About Us
The New England School of Art & Design at Suffolk University has been dedicated to providing its students with excellent instruction, professional courses of study, small classes and personalized attention for over 85 years. We offer undergraduate and graduate degrees, continuing education courses and high school programs. Disciplines include: Graphic Design, Illustration, Interior Design, Interior Architecture and Fine Arts.
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We’re an Art School and University all in one.
Located in Boston, the School was originally founded as The New England School of Art in 1923 with a mission to prepare students for professional careers in art and design. The academic collaboration between The New England School of Art & Design and Suffolk University began in 1988 with an agreement allowing students to enroll in Suffolk courses. In 1996, the two institutions merged and the School of Art & Design became a department within the College of Art & Sciences. Today, our students benefit from not only being part of a tight-knit community of artists and designers but also from the resources a large, urban University such as Suffolk has to offer. It’s a place where you can be creative but also explore your other interests too. At Suffolk you can take classes in everything from Spanish to advertising, join a service organization and make a difference in the community, show off your acting chops at the C. Walsh Theater, or go beyond our Boston campus and study abroad. With more options comes a richer educational experience and we believe being well-rounded and informed is an important part of why our graduates are so successful.
Education is personal for us and community is key.
College has as much to do about those with whom you share your educational experience as it does about what you major in. At Suffolk you’ll study with art educators who are also practicing artists and designers. What you’ll learn is relevant and current, because instructors bring the experience from their studios, galleries and firms into every class. The faculty are here to mentor, support and challenge you and ultimately push your creativity beyond what you thought was even possible. And at the end of it all they’ll be more than just the teachers you had in college; they’ll become the foundation for the professional network you’ll build both while you’re in school and long after you graduate.
Because our curriculum is studio-based ours is a collaborative educational experience where you’ll learn with (and from) your classmates as well. Your creativity will flourish as a result of the connections that you make at Suffolk, because our programs attract students from all over the world, exposing you to cultures and perspectives that will enrich your learning.
Hear for yourself what our students have to say:
Our accreditation sets us apart.
The New England School of Art & Design is accredited by The National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD), the national accreditation agency for art and design and the Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA), a specialized body recognized by the US Department of Education. Not every school that offers courses or programs in art and design is accredited and that’s important to consider when choosing where you’ll study. We are very proud to have earned these specialized accreditations as doing so speaks to both the rigor and the caliber of the curricula and to the success of our alumni in their respective fields. Our programs go through a regular review and evaluation process performed by teams of art and design professionals and academicians from across the nation, who carefully examine the quality of the work being produced by our undergraduate and graduate students. During our most recent review periods we were pleased to have been issued the maximum length of re-accreditation by both NASAD and CIDA as doing so speaks volumes to the confidence both bodies have in our programs.
In addition to The School of Art & Design’s NASAD and CIDA accreditations, Suffolk University is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. Read more about Suffolk University's accreditations.