Academics
The Santa Fe Universtiy of Art and Design is “an arts college with a strong liberal arts core,” students tell us. Although SFUAD presents itself as a full-service liberal arts institution, undergrads here report that the school’s true strength lies in “bringing together the many different art worlds (film, theatre, music, photo, art) to network ideas and promote a more creative future.” The school boasts “a kick-ass film program as well as damn strong contemporary music and creative writing programs, and a pretty OK theater program; and, the rest of the arts are getting better all the time.” All arts here benefit from “amazing facilities and resources,” such as the moving image arts department’s “working studio that commissions big Hollywood films to use the space.” SFUAD’s size is also an asset, allowing students to “develop close relationships with their professors. They are all very approachable. As an art student, I have been able to interact with the local art community in ways that wouldn’t be as accessible in [big] cities.” Students supplement their creative studies with liberal arts courses that are hardly “ordinary, run-of-the-mill classes.” One student writes, “In the last year I have taken classes ranging from topics like Latin American Revolutions, Women in World Religion, New Media Exhibition, and Digital Imaging.” Adds another, “If you’re a math student, this place isn’t for you.”
Student Body
SFUAD “is an arts school, and most of the students here fit the prototype,” so much so that many fondly refer to the student body as “the Island of Misfit Toys.” The most common archetype here “is the trendy hippie,” although students warn that many don’t survive the school’s rigors. Peppered among the “artsy and strong willed” majority are those who “are more reserved and conservative in their opinions and appearance, but interact well with other students who are different than they are since there is a feeling of accepting everyone for who they are campus-wide, whether it be race, gender, sexual preference, appearance, religion, political views, or other.”
Campus Life
The SFUAD campus is dominated by the arts community, meaning “a lot of great music, a lot of indie underground bands (both on campus and off), a lot of ways for students to showcase their own work, and loads of great galleries off campus.” SFUAD also has “its own indie movie theater on campus that shows really great films.” Outside these circles, “Life at SFUAD can be pretty laid back or pretty busy. It just depends on what you want to do. Some kids take a full load, work, and do an internship. Some kids take 12 hours, get money from home, and hang out on the quad playing music and making art.” Hometown Santa Fe “has a plethora of book shops, museums, art galleries and coffee shops” and restaurants that are “amazing for such a small city,” but it’s also “a sleepy town” where “everything closes before 8 p.m.” The surrounding area offers “amazing fishing, skiing, hiking, climbing, etc.” “There are endless outdoor activities to do in the southwestern landscape,” one student observes.
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