Pennsylvania College of Art & Design

Pennsylvania College of Art and Design (PCA&D) began as the dream of a handful of dedicated artists and their supporters in the spring of 1982. Two decades later, PCA&D has grown into a professional art college recognized as a leader in Central Pennsylvania’s visual arts community. While the school has grown and the curriculum has been enhanced, PCA&D’s mission has remained the same—to provide a professional education in the visual arts that allows students to pursue art as a life’s work and gives them the breadth of knowledge needed to live a life that is personally meaningful and contributes to the cultural and economic aspects of the community.

Accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design, and a candidate for accreditation by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, PCA&D offers four-year Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) degree programs in fine arts, graphic design, illustration, and photography. The College also offers continuing education opportunities with certificate programs in print design, Web design, home interiors, and mural painting. In addition, a wide variety of credit and noncredit studio and computer courses for adults and youths are available.

Providing a complementary balance to the program’s studio work, the College has carefully developed specific liberal arts requirements and electives with a relevance to the education and life of an artist. Another feature of the curriculum is the internship program for all B.F.A. students, which provides them with professional experiences and opportunities. PCA&D students have produced work for or interned at numerous companies on the East Coast, including advertising agencies, design studios, art galleries, publishing companies, and museums.

PCA&D prides itself on maintaining a professionally relevant curriculum and providing students with a good educational value. The College is pleased to offer its program at a tuition that is considerably less expensive than other professional art colleges. Coupling that with the fact that PCA&D is located in historic downtown Lancaster, Pennsylvania, a city where living expenses are much lower than its metropolitan counterparts, further alleviates the impact of financing a college education.

Another attribute of PCA&D’s programs is the low teacher-student ratio (1:9). With individualized attention from faculty members, who are all working artists and designers, PCA&D students have a first-hand view of an artist’s lifestyle, challenges, and rewards. Gaining such insight is critical to sustaining a career in the visual arts.

PCA&D salutes its alumni who are making their mark in the field of art and design. Whether they are exhibiting fine artists, creative directors in advertising agencies, designers for international corporations, or illustrators for national publications, the College’s graduates are sharing their talents with industry giants. These successes are evidence of the high-quality education and invaluable real-life experiences the College provides its students.

The College facility has more than 62,000 square feet of well-maintained and highly-functional work and study space, with numerous art and design studios, computer imaging labs, printmaking studios, darkrooms, woodshop, photo labs, plug-n-play labs, and galleries. The College also houses its own library on-site, with Access Pennsylvania (AccessPA) privileges.

Pennsylvania College of Art & Design’s Lancaster, Pennsylvania, location offers both the advantages of a city and the comfort and safety of a small town. The city’s tree-lined streets provide a beautiful setting for many galleries, shops, restaurants, and clubs. In addition, Lancaster is centrally located and only a few hours from some of the East Coast’s most important cultural centers—Baltimore, New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C.

PCA&D is proud of the quality and strength of its programs, curriculum, and faculty, and encourages prospective students to visit the College and learn more about the PCA&D experience.

For more information, students should contact: Pennsylvania College of Art and Design, 204 N. Prince Street, P.O. Box 59, Lancaster, Pennsylvania 17608-0059; Phone: (717) 396-7833; E-mail: admissions@pcad.edu; Web site: http://www.pcad.edu.

Application Procedures

Deadline--freshmen and transfers: continuous. Required: essay, high school transcript, college transcript(s) for transfer students, interview, portfolio. Recommended: minimum 2.0 high school GPA, 2 letters of recommendation. Auditions held 1 time. Portfolio reviews held on campus and off campus in Baltimore, MD; Philadelphia, PA; the submission of slides may be substituted for portfolios when distance is prohibitive.

Pennsylvania College of Art & Design

Application Procedures

Undergraduate Contact