The School of Art seeks students with a wide range of talents and backgrounds, and approaches admissions based on a holistic consideration of each applicant’s portfolio, inclusive of academic and other achievements. Self-motivated students who demonstrate cultural awareness, ambition, and an engagement with various materials, ideas, and contexts will find the School of Art an exceptional environment for developing their artistic practice and future careers in the arts and creative fields.

With a student body hailing from throughout the United States and around the world – including Asia, Europe and the Americas (China, South Korea, Peru, Singapore, UK, Canada) – the The School of Art is a diverse, tight-knit community of approximately 200 students. With a 9:1 student-teacher ratio, students are able to work closely with professors and one another to push the possibilities of what art is and can be.

The School of Art has fostered over 100 years of remarkable alumni and a global network of unique and influential creators. After their time at Carnegie Mellon, students pursue residencies, fellowships, and terminal degrees in the arts as well as related fields across the sciences and humanities. They actively exhibit their work in gallery, museum, and public art contexts, work as part of collaborative teams that reach beyond the studio, and are critical and innovative contributors across fields of community and environmental activism, tech & design, film & television, and institutes of higher learning.