Updates on the 2020-2021 Academic Year
SVA continues remote instruction, with select facilities accessible by appointment. Click below for updates.
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About > About SVA

About

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School of Visual Arts

has been a leader in the education of artists, designers and creative professionals for more than seven decades.

With a faculty of distinguished working professionals, dynamic curriculum and an emphasis on critical thinking, SVA is a catalyst for innovation and social responsibility.

over

1,100

faculty

educating

7,000

students

throughout

31

programs

to join our

38,000

alumni

Our Mission
To educate future generations of artists, designers and creative professionals.
core VALUES
CITIZENSHIP We recognize that communication is the
cornerstone of community. Accessible
leadership and minimal hierarchy breed
a spirit of mutual respect and
cooperation.
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eye
DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION We value our differences. An SVA
education is informed by multiple
approaches to learning and making; and
by the presence of diverse cultural and
socioeconomic backgrounds,
perspectives and experiences.
FREEDOM OF E X P R E S S I O N The freedom to take risks is vital to art-making and arts education. We celebrate
divergent opinions as participants in the
world’s largest community of creative
professionals.
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PROFESSIONALISM
AND INTEGRITY We believe in accountability. As we
adapt and innovate, our institutional
commitment to ethical conduct,
community service and outreach and
financial responsibility remains
steadfast.
alumnijamesjean
James Jean BFA 2001, Illustration

notable
ALUMNI

notable-alumni
Frank Ockenfels 3 BFA 1983 Photography

SVA has graduated
more than 38,000
artists, designers,
writers, filmmakers,
photographers and
other creative
professionals.

Among them are Academy-Award winners, Emmy-Award winners, Grammy winners, MacArthur Fellows and Guggenheim Fellows.
Their work can be found in the collections of the world's leading museums, including The Museum of Modern Art and The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

HISTORY &
FUTURE

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SVA was established by co-founders Silas
H. Rhodes and Burne Hogarth in 1947, as
the Cartoonists and Illustrators School.
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The school began with three teachers and 35 students, most of whom were World War II veterans who had a substantial part of their tuition underwritten by the
G.I. Bill.
The College was renamed the School of Visual Arts in 1956. The first degrees were offered in 1972, and by 1983, the College had introduced its first graduate offering, a master of Fine Arts in painting, drawing and sculpture.
HISTORY STRATEGIC PLAN PRESS ROOM