Ringling College of Art & Design was founded in 1931 by John Ringling, noted art collector, real estate developer and circus impresario. The college is a private, not-for-profit, fully accredited college offering the Bachelor's degree in 14 disciplines: Advertising Design, Business of Art & Design, Computer Animation, Digital Filmmaking, Fine Arts, Game Art & Design, Graphic & Interactive Communication, Illustration, Interior Design, Motion Design, Painting, Photography & Digital Imaging, Printmaking and Sculpture.

Located on Florida’s Gulf Coast, the picturesque 35-acre campus now includes 90 buildings, and attracts close to 1,300 students from 43 states and 23 foreign countries.

Ringling College’s Selby Gallery is Sarasota’s premier gallery for contemporary art. Each year, the Gallery brings the work of nationally and internationally known artists, illustrators, photographers, sculptors, and designers to Sarasota. A recent merger of Ringling College of Art and Design and the Sarasota Museum of Art [SMOA] will also add a Sarasota’s newest Museum as a new division within the College, providing students, as well as the entire greater Sarasota community access to the latest in contemporary art, while, at the same time, preserving the beloved, historic Sarasota High School in a creative re-adaptation to house the Museum.

The College is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design [AICAD] and is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design [NASAD], the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree [SACS], and by the First Professional Degree Level by the Council for Interior Design Accreditation [CIDA], formerly [FIDER].

High school juniors and seniors can immerse themselves in the college environment during a 4-week long PreCollege Perspective program in preparation for their entrance into an art and design college.

More than 2,000 students attend teen and adult Community Art classes and workshops throughout the year, as well as many other art and travel programs through the Continuing Studies and Special Programs [CSSP] office.

Most popular majors through enrolment (2010) are 32% Illustration, 25% Computer Animation/Game Art & Design, 14% Graphic & Interactive Communication. Faculty to student ratio is 1 to 13. Cost of tuition was $27,620 (annually) for 2009-2010. The annual operating budget of $50 million; balanced every year since 1931. Only 55% of the annual operating budget comes from tuition and fees.

Each year, more than 50 recruiters from corporations, government agencies and not-for-profit organizations visit campus to pursue our graduates. Examples of recruiters include:
American Greetings
Apple Computer
Carters Childrenʼs Wear
Cartoon Network
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
CNN
Disney
DreamWorks
Electronic Arts (EA)
ESPN
General Motors
Hallmark Cards
LucasArts Entertainment
Midway Games
Ogilvy & Mather
ReelFX
Sony Pictures Imageworks
St. Petersburg Times
Steelcase
Target Corp.
The John and Mable Ringling
Museum of Art
Universal Studios
Warner Bros

In 2006, BusinessWeek magazine named the college one of the top Design School in the world and one of only 10 in the entire United States.
In 2010 the Society of Illustrators accepted 20 Ringling student works into its Scholarship Competition, which marks a total of 81 entries admitted to the exhibition in the past 3 years for Ringling College - 24 more than any other institution.
The American Advertising Federation (AAF) awarded nearly three dozen local ADDYs to Ringling students and three at the District level. Ringling students have won top prizes in the prestigious international Adobe Design Achievement Awards and the Rockport Student Design Challenge.
The $30,000 Angelo Donghia Foundation Prize, one of the most sought-after awards in the interior design industry, was awarded to two Ringling students in 2008, continuing the tradition of seven wins during the past decade. Since 1995, Ringling has won seven Student Academy Awards out of only 11 given annually worldwide. Students' artwork and profiles have also been featured throughout the world in respected media outlets such as CMYK, Print, HOW, 3D World, Variety, Computer Graphics World, The New York Times Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Sarasota Magazine, SRQ magazine, the Maddux Report, Florida Trend, NPR, PBS, and many more.

Courses at Ringling College of Art & Design

Bachelor of Fine Arts
Advertising Design
Business of Art & Design,
Computer Animation,
Digital Filmmaking,
Fine Arts,
Game Art & Design,
Graphic & Interactive Communication,
Illustration,
Interior Design,
Motion Design,
Painting,
Photography & Digital Imaging,
Printmaking
Sculpture

Past students - established and famous artists
Shawn Barber
Elsa Chaves
Fiore Custode
Andrew Jones
Virginia Hoffman
Gene Johnson
Tim Rogerson
Leslie Lerner


Contact Details for Ringling College of Art & Design
2700 North Tamiami Trail
Sarasota, Florida 34234-5895
Phone:941.351.5100 or 800.255.7695 (Toll-Free U.S. Only)
Fax:941.359.7517
Contact Email:admissions@ringling.edu
Website:http://www.ringling.edu