Established in 1896 as the Chase School, named after the impressionist painter William Merritt Chase who was also its founder, the school has been known by a variety of names before adopting its current title in 2005. Parsons offers Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Fine Arts and Master of Fine Arts degrees through 27 programs including fashion design, photography, art history, fine arts and illustration. The school aims to show students how to apply art and design thinking in order to solve global humanitarian and environmental problems. Recently, the Parsons New School for Design has been the setting for the TV show "Project Runway." Famous alumni include Tom Ford, Donna Karan, Norman Rockwell, Anna Sui and Jasper Conran.
Founded in 1982 by a group of artists and art patrons, including Andy Warhol, the New York Academy of Art focuses on nurturing skills in figurative drawing, painting and sculpture in order to encourage students to produce new forms of contemporary visual art. The Academy teaches students that Andy Warhol himself felt that a lack of traditional training limited him as an artist. The New York Academy of Art offers Master of Fine Arts degrees in a two-year program.
Originally known as the Cartoonists and Illustrators School when it was established by Silas H. Rhodes and Burne Hogarth in 1947, the school was given its current name in 1956. Degrees available at the School of Visual Arts include Bachelor of Fine Arts, Master of Fine Arts and Master of Arts in Teaching in a range of subjects such as fine arts, animation, illustration, fine arts and photography. The school aims to prepare students for entry into a range of professions in the field of visual arts through a rigorous curriculum and the use of studio facilities which meet industry standards. Alumni include Jared Leto and Academy Award-nominated animator Bill Plympton.
Founded by Charles Pratt in Brooklyn in 1886, the Pratt Institute has since expanded and now includes a satellite campus in Manhattan. Here, the Graduate School offers programs including design management and arts and cultural management. Other two-year Associate's Degrees available at the Manhattan campus include illustration and graphic design. Pratt aims to combine theory and artistic application in order for students to become leading professionals and responsible citizens. Alumni include Robert Redford and Betsy Johnson.