, documentary, Web-based, advertising, and writing. It is designed to be flexible, allowing students to create their own areas of emphasis, working both collaboratively and individually in the studio and on location. Students choose skills drawn from areas ranging from sound and video editing to photography, writing for film, producing streaming media, and visual and Web design. They take two application areas drawn from documentary video, narrative video, screenwriting, strategic advertising, digital journalism, Web design, and game design. By their senior year, students produce portfolio quality work and learn to collaborate as well as to combine different application areas. Internships in professional settings provide students with real-life experience in the field. In short, the program provides the skills, the applications, the theory, and the experience required to succeed in media and communication.

Students who want to learn more about the world of media and communication before choosing a major can enroll in the CMAC Discovery Year. This is a 30-credit program offered to entering freshmen. It was created for students who have not yet decided on a major focus but are certain that their interests lie within the fields of media and communication. The program provides students an overview of media and communication and gives them an opportunity to take courses in the college’s three majors–communication, multimedia, and writing for film and television–before they finally decide on a major. Students also take foundation courses in liberal arts to satisfy their general education requirements.

The University facilities are composed of numerous buildings, with studios, classrooms, galleries, theaters, lounges, cafes, dormitories, and administrative offices. The Terra Building provides seventeen floors of studios, computer labs, classrooms, performing spaces, and TV and video production and recording studios. All design departments provide individual workstations for seniors and exhibition spaces that feature student and faculty work throughout the year. The University also maintains several public galleries, where students may exhibit their work along with curator-managed exhibitions of the work of distinguished guest artists. These include the Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery, the Arronson and Great Hall Galleries, and the Mednick Gallery. Student performances are held in the University’s formal theaters, such as the 200-seat Dance Theater, the historic 1,800-seat Merriam Theater, the black box theater, the music recital hall, the Arts Bank, and a 239-seat state-of-the-art theater and rehearsal hall, and in the many informal spaces on campus.

As part of a multimillion-dollar telecommunications project, the campus has installed a multifunctional telephone system and a campuswide data network, which provides Internet access for every computer attached to the network. Academic computing resources include more than twenty labs on Macintosh and PC platforms that are used for special applications, such as animation, digital imaging, 3-D modeling, multimedia, music, CAD, Web page design, and more, as well as some for word processing and general purposes. Several “smart” classrooms enable faculty members to use computer applications and Internet access in their presentations; smart studios allow students to function as they would in the professional world, with a computer in the studio or office.

Students work in a large number and variety of specialized facilities–both high and low technology–throughout the campus that support the learning of their craft. Among these are the Typography Lab, the Borowsky Center for Publication Arts, digital video editing suites, photo/film/animation labs and darkrooms, a scanner lab, an SGI lab, a bronze foundry and plaster workshop, and crafts studios and workshops for ceramics, metals, wood, glassblowing, papermaking, and fibers. The performing arts facilities include a recording studio; music technology (MIDI) studios; editing suites; chamber music studios and practice rooms; computer labs; dance and movement studios, with barres, mirrors, and resilient floors; and acting studios.

Library facilities include Albert M. Greenfield Library, which contains an extensive collection of books, journals, photographs, and videotapes devoted to the arts; a Picture Resource File; Special Collections, with special strengths in book arts and textiles; a slide library with a collection of more than 140,000 slides of art works and historical images; and a music library with manuscripts, journals, scores, and listening and viewing facilities. Holdings include books and periodicals, music scores, mounted pictures, slides, music recorded in LP and CD formats, videocassettes, videodiscs, and multimedia formats.

Tuition for the 2009–10 academic year is $29,500 plus a general student fee of $950. Accommodations in 3- or 4-person apartment-style dormitory units average $6600.

Last year, UArts provided $8 million in scholarships and grants to new students, alone. Roughly one third went to those demonstrating financial need; the balance was awarded in talent- or merit-based scholarships. Overall, UArts students receive over $30 million in scholarships, grants, loans, and part-time employment each year. Typically, 80 percent of the students enrolled on a full-time basis are eligible for some type of need-based aid. All students should apply. Financial need is defined as the difference between the cost of education and the family’s federally calculated contribution to those costs, called the Expected Family Contribution (ECF). Where need exists, UArts assists in meeting costs within its available resources.

The University funds Presidential Scholarships, based on artistic potential and academic achievement. Financial aid is also available on the basis of the applicant’s demonstrated financial need. Applicants must submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). March 1 is the suggested filing date. The University administers the following federal, campus-based student assistance programs: Federal Perkins Loans, Federal Work-Study, and Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants. Applicants who wish to be considered for scholarships should complete applications for admission and financial aid prior to March 31. Families from many different income levels can qualify for some type of financial assistance. In addition, the University’s location in a large, active city provides students with diverse opportunities for part-time employment.

Faculty members are practicing professionals who are deeply committed to the development of their students. As active participants in the arts, they have successfully achieved recognition in their specific fields of study. It is this real-world experience that gives them the knowledge and understanding so vital in the training of young, emerging artists, not just professionally but also in terms of personal growth. The faculty consists of 381 full- and part-time members; the majority hold advanced degrees. The faculty-student ratio is about 1:9.

Student Council serves as the voice of the students from all three colleges within the University. It also supports a variety of arts-oriented student organizations, including a dance/step troupe, a Web radio station, and a student-run gallery, among many others.

In addition to submitting a portfolio or auditioning, applicants should submit their high school transcript, SAT or ACT scores, one letter of recommendation, and a personal statement of purpose.

The placement of transfer students is made after an evaluation of their portfolio or audition and a determination of their approved credits. Transfer students may be given advanced standing.

International applicants are required to submit scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL); a minimum score of 550 on the paper-based TOEFL or 213 on the computer-based TOEFL is required. Early entrance and deferred entrance are possible.

The University of the Arts follows a system of rolling admission. All students are notified within two weeks of the receipt of all required materials. Students are encouraged to submit applications by March 15 for fall admission and December 1 for spring admission. For additional information, students should contact: