Kansas City Art Institute

Founded in 1885, the Kansas City Art Institute is one of the nation's oldest and most respected colleges of art and design. A premier private, fully accredited, four-year institution, KCAI offers Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees in 13 studio majors including Animation, Ceramics, Painting, Photography, Printmaking, Sculpture and more. Its mission is to educate artists and designers while honoring the distinct journeys of students, forging a vibrant community that equips them to become leaders who leverage the creative process to transform the future. The school emphasizes hands-on making, offering resources for both handcrafting and digital production, including a woodworking shop, kilns, individual studios and a digital studio with 3-D printers, a digital loom and CNC routers. Situated on a 16-acre campus near the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, KCAI maintains a 9:1 student-teacher ratio with a faculty entirely composed of practicing artists, designers and scholars.