Academy of Art University

Founded in 1929, Academy of Art University (AAU) has steadily grown to become the largest private, accredited art and design school in the nation. The campus encompasses more than twenty-three buildings in and around downtown San Francisco with more than 12,000 students from twenty-five countries. The Academy’s mission is to provide aspiring artists and designers with career preparation, combined with academic excellence for the A.A., B.F.A., M.F.A., and M.Arch. degrees and nondegree personal enrichment classes in the areas of art and design. Courses can be taken on campus and online.

Campus and Surroundings

The city of San Francisco is one of the great cultural centers of the world—a melting pot of diversity and creativity that has spawned major museums and galleries, world-class performing arts, film production, and technological innovation. The climate is moderate and offers kaleidoscopic blends of sunshine and fog nine months of the year. The Academy’s classrooms, studios, galleries, and dormitories are located in such areas as the world famous Fisherman’s Wharf, historic Union Square, the Financial District, and the South of Market Area (SOMA). A private fleet of Academy buses, which are scheduled around classes and lab times, connect all campus facilities.

Program Facilities

Academy of Art University is one of the leading schools in the country for providing students with the latest in technological advances, utilizing constantly updated, industry-professional equipment. AAU provides students with a number of facilities, including an eight-story Digital Arts Center with numerous computer workstations, software, and equipment that includes the Power Mac G5, G4, and G3; HP Desktops; and Silicon Graphics workstations, to name a few.

The Motion Picture and Television/Acting Department has multiple Final Cut Pro stations, Media 100, Avid Xpress, and Avid nonlinear editing stations and linear tape-to-tape suites, including a Bosch Telecine and several KEM flatbeds for celluloid linear editing, Arri cameras, fluid head tripods, magazines, changing bags/tents, and acrylic/timecode slates. Also available for student use are 16mm and 35mm film cameras, Beta SP, Sony 3-chip DV cameras, Canon 1-chip and 3-chip DV cameras, Panasonic SVHS video cameras, and an extensive inventory of lighting and sound grip equipment as well as a green screen studio and a newly constructed 150-seat theater.

The Fine Art Department houses three nonprofit galleries for students to display their work in San Francisco’s downtown gallery district. The 50,000-square-foot Sculpture Center includes a 25-foot-high ceiling equipped with cranes that include scanners directly linked to the Computer Education Center.

Computer Arts/New Media, Animation & Visual Effects, and Digital Arts & Communications have an advanced facility, including a digital photography studio; G5, G4, and G3 Macintosh computers; Wacom Digitizing Tablets; CD/DVD burners complete with FireWire/USB connections; scanners (reflective and slide); Epson inkjet printers; Fiery printers; digital audio workstations; two flame and smoke suites; and industry software, such as Alias Maya, Illustrator, Flash, Fireworks, Dreamweaver, and DVD Studio Pro.

Academy of Art University also offers a very active schedule of events and activities throughout the year. Campus Affairs & Student Events (CASE) organizes a variety of student activities, including mixers, San Francisco Bay boat tours, ski trips, and camping trips. Student groups and activities include the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), Western Art Directors Club, Society of Illustrators, soccer, and rowing.

Student Performance/Exhibit Opportunities

More than eighty student shows are exhibited each year in the three main galleries. Each May, the Spring Show takes over the campus for three weeks. The annual AAU Fashion Show highlights senior and M.F.A. collections in a runway show in which international designers such as Zac Posen, Burberry, and Oscar de la Renta have been guests of honor.

Faculty, Resident Artists, and Alumni

Students of the Academy have the rare opportunity to learn from professionals at the top of their field from the biggest art and design companies in the industry. This allows students to learn the most sought-after techniques, in addition to making the contacts they need to obtain positions with such companies as Warner Brothers, Pixar, LucasFilm, Electronic Arts, and Escada, who are known for recruiting AAU students. The Academy averages 450 instructors in the spring and fall semesters, 90 percent of whom are full-time art and design professionals and part-time teachers. The student-teacher ratio for undergraduate classes is about 18:1; for graduate students, it is 15:1. Internationally known artists also lecture and show their work in Academy galleries throughout the year.

Career Placement Services and Opportunities

Academy graduates embark on successful careers in the art and design industry. Eighty percent of Academy of Art University’s graduates are working in the art and design industry. Alumni have been hired by prestigious companies all over the world, including Walt Disney, Sega, Donna Karan, Apple, Industrial Light + Magic, Hewlett-Packard, and Electronic Arts.

The Academy does a great deal to give exposure to students’ work, including job fairs and the annual Spring Show, which attracts recruiters for the industry’s top professions. Students’ work is also constantly shown in many publications and the Academy’s three storefront art galleries located centrally in San Francisco. These galleries allow the students to showcase their fine art work and gain firsthand knowledge of how to become working artists.

Academy of Art University

Campus and Surroundings

Program Facilities

Student Performance/Exhibit Opportunities

Faculty, Resident Artists, and Alumni

Career Placement Services and Opportunities

Application Procedures

Undergraduate Contact

Graduate Contact