The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts is closing its college. A letter from President Eric Pryor confirmed the decision on Wednesday.
After an unsuccessful meeting on Tuesday, the PAFA board made the unanimous decision to end its Bachelor of Fine Arts and Master of Fine Arts programs.
The Academy said they had faced complications with rising costs, expanding requirements and dwindling enrollment.
"Despite our best efforts to address these challenges, we have determined that the only path forward is to wind down our BFA and MFA programs at the end of the 2024-2025 academic year," Pryor said in a news release. "This change affects our degree-granting programs only. Our certificate programs, commitment to K-12 arts programs and continuing education will remain in place."
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The Academy said juniors, seniors and Master of Fine Arts students who are expected to graduate in 2024 or 2025 will do so as planned.
However, first-year students and sophomores will finish their time at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts at the end of the current academic year. Those remaining 37 students will be given a transfer plan to a range of local schools to complete their arts degrees, according to the Academy.
Pryor said agreements are in place with the University of the Arts, Temple University’s Tyler School of Art and Architecture, Moore College of Art & Design, Arcadia University and Pennsylvania College of Art and Design.
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"We are mapping out a new vision for the future for PAFA that honors our history, inspires our community, and continues to build our legacy," Pryor added. "The path ahead will be difficult, even painful at times, but I believe it will lead PAFA back to what we are meant to be—a place to collectively celebrate the transformative power of art and amplify the creative work of the next generation of art makers. PAFA is the sum of many things—our collection, archives, studio and maker spaces, artists, scholars, exhibitions, public programs, classes, workshops, and our community. Even as our educational mission evolves, we will continue to grow all aspects of PAFA."
The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts is America's first and oldest art museum and art school and was founded in 1805.
The Academy offered undergraduate and graduate programs in the fine arts, innovative exhibitions of historic and contemporary American art and a world-class collection of American art.
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