Art Academy of Cincinnati

The Art Academy of Cincinnati (AAC) operates as a private art and design college in Cincinnati's historic Over-the-Rhine neighborhood, occupying an urban campus integrated within the city's cultural district. The institution, which began as the McMicken School of Design in 1869 and was formerly affiliated with the Cincinnati Art Museum, became an independent college in 1998. Located in a renovated industrial building, the campus provides studio spaces and specialized facilities for various artistic disciplines, with student housing available in nearby partner properties. The college focuses exclusively on Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees, offering programs in areas such as painting, sculpture, illustration, design, photography, and print media, maintaining small class sizes for intensive studio-based instruction.