Since 1886, the Minneapolis College of Art and Design has been committed to educating individuals to become professional artists and designers, effective critical thinkers and creative entrepreneurs. A small, four-year private college with the highest level of accreditation for a school of its kind, MCAD offers professional certificates, bachelor's degrees, and master's degrees in a variety of areas, including media, design, fine arts, and entrepreneurship. MCAD's four-year graduation rate is among the highest of all art and design colleges. Students are carefully selected for their creative talents and intellectual abilities, and they are some of the most talented young artists and designers in the country. Through the interdisciplinary curriculum, students focus on their careers early, while learning technical and professional skills and developing their creative, intellectual, and leadership capabilities. Even though MCAD is a focused visual art college, we do more than people think. Students study web design, marketing, photography, project management, filmmaking, animation, comic art, in addition to fine arts and graphic design, and all programs require students to have a solid liberal studies foundation. Students investigate and pursue many paths while at MCAD (sometimes in another country or at another college), and these paths lead to a variety of careers. MCAD alumni are setting new standards across the broadest range of creative careers and include Emmy-winning directors, Whitney Biennial artists, and Guggenheim Fellows. They're starting companies, pioneering new industries, and fueling the economy throughout Minnesota, across the country, and around the world. World-class art and design education begins with world-class educators. Working artists and designers who are respected in their fields, MCAD's faculty members are renowned for their ingenuity, expertise, and commitment as instructors. And with a 10:1 student to faculty ratio, they get to know their students very well. Each year, they inspire new generations of creative thinkers to make the successful transition from students into professional artists and designers. The MCAD community is a close and supportive environment that transforms the world through creativity and purpose. Whether in fine arts, design, entrepreneurship or media, an MCAD education provides students with the academic skills and vocational tools to succeed.
