School of Visual Arts

The School of Visual Arts (SVA), is an art school in the New York City borough of Manhattan, and is one of the nation's leading independent colleges of art and design. It was established in 1947 by co-founders Silas H. Rhodes and Burne Hogarth as the Cartoonists and Illustrators School and was renamed in 1956. SVA is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design (AICAD), a consortium of thirty-five leading art schools in the United States.




Undergraduate
SVA offers undergraduate programs in Advertising, Animation, Cartooning, Computer Art, Film & Video, Fine Arts, Graphic Design, Illustration, Interior Design, Photography, and Visual and Critical Studies. The undergraduate program is a four-year, full-time Bachelor of Fine Arts degree program with courses offered throughout the day and evening.

Identifying which college will prepare an aspiring artist to meet the demands and challenges that await tomorrow's professionals can be a difficult task. The outcome will vary for each individual, based on his or her interests, needs, abilities and focus. Students who choose SVA are often attracted by the breadth and professional standing of our faculty, the passion of our student body, the rigors of our curriculum, the industry standards within our studio facilities, and the energy and excitement that is New York City.




Graduate Art Programs at School of Visual Arts
SVA offers rigorous and practice-based graduate arts programs in nine different areas of study. All of our innovative graduate art school programs are taught by top professionals in their discipline with the aim of helping students further advance their careers as working artists.

In 1983, the School of Visual Arts introduced its first graduate offering, a Master of Fine Arts program in painting, drawing and sculpture. Since that time, SVA has added eight more graduate programs: Art Criticism and Writing; Art Education; Art Therapy; Computer Art; Design; Digital Photography; Illustration as Visual Essay; and Photography, Video and Related Media.

Each of these highly individual professional degree programs shares certain important characteristics that reflect the School of Visual Arts' unique approach to the education of artists. Each of the graduate programs is innovative.

While many universities offer graduate studies in the fine arts, most programs are oriented toward training students as teachers. Our program in Fine Arts focuses on training students whose primary interest is the making of art. The Master of Fine Arts in Art Criticism and Writing examines the visual arts within a philosophical and historical framework, and incorporates intensive study in the writing of art criticism.

The MAT in Art Education offers rigorous academic study, coupled with requisite teaching experience, which provide graduates with the essential knowledge and tools to teach art to children. The MPS in Art Therapy curriculum examines a variety of approaches to the diagnosis and therapeutic treatment of challenged individuals, while supporting the artistic development and creative endeavors of the artist-as-therapist.

The College's program in Computer Art was the first in the country to base graduate training in computer art primarily upon the aesthetic concerns of the field. SVA's program in Design perceives the designer not merely as form-giver but as a content creator, and design as more than the reorganization of existing elements. The MPS program in Digital Photography is a concentrated one-year program focused on mastering the most current digital tools, techniques, and workflow strategies to create technically perfect and visually compelling photographic images.

The program in Illustration is predicated upon a radical departure from the accepted methods of making illustration and focuses on developing a strong personal vision. The MFA program in Photography seeks to develop individual talent within traditional and digital areas of photography, while investigating the impact of computer, film and video technologies on our visual culture.

The School of Visual Arts has long prided itself on the reputation and experience of its internationally renowned faculty. It is the extraordinary caliber of the faculty with whom the graduate student works that makes the realization of one's goals and creative vision possible.

SVA's location in New York City and its extensive facilities, state-of-the-art equipment and unique program philosophies all offer the graduate student exceptional opportunities for advanced study in the arts.




Art Continuing Education at School of Visual Arts
SVA is an art and design school in NYC offering continuing education courses to meet the diverse educational needs of the city's professional art and design community, as well as the larger community within which the College resides. The art continuing education faculty at SVA consists of distinguished professionals and established artists alike.

Culturally and technologically, life is changing at a dizzying pace, and the need to stay current has created an unpre- cedented demand for continuing education. Whether you are seeking to hone a career or sharpen your mind, we have a program to fit your interests as well as your schedule.

Our broad curriculum encompasses communications, design, entertainment and fine arts. A great advantage of continuing your education at the School of Visual Arts is that here you get to study and practice with a faculty of distinguished professionals and established artists who help make SVA one of the most respected colleges of the arts.

You will have the attention of New York's creative elite, and access to the same computer labs, studios, editing facilities and equipment used by successful talents worldwide. For professional and personal development, community outreach and partnerships with industry, there is no place like SVA. We offer courses during the week and on weekends, from one-day workshops to full-semester courses.

Visit our continuing education open houses and see for yourself why this is the choice for both the dedicated pro- fessional and the curious mind. This semester, SVA is also offering credit courses through the Division of Continuing Education. These courses are listed in the Courses for Undergraduate Credit section of this bulletin.




Location and Campus
The school has two Manhattan locations: in the Gramercy Park neighborhood, on the East Side; and in the Chelsea neighborhood, on the West Side, with a number of buildings catering to classes in different departments.

Main Building
The Main Building is located at 209 East 23rd Street, between Second Avenue and Third Avenue, and features classrooms, administrative offices, a cafeteria and an amphitheater. The upper floors are mostly designated for film and video courses, and the building features an amphitheater. The building’s lobby and an adjoining room also serve as a museum space for exhibits and public events.

Second Avenue Building
The school does not own this entire building, which is located at 380 Second Avenue, but only three of its floors, including the second, where the school’s library and some classrooms are located, the fifth floor, where undergraduate animation studios and the graduate design department are located, and the eighth floor, where administrative offices, the school's computer store and classrooms designated for Humanities and Sciences classes are located.

Photography Building
Located at 214 East 21st Street, this building is where classrooms and studios used for undergraduate and graduate Photography classes are located, as well as the school’s radio station, WSVA, and some administrative offices.

West Side Building
This building, located from 133-141 West 21st Street, between Sixth Avenue and Seventh Avenue, contains most of the studios serving drawing and painting classes, particularly for freshmen. It also features classrooms for courses in interior design, printmaking, BFA & MFA computer art, and art history. The lower level also features an art gallery and a cafeteria.

SVA also owns the building across the street, at 132 West 21st Street, which has offices, classrooms and studios for undergraduate Cartooning & Illustration, and graduate Illustration as Visual Essay, Computer Art, Art Education, Art Therapy, and Art Criticism & Writing.

Sculpture Building
Located at 30 West 17th Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues, this building is used for sculpture classes on the ground floor and lower level.

Galleries
SVA has three gallery spaces: the Visual Arts Gallery, at 601 West 26th Street, 15th floor; the Westside Gallery, at 141 West 21st Street; and the SVA Gallery/Visual Arts Museum, at 209 East 23rd Street. The galleries show a mix of student and professional art.

Residence Halls
There are several dorms for students at SVA. The George Washington Residence (formerly the George Washington Hotel), the New Residence and the Gramercy Women's Residence all offer housing near the college's East Side Manhattan campus, and the St. George in Brooklyn Heights has additional beds for resident students. A new dorm is opening Fall 2007 at 10th Street and 3rd Avenue. SVA is slated to start construction on a residence hall on Ludlow Street in the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

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School of Visual Arts Art School Location

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