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What are the top Massachusetts illustration schools for 2024?
| Ranking | School | City |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Massachusetts College of Art and Design | Boston |
| 2 | Montserrat College of Art | Beverly |
Our 2024 ranking of the top illustration schools in Massachusetts. For an explanation of the ranking criteria, click here.
1. Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston, Massachusetts
Massachusetts College of Art and Design (MassArt) has an Illustration BFA program that requires 120 credit hours of study. Housed in the Illustration Department, the BFA program provides opportunities to complete independent study, an internship, and/or a course assistantship. All options are open to upper-division students. Sophomores also qualify for the course assistantship option.
The curriculum for the MassArt Illustration BFA consists of 18 credits in Studio Foundations, 42 in Illustration, and 18 in Studio Electives. This is in addition to core education and other requirements. Course examples Media Techniques; Narrative Illustration; Digital Painting and Techniques; Word and Image; Advanced Drawing for Illustrators; Virtual 3D Illustration; Book Arts; Experimental Illustration Techniques; Black and White Illustration; Color for Illustrators; and Professional Illustration.
In the final year of the Illustration BFA program at Massachusetts College of Art and Design, students will complete the Thesis Project I: Research, Thesis Project II: Imagery, Senior Illustration, and Illustration Portfolio courses. Final student portfolios will be presented to professionals from the editorial, publishing, advertising, and corporate markets.
Graduates of the Art and Design programs at Massachusetts College of Art and Design have been hired at a variety of studios, companies, and organizations. Examples include the Hasbro, Sony Pictures Imageworks, the Whitney Museum of American Art, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Time Inc., Discovery Channel, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, New Balance, Boston Children's Museum, PUMA, and the Attleboro Art Museum.
Massachusetts College of Art and Design is the nation’s first and only public college of art and design. Founded in 1873, the school serves approximately 1,785 students enrolled more than 40 degree, minor, and certificate programs. Approximately 155 continuing education students are enrolled in over 100 classes and workshops in all areas of art and design. Massachusetts College of Art and Design is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE). MassArt is also an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD).
2. Montserrat College of Art, Beverly, Massachusetts
Montserrat College of Art (Montserrat) housed the Department of Illustration. Within the department is an Illustration BFA program that begins with the Foundation Studio Base (FSB). Required FSB courses include Studio I & II; Observation I & II; and Color: Material and Light. Upon successful completion of the FSB, students will move on to the Studio Core, electives, and Liberal Arts requirements.
Course examples include Illustration I: Drawing for Communication; Perspectives in Anatomy; Illustration II: Media & Methods; Art History: Modern Developments; Illustration III; Digital Process; Reading & Critical Thinking; Illustration IV: Applications; Painting I: Painting, Color, Light; Advanced Drawing; Research & Rhetoric; Graphic Design; and Senior Illustration Business Practices.
In addition to a variety of in-demand courses, the Illustration BFA program at Montserrat College of Art features individual and team-based projects; critiques; museum and gallery visits; research assignments; workshops and seminars; collaborative studios; and internship opportunities.
Students will also have opportunities to travel to places such as Niigata, Japan; Mallorca, Spain; and Santa Fe New Mexico to study, create, and explore.
In the final year of the Montserrat Illustration BFA program, students will complete the Senior Illustration Thesis. Students will work in teams during this final year to curate a series of week-long public shows hosted at on-campus exhibition spaces, and local galleries. Work created by every graduating senior will be displayed at the Graduation Exhibition in the main Montserrat Gallery. The event takes place in May.
Graduates are prepared to pursue positions across industries. Montserrat College of Art alumni have worked with studios, companies, and museums such as Nickelodeon, Disney, Sesame Street, Hasbro, Boston Center for the Arts, Puma, Martha Stewart, FableVision, Currier Museum of Art, and Peabody Essex Museum (PEM.
Founded in 1970, Montserrat College of Art opened as Montserrat School of Visual Arts with just one diploma program. Today, the school provides 12 programs, including BFA degrees, to nearly 400 students. Montserrat College of Art is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD) and the New England Commission on Higher Education (NECHE).