Academics
If you dream of 鈥渂ecoming a more thoughtful and skillful artist or designer,鈥 you鈥檒l find a good match at Cleveland Institute of Art, a tiny urban school with more than 100 years in operation. Students come to CIA for its 鈥渨onderful art programs鈥 and reputed design departments, but also note that there is 鈥渇lexibility in exploring other fields of study while pursuing a focused major.鈥 Academically, liberal arts are emphasized, especially in the first year, and even fine art majors are expected to take 鈥渁cademic courses and a lot of art history.鈥 Across all nineteen major disciplines, students 鈥渓earn through hands-on experience, experimentation, and self exploration,鈥 and they are expected to put serious time into their creative projects. A signature of the program is the 鈥渁vailability of personal studio space鈥 for undergraduates鈥攅very student gets their own private workspace after the first year. In terms of classroom experience, 鈥減rofessors vary widely,鈥 but most are 鈥渁ctual working professionals鈥 who are capable of 鈥渢eaching you skills to apply to life after graduation, no matter which route you choose to take.鈥 With just 500 undergraduates, 鈥淭he student to faculty ratio is surprisingly low, which allows for a large amount of input from staff.鈥 In the classroom or during critiques, 鈥淒iscussion is always encouraged.鈥
Student Body
Within CIA鈥檚 鈥渆clectic鈥 student body, you鈥檒l find 鈥渄iversity in terms of personalities and interests,鈥 from 鈥済eeky鈥 animation designers to 鈥渟mart dressers鈥 in the industrial design program to the stereotypical 鈥渉ipster鈥 in the painting studio. Appearances aside, CIA students are generally 鈥渇riendly, outspoken, and imaginative,鈥 united by a 鈥渟trong drive and enthusiasm towards their work.鈥 A student elaborates, 鈥淭he common denominator is an interest in art, but the student body varies so much I couldn鈥檛 even begin to describe a typical student.鈥 With a lot of social diversity, 鈥淏irds of a feather flock together鈥 at CIA, and 鈥淓ach department is like a clique.鈥 At the same time, 鈥淢ost students here are open to each others opinions,鈥 and are usually 鈥渧ery accepting and eager to help you grow as an artist and as a person.鈥
Campus Life
There are no sports teams, no Greek organizations, and no student clubs at CIA. Art and design are the number one priority for this school鈥檚 serious undergraduates, who spend as much time in the studio as they do eating, sleeping, or socializing. A student describes the typical routine like so: 鈥淵ou wake up, go to class, go to the studios, go home to sleep, and then wake up and start again.鈥 In fact, many students are 鈥渦sed to staying up all night some nights to go the extra mile and get work done.鈥 When they do find a spare moment, 鈥淭here are some great places on the West Side of Cleveland, and there are usually events or parties going on somewhere.鈥 As one student explains, 鈥淲e all work pretty hard, so plenty of us don鈥檛 feel guilty about taking some time to party.鈥 In addition to the party scene, you鈥檒l find CIA students at the movies, at museums, and at 鈥済allery openings almost every weekend鈥 in Cleveland.
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