Pratt Institute
200 Willoughby Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11205

Why do so many prestigious artists, designers, and writers choose to teach at Pratt?

The first art teacher at Pratt was a pupil of Cézanne, the second was a student of Matisse. More than 100 years later, the legacy of masters working with students not only persists at Pratt but grows stronger.

In addition to teaching at Pratt, most of the current faculty members are working professionals—leaders in their fields who design the automobiles we drive, the clothing we wear, and the buildings in which we live—and who pass on knowledge and expertise to the generation that will shape the world of tomorrow.

As for why they teach, for some, it’s the passion for teaching itself. For others, it’s the ability to use Pratt as a laboratory to test their latest theories. For others, it’s to water the soil that helped them grow into leaders in their fields. For many, it’s an opportunity to pick the top students in the class for internship or job offers once they are graduated.  Many of the faculty are Pratt graduates themselves and attribute their first job and their ultimate success to their professors. 

As one of the world’s multicultural centers for arts, culture, design, technological innovation, and business, New York City provides Pratt students with an exceptional learning environment that extends beyond the Pratt campuses. From design firms and art galleries where students may intern to museums, galleries, Broadway, and concert halls where they enjoy all of the city’s cultural offerings, Pratt’s New York City location is unparalleled.

As a gifted artist, designer, or writer, you are looking for a school that recognizes your talent and potential and challenges you to grow as a creative individual. You are seeking an environment that is both challenging and inspiring, where education is tied to real-world experience—access to all the culture that New York City has to offer, internships in award-winning firms and cutting-edge galleries, and the opportunity to study abroad. You want to know that, upon graduation, you will benefit from an extensive network that will connect you with jobs throughout your career, so that you can lead a fulfilling and productive life earning a living doing something you love.

 THIS IS THE PLACE. PRATT INSTITUTE.

Mission

Pratt’s mission is to educate artists and creative professionals to be responsible contributors to society. Pratt seeks to instill in all graduates aesthetic judgment, professional knowledge, collaborative skills, and technical expertise. With a firm grounding in the liberal arts and sciences, a Pratt education blends theory with creative application in preparing graduates to become leaders in their professions. Pratt enrolls a diverse group of highly talented and dedicated students, challenging them to achieve their full potential.

Pratt's Graduate Program Rankings 

Rankings

Rank	Subject
#1	Interior Design (Ranked first in the country by DesignIntelligence, 2018-19)
#2	Animation (Ranked second on the East Coast, seventh among private schools and colleges, and eighth nationally by Animation Career Review, 2015)
#2	City and Regional Planning (Ranked second nationally and sixth regionally among master’s degreegranting institutions that do not also grant PhDs in the Planetizen Guide to Graduate Urban Planning Programs, 2017)
#3	Industrial Design (Ranked third nationally and first regionally by DesignIntelligence, 2015. Ranked fifth in U.S. News & World Report’s 2013 guide to “America’s Best Graduate Schools.” Ranked in the top 10 nationally by DesignIntelligence, 2016)
#4	Architecture (Ranked fourth among the top 13 best schools offering graduate programs in architecture by GraduatePrograms.com, 2016)
#5	Art and Design (Ranked fifth in the world for art and design out of 50 colleges by QS World University Rankings by Subject, 2017)
#6	School of Architecture (Ranked sixth among the most prominent Schools of Architecture in the world by www.arch2o.com)
#11	Library and Information Science Archives Program (Ranked 11th nationally by U.S. News & World Report, 2013)
#12	Communications Design (Ranked number 12 nationally in U.S. News & World Report’s 2013 guide to “America’s Best Graduate Schools”)
#15	Fine Arts (Ranked number 15 nationally out of almost 300 graduate fine arts programs by U.S. News & World Report, 2016)
#17	Architecture (Ranked 17 by DesignIntelligence, 2018-19)
	Information Experience Design (Ranked among the top 50 best value UX design graduate programs, www.valuecolleges.com, 2018)
	Advanced Certificate in User Experience (Ranked number 24 of the best alternative UX design programs, www.valuecolleges.com, 2018)
	MS in Library and Information Science (Ranked among the best library and information studies programs in the US by U.S. News & World Report’s Best Graduate Schools Guide, 2017)
	Design Management (MPS) (Ranked among the top programs nationally by Bloomberg Businessweek)
	Ranked among the top design schools by Bloomberg Businessweek, Pratt was ranked fifth in the world among art and design schools by QS World University Rankings, 2017.

Outside the Classroom

Pratt’s Student Involvement Department and Student Government as well as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion departments plan week-end events for students. Sixty plus student clubs make it possible for students to pursue their interests.  

Living on Campus or Off

Pratt Institute maintains three residence halls (see below) for graduate students on the Brooklyn campus and in the immediate neighborhood to accommodate graduate students. They offer a variety of housing options, including rooms with and without kitchens, doubles, and singles. Pratt also offers campus meal plans for students who like the convenience of eating on campus.  The surrounding area has many new apartment buildings and older brownstones, and many of our graduate students choose to live in these.   Our Residential Life Office maintains a list of rentals for Pratt students throughout the year.

Pratt Institute offers its graduate students a number of optional meal plans. If you have a disability that impacts diet, or you have dietary/food restrictions, the  Learning Access Center will discuss procedures for establishing alternate dining arrangements.

ATHLETICS AND RECREATION

Interested in playing an intercollegiate sport while at Pratt?  Graduate students are welcome to try out.  A provisional member of NCAA, D3, men’s intercollegiate athletics teams include basketball, cross- country, soccer, indoor and outdoor track and field, tennis, and volleyball. Women’s teams include basketball, cross-country, soccer, indoor and outdoor track and field, tennis, and volleyball. Pratt Institute is a member of the Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and fields a total of 14 teams.

 For recreational use and fitness, the Activities Resource Center (ARC) houses a 325 x 130-foot athletic area, the largest enclosed clear-span facility in Brooklyn aside from the newly constructed Barclays Center. The complex includes five regulation-size tennis courts, two volleyball courts, and an NCAA basketball court. The ARC provides 650 bleacher seats for intercollegiate basketball, volleyball, the Colgate Women’s Games, and other spectator sports events. This enclosed area has a seating capacity for up to 1,000 people for special events. The four-lane, 200-meter indoor track completely encircles the athletic court areas. There are full locker room facilities with saunas for men and women. The second floor houses a fully equipped and newly renovated weight and fitness room and a dance studio. Recreational and intramural activities are scheduled throughout the year and range from individual and team sports to special events.

Cultural Partnerships in New York City

Pratt’s partnerships with New York City’s major cultural institutions enable Pratt students to take advantage of the vast opportunities in Brooklyn and Manhattan. On their own, Pratt students may visit free of charge.

The Brooklyn Museum has an impressive permanent collection that includes the Egyptian art collection and the Asian collection. The museum puts on several contemporary—and often local—art exhibitions each year. The “First Saturday” of each month is a day of special events when the museum is free to the community.

Open year-round, the adjacent Brooklyn Botanic Garden features one of the most impressive Japanese gardens outside of Japan, capturing nature in miniature: trees and shrubs, carefully dwarfed and shaped by cloud pruning, which are surrounded by hills and a pond. The Cranford Rose Garden features 5,000 bushes of 1,200 varieties of roses.

The Brooklyn Academy of Music, popularly known as BAM, is at the vanguard of theater offerings. Productions ranging from performance art and independent films to stylized Shakespearean productions are available to Pratt students at discounted rates.

In Manhattan, Pratt students also enjoy visiting these institutions where admission fees are waived: Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum; the Frick Collection; the Museum of Arts and Design; the Museum of Modern Art; and the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Study Abroad Programs

Pratt’s study abroad programs provide firsthand exposure to some of the most vibrant international centers of art, design, and architecture.  For more information on individual programs available to graduate students, contact Maria Soares, Director of Study Abroad and International Partnerships, at msoares@pratt.edu.

Commitment to Sustainability

Years ago, Pratt Institute took a leadership role in sustainability among schools of art, design, and architecture nationwide.  Pratt’s academic departments incorporated sustainable design and other sustainability issues into their programs as part of the preparation of a contemporary artist, designer, writer, and architect. Pratt students are taught to think in new ways about the relationship of designer to product, architect to built environment, and artist to creative expression.

In The Princeton Review’s 2013 Guide to 322 Green Colleges, Pratt was recognized as one of the country’s most environmentally responsible colleges.

The Institute’s Center for Sustainable Design Strategies (CSDS) is an active and collaborative resource for sustainable design at Pratt’s Brooklyn campus. Under the umbrella of CSDS, the Pratt Design Incubator for Sustainable Innovation provides ambitious students and Pratt alumni with a stimulating place to launch sustainability-minded businesses, providing office space, planning support, and access to shop facilities. For more information, visit csds.pratt.edu.

The Faculty Pratt’s more than 1,100 faculty members are award-winning professional artists, designers, architects, planners, writers, and other professionals who mentor their students to achieve comparable success. These faculty members expect that Pratt students will meet the same high standards upheld in their professional work. With different views, methods, and perspectives, they all share a common desire to develop each student’s potential and creativity to the fullest— to graduate competent and creative professionals who will shape the world to come. Faculty serve as important connections when students are ready for employment or internships.

State-of-the-Art Technology Pratt’s computer labs and digital output centers have the most current equipment available. Computer labs offer computer workstations, color scanners, color and black- and-white printers and plotters, digital and analog output centers, digital photography, video and sound bays, multimedia video projection, and multiple servers. With access to everything from film editing and digital animation to two- and three-dimensional rendering, all workstations feature the latest software for the departments using them. Those working in the three- dimensional realm have access to 3-D printers, laser cutters, and CNC milling machines. Pratt continually upgrades lab equipment as industry standards change.

Exhibitions Gallery space, both on the Brooklyn campus and at Pratt Manhattan, is extensive, showing the work of students, alumni, faculty, staff, and other well-known artists, architects, and designers throughout the academic year. Pratt Manhattan Gallery is a public art gallery that presents significant work from around the world in the fields of art, architecture, fashion, and design. The Rubelle and Norman Schafler Gallery on the Brooklyn campus mounts faculty and student exhibitions, as well as thematic shows featuring the work of unaffiliated artists. In addition, Pratt has more than 15 other galleries located on its Brooklyn and Manhattan campuses.