Are you searching for one of the best and most reputable art colleges in Canada? Twinklehub has compiled a list of the top 10 best and outstanding schools that offer unique art courses in Canada, with their cost of study and location as well.
Anyone who has a passion for art, and wants to do great in that field of study, needs education because education will help polish you greatly, adding more knowledge and skill to your, and you will graduate with a certificate that will help create bigger job opportunities for you.
What is Art?
According to research, art can be defined as the expression or application of diverse human creative skills in creating certain unique and splendid visuals such as painting a drawing, auditory such as music, dance, literature Lumen Learning.
Why Study Art In Canada?
Studying art in Canada creates different opportunities to meet new people with the same passion, and as well learn from professional personalities. Canada is also acknowledged as one of the top places in the world, with great educational standards and schools that are well-accredited.
Enrolling in an art school will do you more good because art institutions help to provide various unique training on art, and visual art including fine art, especially illustration, painting, photography, sculpture, etc.
Studying art in Canada will as well offer you higher job opportunities because those who study art and graduate with a good degree, require various job opportunities.
Cost of Art Schools in Canada
Although art schools in Canada are a bit expensive, and the cost solely depends on the school you applied for. However, the average cost of studying art in Canada is around $3, 300, and an international student’s cost is around $11,000.
Top 10 Best Art Colleges in Canada
1. The University Of Alberta, Department Of Fine Art
Tuition Fee: The cost of studying art in this institution is $2,588.40 per semester (Canadian students), and $17,995.20 (international students)
Location: The University of Alberta, Department of Fine Art, is located in Edmonton, Alberta
First on our list of best art colleges in Canada, is the prestigious University of Alberta, Founded in 1910, by Norwegian emigrants, with a good reputation since it was established, with recognition among the world’s best teaching and research universities.
The University of Alberta, Department of Art is divided into three main areas: Visual Arts, Music, and Drama, and few of the majors and studios focus on teaching students painting, drawing, and sculpture (clay, found objects, plaster, paper, wood, and foam blocks), and digital imaging.
Additionally, the school offers a Bachelor of Arts degree to its admitted students, and this usually takes students about four years of study to achieve the degree.
2. Alberta University Of The Arts (Auarts)
Tuition Fee: The cost for Alberta University of the Arts (Auarts) is around $4,356.60, Annually (Canadian students), and $13,792.80 (international students)
Location: The school is located in Calgary, Alberta
Founded in 1973, the Alberta University of the Arts (AUArts), formerly known as Alberta College of Art + Design, also got a spot in this list of best art colleges in Canada, with unique differences and standard learning facilities.
This school is a standard publicly funded Canadian degree-granting art and design university located in Calgary, Alberta, and since the establishment of this school, it has focused on creating a unique studio-based experience for all admitted students in fine art, new media, and design.
The Alberta University of Art offers a degree in Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA), and degrees in this institution are offered in the following majors: painting, drawing, sculpture, ceramics, glass, jewelry and metalworking, print media, and media arts and technologies.
Furthermore, the school offers a Bachelor of Design (BDes) degree to students, and that degree is offered in the majors of Photography and Visual Communication, to all interested students.
3. George Brown College, Center For Arts And Design
Tuition Fee: The annual cost of studying in this institution is $3,312, and $11,000 for postgraduate courses.
Location: George Brown College, Center for Arts and Design is located in Toronto, Ontario.
The George Brown College Center for Arts and Design ranks among the best art schools in Canada for its unique and outstanding Academic performances over the years.
The institution is divided into three (3) schools, namely the School of Design, the School of Fashion Studies, and the School of Performing Arts.
In addition, all the mentioned three schools in George Brown College, Center for Arts and Design, offer undergraduate and postgraduate programs as well as a postgraduate qualification in a variety of design disciplines such as interdisciplinary design strategy, digital design/games design, and advanced digital design, which makes them unique from other institutions.
4. Ontario College Of Art And Design University (OCAD U)
Tuition Fee: The Ontario College of Art and Design University, cost around $6,995 per semester.
Location: The great school is located in Toronto, Ontario
You can enroll in this University if you have a great passion for art, and we acknowledge this school to be among the best art universities in Canada because of its uniqueness. According to my research, this institution offers the widest variety of visual arts and design programs among others.
Ontario College Of Art And Design University (OCAD) offers five (5) degrees, which are:
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA)
- Bachelor of Design (BDes)
- Master of Arts (MA)
- Master of Fine Arts (MFA), and
- Master of Design (MDes).
Furthermore, BFA majors offered are drawing and painting, printmaking, photography, integrated media, and criticism and curatorial practice.
The BDes majors are material art and design, advertising, industrial design, graphic design, illustration, and environmental design.
And for graduate degrees, the school offers Masters in Art, Media, and Design, Advertising, Contemporary Art, Design, and New Media, Art Histories, Digital Futures, Strategic Foresight, and Innovation, Design, and others.
5. Concordia University, Department Of Visual Arts
Tuition Fee: The Concordia University, Department of Visual Arts costs $3,600 annually (Canadian students), and $19,390 (international students; for 3 terms)
Location: The school is located in Montreal, Quebec
Ranking next in our list of best and outstanding art universities in Canada is Concordia University, established back in 1974 by the merger of Sir George Williams University (1926) and Loyola College (1896). The school’s Department of Visual Arts offers a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree.
Furthermore, the school’s degree is offered in the following courses: Art Education Visual Arts, History of Art, Cinema, Design and Communication Arts, Creative Arts Therapies, and Studio Arts. Apart from the Visual Arts Department, the institution also has a Department of Performing Arts, and it offers Contemporary Dance, Performance Art, Theatre, and Music, which makes it unique from other institutions.
6. Ottawa School Of Art
Tuition Fee: The Ottawa School of Art tuition fee per course and the term is around $375.
Location: The institution is located at Byward Market, Ottawa, Ontario
Another great school that is known to excel among the outstanding art colleges in Canada is the Ottawa School of Art, known as a non-profit art school in downtown Ontario with great recognition since its establishment.
The school offers a one-year certificate program, a three-year diploma program, art camps, and general interest courses which makes the school outstanding among others.
You might love to know that the Ottawa School of art offers art courses in life drawing, landscape painting, photography, ceramics, sculpture, lithography, watercolor, etching, printmaking, and others.
Another great thing about the institution is that they also provide exhibition space and a boutique for the display and sale of artwork by local artists and students, which lets students know how much their works are valued, and helps them improve greatly.
7. Emily Carr Institute Of Art And Design
Tuition Fee: This great school costs $3,300 (in-state students) annually, and $11,000 for international or out-state students
Location: Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design, is located in Vancouver, British Columbia
If you want to do great in art, then consider studying at the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design, as the school offers unique art courses, since it was established back in 1925, and ranks among the best art colleges in Canada, as they specialize in art, design education, and research, with good admission and acceptance rate.
Furthermore, the undergraduate degree takes four years of study, which is Bachelor of Fine Arts, provides all admitted students with majors in different kinds of art, like painting, drawing, ceramics, print media, sculpture, illustration and digital arts, animation, film/video/integrated media, critical and cultural practices, fine arts, and creative writing.
The institution also offers a Bachelor of Design (BDes) degree, and this is offered in the majors of communication design, industrial design, and interaction design. You might love to know that the school also offers a Master of Applied Arts degree, and it is a two-year professional program that allows all admitted students to prepare for a career in the fields of visual arts, design, media, and other creative industries.
8. Nova Scotia College Of Art And Design (NSCAD)
Tuition Fee: The annual tuition fee for Nova Scotia College of Art and Design is around $11,408
Location: The great institution is located in Halifax, Nova Scotia
The Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD), is another great choice for anyone who has a passion for art and wants to study deeply in art.
This school made this list of best art universities in Canada as it offers three (3) undergraduate degrees, known as Bachelor of Arts (BA), Bachelor of Design (BDes), and Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA).
Established way back in 1887, the school is known for its great and outstanding academic performance, and the degree offered usually takes up to four (4) years of study, and they require two semesters of foundation studies.
Furthermore, there are five (5) main areas of undergraduate study in this school, namely, Crafts, Designs, Fine Art, Historical and Critical Studies, and Media Art.
All admitted students can as well choose to major in any of the courses mentioned in the above five areas, and apart from the degrees, NSCAD also offers two certificate programs to all admitted students, namely, the Visual Arts Certificate in Studio and the Visual Arts Certificate for Teachers, which is part of the uniqueness of this school and offers it a spot among the best art schools in Canada.
9. Yukon School Of Visual Arts (SOVA)
Tuition Fee: The Yukon School of Visual Arts cost $1,620 per semester.
Location: This institution is located in Dawson City, Yukon
The Yukon School of Visual Arts (SOVA) is the most northern school in Canada that offers unique art programs with outstanding academic performances over the years, and also ranks among the best art colleges in Canada.
This great institution offers a Foundation Year Program, which is equivalent to the first year of a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree, which means admitted students finish their first year at the school, then finish their degrees at their choice of the four partnering art schools across the country (Canada), and those four are the OCAD U, the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design, AUArts, and the NSCAD.
In addition, the school’s foundation year program has six (6) studio studies courses and four (4) liberal studies courses, with unique studies, top professionals, and standard learning facilities.
10. The New Brunswick College Of Craft And Design (NBCCD)
Tuition Fee: The full-time tuition fee of this institution is around $1,000 for all Canadian students and $6,630 for international students.
Location: The New Brunswick College of Craft and Design (NBCCD) is located in Fredericton, New Brunswick
Last on our list of best and outstanding art universities in Canada, is the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design (NBCCD), known to have a curriculum that features a studio-based education with a hands-on entrepreneurship focus.
The programs offered at NBCCD, include two-year Diplomas in Aboriginal Visual Arts, Ceramics, Digital media, Fashion Design, Graphic Design, Jewelry/Metal Arts, Photography, and Textile Design for all admitted students, which will help perfect them greatly for the future.
Furthermore, the school offers one-year Certificate programs in Foundational Visual Arts and Advanced Studio Practice, and a four-year Bachelor of Applied Arts (BAA) degree is also offered in partnership with the University of New Brunswick (UNB).
FAQs on the Best Art Schools in Canada
Is Art a Good Career Path?
Yes, art is a great career path and covers a wide range of work including, design, craft, media art, sculpture (clay, found objects, plaster, paper, wood, and foam blocks), and others.
Artwork is also in high demand as it covers a large range of duties. If you do want to get much finance out of an art career, you do need to sharpen your skills with a lot of self-development to stand out in the art profession after attending art school, and also develop a passion for art, and study all aspects of it in school, so you can be professional in the various aspects of art.
What are the best Art Schools in the World?
Although we have numerous great art schools, the below are our top best art schools in the world.
| S/N | Names of Schools | Locations |
| 1. | Tokyo University of the Arts | Tokyo, Japan |
| 2. | California Institute of the Arts | Valencia, California (US) |
| 3. | Berlin University of the Arts | Berlin, Germany |
| 4. | Parsons School of Design at The New School | New York City, New York (US) |
| 5. | Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design | London, England |
| 6. | School of the Art Institute of Chicago | Chicago, Illinois (US) |
| 7. | Rhode Island School of Design | Providence, Rhode Island (US) |
| 8. | Aalto University | Espoo, Finland |
| 9. | The University Of Alberta, Department Of Fine Art | Canada |
| 10. | Alberta University Of The Arts (Auarts) | Canada |
Are Art Schools in Canada Worth It?
Yes, art institutions in Canada are worth studying, as they provide all admitted students with a structured environment and facilities to learn the skills much quicker, which is a great way for art students to keep up their motivation, and also do great after graduation.
Canada is among the best countries with a good education system and great schools. Attending an art school in Canada, especially the best, will do you good in various aspects, and also help you on the path to art, especially earning a degree in art, and having the higher opportunity to work in large organizations.
Conclusion
We hope our above list of the best art schools in Canada eases your search. Feel free to drop your questions in the comment section below, and our team will offer you all the answers needed.
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