franklinartsacademy

© Christine Salek

The 2011 U.S. News & World Report on "America's Best Colleges" regarding the top liberal arts colleges in the country has listed Williams College as the No. 1 among the top tier national liberal arts colleges, followed closely by Amherst College and Swarthmore College.
Cornell has improved by 4 places and has been listed as the 80th college out of 250 arts colleges that have been compiled. It has also been ranked 34th on the list of colleges with a strong commitment to teaching. It has also won accolades because it believes in bringing a well rounded individual into the world under the heading "A+ plus schools for B students". Similarly, McDaniel College was also ranked as an A+ plus school for B students by the freshman retention rate.
The University of North Carolina at Asheville was 1 of the only arts colleges to make it to the U.S. News list of stellar schools for undergraduate research/creative projects. St. Olaf College also made it to the coveted list of top arts colleges and was ranked 51st.

© Christmas w/a K

There are plans in the works to build a new Integrated Arts Complex at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. The school already has a fine art college with a long history, going back to 1779. William & Mary was actually the first college in America to include "fine arts" in its curriculum, and in 1936 the college instituted the first "modern fine arts" department in the nation. In 1938, 126 American and European architects competed to build a "Festival Theater and Fine Arts Center" at the college, but after a winning design was selected, it was determined that there were not enough funds available for construction.

This time around, 73 years later, the college will fulfill its commitment to the arts by building the Integrated Arts Complex, which will house the departments of art and art history, music and theater, speech and dance, and would also become a new public entrance for the college.

© rachellynnae©

College education is the next major step for a lot of graduating high school students.

While many prospective students will opt for more technical, business or scientific courses, there is also the option of a fine arts degree for the more creative and right-brained students. Choosing a suitable fine arts college or university can be a challenging decision to make. Although a uni league table can be a helpful resource to provide prospective fine arts students with more information.

The good university guide 2012 for instance provides rankings of the top universities. There is a general list showing the overall university rankings, but fine arts students will be more interested in the top universities in the specific category of fine arts. Uni league tables usually provide a breakdown of top universities according to each subject also. Students should also use the league tables to find out which universities are most appropriate for their desired geographic location for study.