Ringling College Of Art And Design

Ringling College of Art and Design recognizes that artists and designers play a significant role in society. The College's primary mission is to provide programs leading to degrees that prepare students to be discerning visual thinkers and ethical practitioners in their chosen area of art and design.
Visual arts professionals must understand diverse aspects of past and present cultures, and develop their capacity for creative expression and effective communication. Ringling's curriculum, therefore, balances the teaching of technical knowledge and skills with the development of critical, conceptual and creative abilities and supports courses that provide historical, multicultural, global and future perspectives. Ringling faculty consists of professionally active and teaching-oriented artists, designers and scholars.
Ringling College of Art and Design strives to enroll both full- and part-time students from diverse backgrounds who intend to become professionals in the visual arts. Through its policies and practices, the College supports excellence in teaching and fosters the aesthetic, intellectual, professional, personal, and social development of its students. Academic programs and advising, career services, and an extensive co-curricular student life program prepare students for an art or design profession, or when appropriate, for continued studies on the graduate level.
In addition to its degree program, Ringling College offers courses, lectures, exhibitions and other art-related services to the local and regional community through its gallery, library, continuing education and community service programs.
Through the efforts of its Board of Trustees, administrators, faculty, support staff, alumni, and friends, Ringling endeavors to provide the necessary resources, services and environment to fulfill its institutional mission.

Ringling College's strategies for making this happen include:

Reinvestment in education: We outspend our competition by putting more money back into our academic programs, facilities, and services. Existing programs strengthen--and new programs related to art and design help broaden--the curriculum.

A focus on relationships: Open communication and authentic relationships are what identifies a Ringling College experience, whether that be as a student, parent, colleague, donor, community member, or art lover.

Recognition of value: Like all private colleges, at first glance our tuition appears expensive. But a conscientious eye reveals that teaching art and design is highly individualized. Our average student to faculty ratio is about 11 to 1, much lower than other colleges.

As a non-for-profit organization, Ringling is committed to constant reinvestment of its proceeds to further its mission. It is guided in this effort by the College's Strategic Plan and its Campus Master Plan. To facilitate this, the College has developed a robust Office for Advancement which continues to grow philanthropic giving. These resources have made a visible and lasting effect on the campus including the Alfred R. Goldstein Library (opened in January 2017), the Richard & Barbara Basch Visual Arts Center (opened in August 2017), the Sarasota Art Museum (opened in 2019) and an expansion of scholarship funds including the Masterpiece Scholarship, that provides full tuition for a deserving student.
Other divisions of the College such as the Career Center and Alumni Relations build and nurture life-long bonds between students, alumni, and parents. Ringling students have unending access to Career Center resources and the Alumni office provides mentorship and networking opportunities.
Ringling is also committed to the Sarasota community above and beyond its students. Community engagement includes nine campus galleries open to the public, the Sarasota Art Museum, the Englewood Arts Center, continuing education programs such as Pre-College and Studio + Digital Arts, and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. The College also hosts many community events on campus that exposes people to the Ringling Campus.
In order to, “Shatter the Myth of the Starving Artist™" Ringling invites nearly 100 recruiters including Disney, Pixar, Dreamworks, Hallmark, and federal agencies to meet with its students to explore internship and employment opportunities. Of those alums who respond to institutional surveys, over 80% are employed within one year of graduation. The College seeks to create practice ready professionals who can quickly advance within their chosen careers.
The College has a strong philanthropic base of support lead by its engaged Board of Trustees who see and believe in the Ringling vision. The Board helps to shape the strategic direction of the College with its time, talent, and treasure.

Within a span of less than twenty years, Ringling College has gone from 45 buildings on campus to 130 including a new residency hall that opened in 2020. As a result of increased fundraising efforts and donor engagement over the last two decades, we have increased the total scholarships that Ringling College is able to provide. Ringling College has committed to providing 100% of students with some form of financial assistance for the 2023-2024 academic year.
Ringling aims to become the preeminent Art and Design College in America.