Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts

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Through the rare combination of our spectacular galleries, our internationally known school of fine arts, and our public programs, PAFA strives to provide students and visitors alike with a unique and thrilling experience. PAFA promotes the transformative power of art and art-making.
PAFA will inspire the future of American art by creating, challenging, cultivating, and celebrating excellence in the fine arts.
PAFA's museum is internationally known for its collections of 19th- and 20th-century American paintings, sculptures, and works on paper. Its archives house necessary materials for the study of American art history, museums, and art training.
This specialized and unique art school attracts some of the most committed and promising art students from across the country and worldwide to study painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, and illustration with a distinguished faculty of working artists. The school holds a national prestige position, with cutting-edge studio and classroom facilities, private studios for students, a historic cast collection, and the opportunity for students to exhibit in a world-class museum.
PAFA is a non-profit college accredited through the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD) and the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE). PAFA is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design (AICAD) and The Common Application.
Academic advising extends the mentoring relationship between students and faculty as they work together to plan a meaningful learning experience at PAFA.
All students have a faculty advisor in their significant/concentration department beginning in their second year. Advisors work individually with their advisees each semester to discuss their interests and goals and build a full class schedule and critics.
Certificate and PAFA BFA students must meet with their academic advisor before the day of registration. Students should bring their registration roster signed by the student and their academic advisor.
PAFA is committed to ensuring equal educational opportunity and full participation for all students. Disclosure of a disability is voluntary, and a student's responsibility. A student with a documented disability may be eligible to receive assistance through the Office of Student Services. Eligibility for reasonable accommodations is determined on a case-by-case basis after comprehensive documentation is reviewed.
The First-Year Experience is designed to help undergraduate students in the BFA and Certificate programs make the most of their education at PAFA. Students are participating in the course gain the support they need to become successful in the studio, in the classroom, and their careers as artists.
The class begins with a behind-the-scenes look at PAFA's rich museum and school tradition. It takes students out into the world of galleries, alternative exhibition spaces, and artist studios. The class also works with PAFA's faculty and career services to help students become comfortable with the rigorous curriculum and develop confidence in their work.
Tutors are available for 45-minute appointments several days per week. They will read over a paper draft, discuss an organizational outline for an assignment, or even help you interpret an assignment and begin brainstorming. English as a Second Langauge (ESL) Tutors works with students to improve their grammar and writing skills and speaking and listening skills needed to be engaged in critiques and art classes.
Interns work with the professional staff of PAFA and participate in the work of a department. They are placed within PAFA based on their interests, educational experience, preferences, and availability. Most PAFA internships are unpaid and are available throughout the year.
PAFA also collaborates with schools, including the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Delaware, to provide specialized field opportunities. PAFA students are encouraged to talk with the Career Services Department about internships.
As part of PAFA's mission to create a home for contemporary artists to reinvent traditions and make their marks on the future, Community Education programs offer studio art courses, workshops, and programs for art students and art appreciators of all ages.
The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) was founded in 1805 by painter and scientist Charles Willson Peale, sculptor William Rush, and other artists and business leaders. They sought to "promote the cultivation of the Fine Arts, in the United States of America, by [...] exciting the efforts of artists, gradually to unfold, enlighten, and invigorate the talents of our Countrymen."
The current museum building (Historic Landmark Building) opened in 1876. Designed by the American architects Frank Furness and George W. Hewitt, it has been designated a National Historic Landmark. As such, it is recognized as an essential part of America's and Philadelphia's architectural heritage. The collection is installed in a chronological and thematic format, exploring American art history from the 1760s to the present.
Today, PAFA maintains its strong collecting tradition by including works by modern and contemporary American artists such as Jennifer Bartlett, Richard Diebenkorn, Nancy Graves, Alex Katz, Philip Pearlstein, Robert Motherwell, Raymond Saunders, and Frank Stella. Acquisitions and exhibition programs are balanced between historical and contemporary art. The museum shows works by contemporary regional artists and features annual displays of work by PAFA students.

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