The Academy of Art University (AAU, or ART U), formerly Academy of Art College and Richard Stephens Academy of Art, is a
privatefor-profitart school in
San Francisco, California. It was founded as the Academy of Advertising Art by Richard S. Stephens in 1929.[2] The school is one of the largest property owners in San Francisco, with the main campus located on
New Montgomery Street in the
South of Market district.[3]
In fall 2023, it had 126 full-time teachers, 492 part-time teaching staff, and 6,786 students;[1] it claims to be the largest privately owned art and design school in the United States.[4]
History
It was founded in 1929 as Académie of Advertising Art,[5] a school for advertising art, at 215 Kearny Street.[6] The founder, Richard S. Stephens,[7] a painter and editor for
Sunset Magazine, led it until 1951 when his son Richard A. Stephens took over. In 1992, Stephens was replaced by his daughter, Elisa Stephens.[8][6] Under her presidency, student numbers increased to 18,000 by 2011.[9]
The school has been participating in the NY Fashion Week event bi-annually since 2005.[13][14][15] Every year, the university hosts a spring show that highlights student work from the school's 75 disciplines.[16]
In 2009, four former admission officers alleged that the school had compensated them based on how many students they could enroll, which was an incentive-based recruitment technique.[17][18][19][20][21] The former employees sued the school in U.S. District Court in Oakland in 2009.[19]
In May 2016, the city of San Francisco brought a lawsuit against Academy of Art University after possible violations of city land-use laws, including the unauthorized conversion of
rent-controlled housing to academic use.[19][21][22][23] In December 2016, the school was ordered pay the city $20 million in fees and $40 million in housing concessions, such as providing low-income housing for seniors.[24][25] In January 2020, the agreement was amended, requiring the Academy of Art University to pay $37.6 million to build affordable housing.[21][26]
In 2023, ten architecture and landscape projects by AAU students were featured in Dezeen magazine.[27]
Academics
The school offers
associate,
bachelor's[28] and
master's degrees[29] in about twenty-two subjects.[28] Some courses are offered online.[28][30] As of 2015, the school had not published job placement rates since 2006, and was disagreeing with the US Department of Education over whether it is required to do so.[19]
According to the
National Center for Education Statistics, 45% of students who began their studies in fall 2013 completed a four-year degree within 150% of that time (the "6-year graduation rate").[1] For online-only students, the 6-year graduation rate was 6% and 3% for part-time students in mid-2015.[35] Approximately 35% of all students were online-only in 2015.[35] In 2016, roughly 7% of students completed a four-year degree within the allotted time.[30]
According to data from the National Center for Education Statistics in 2019, the school's graduation rate for "full-time, first-time" students was 45%.[36] The school has
open admissions and an admission acceptance rate of 100%.[28][30] In 2016, its
accreditor expressed concern over low graduation rates; 37% of students who enrolled in 2010 graduated by 2017.[18]
In the 2014–2015 season, the men's cross country team had a second-place finish and the women's team had a record fourth-place finish, earned at the Pacific West Conference Championships. Valentin Pepiot, their third
NCAA Nationals individual qualifier, was one of the top finishers from the PacWest in the postseason finale.[38] Academy of Art earned a record 10 PacWest postseason honors. For the 2015 indoor and
outdoor track and field seasons, they had seven
All-American honors and one NCAA individual champion in Jordan Edwards.[38]
In May 2023, the
San Francisco Shock announced a partnership with Academy of Art University for its
2023 OWL season. The university's campus will be the official home of the Shock, allowing access to its facilities and housing.[39]