Welcome Prospective Students!

Tradition and Innovation

The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts is the nation’s oldest school and museum of fine art. From its founding over 200 years ago, the Academy has been in the forefront of innovations in art education. From its preeminent collection of American art to its unrivaled four-year Certificate in Fine Arts to its Coordinated BFA program with the University of Pennsylvania (started in 1929), the Academy has set the standard.

Change

The time has come to take the next step. Never resting on its laurels, the Academy has now received approval from the Secretary of Education for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD) to offer its own Bachelors of Fine Art (BFA)—the Academy BFA.

What are my options?

It is now all about choice. It is important to keep in mind that the Academy BFA will have no direct impact on our famous four-year Academy Certificate program. The Certificate will continue to offer the best studio and art history education available in the country. The Academy BFA will be offered as another option to those students wishing to combine the fine arts and liberal arts in a degree curriculum. As well, the Coordinated BFA program with the University of Pennsylvania—always a very popular choice—will continue to be an option for our students. Students may also choose to receive both the Certificate and the Academy BFA or the Certificate and the Penn BFA. There are many options, but all of them include the key component—the singular focus on the education and training of artists and scholars.