The Art Institute of Dallas

This is a FOR PROFIT school, you should know that from the start before enrolling there, my tuition was 8K per quarter. I attended AI Dallas back in 2007 – 2008 pursuing a BA in Arts. I already had a college degree back then, so they accepted most of my CORE credits but made me do some classes that I have already taken in college, they had different names, but they were the same thing, I was not very happy about that. Overall, this is not a bad school, I am 36, so I do not care about white walls or flooring types. I was there for the classes, and most of them were good ones, they had good teachers and I learned many things from them. This school is perfect for those aspiring artists and culinary people, they have hands on classes, where the goal is for you to learn by doing things (painting, drawing, Photoshop, websites, etc) rather than reading and taking tests after tests. In my lifespan, I have attended several schools (UM, Richland, AI, UTA, SMU) and this one was the only one that had a different approach to education, that is because of the kind of majors they offer, you can’t learn to draw without actually drawing, or to use Photoshop by just reading about it. Again, this school is called The Art Institute for a reason, they teach about ART and have classes that require you to get involved in a different way, you have to work and present projects, along with keeping your portfolio. This was a very different experience to my previous schools but I had a lot of fun, I am not an artist nor is my field of work, so I had a hard time with painting and drawing classes, but I truly learned a lot about it and I had a good experience overall. From what I know, they have made several infrastructure updates (building, parking, etc) so if that is your concern, you should go and check it out, the location of the school is good, easy access and close to many shops.

Ended up being the worst mistake of my life to attend this school. There are to many details to put in a review. Stay away and find a more affordable education!

Since I am earning my second degree from this place, and the reviews are so negative, I feel obligated to write one. I went to the culinary school from 2006 — 2008 (earned an AAS) and I started again in 2010 and I am about to graduate with a BFA in Photography.
First, the building and its location. One of the older reviews mentions how uninspiring the building was, and that it looked like a corporate environment, and then more recently someone commented that the building was ‘a mess’ right now. Well, thats because they renovated! The school looks much better. They have top of the line equipment and software (as far as culinary and photography, I don’t know anything about the other programs) and now they have a cool building to house it all in. Construction is 95% done and with our summer break upon us, I imagine it will be finished then. Parking is a breeze, they have a massive parking garage which is never full and a sky bridge to get to the building. When I came here in 2008 the building stood alone, and now it is part of a major development. On my breaks I walk to Whole Foods for a snack, or some quick shopping at Old Navy and Ulta. And in between classes I can drive across the highway and be at Northpark in less than five minutes. If you are familiar with this area then you know pretty much every restaurant imaginable is within 10 minutes of the school. As far as location is concerned, it couldn’t be better.
Second, someone mentioned the supply store and the café prices. Of course they are overpriced. Buy your books online and pack your lunch (or walk to Whole Foods like I do). Big deal. Thats like complaining that the food at DFW airport is overpriced. What would you expect? And yes, the tuition is expensive. This is something you are aware of before you sign any papers though. If you think paying back the tuition will be a big deal, then do your research. And there are many grants and scholarships available, you just can’t be lazy and have to do your research. (Disclaimer: I am on a scholarship so I will not have to pay back student loans, so I am sorry if I am a little naïve when it comes to paying student loans back).
Third, transferring credits. No, most credits don’t transfer, but I am a little shocked people aren’t aware of this or complain about it. If you went to SMU and tried to then go to the Art Institute those credits wouldn’t transfer either, different schools offer different classes and programs. HOWEVER, The Art Institute is an accredited college. I am earning an accredited bachelors degree, not a type of certificate (such as ITT Tech or Devry). I am applying for a masters program at SMU in 2014 and I will be able to attend because I will have a bachelors degree. Again, do your research. Credits do not transfer, but the degree is accredited.
As with any college, you get out what you put in. I try very hard to make good grades and to take quality images and I take classes with people who do not. Why should career services help both of us find equal jobs? If you are a bad student you will likely have a bad portfolio and you will likely be a bad employee (if you can get a job). I don’t expect my college to start my career for me, I expect them to teach me things that help me start my own.
(In case you are wondering why I got a culinary degree followed up with a photography degree a couple years later is because I am a recipe developer/​food photographer).
I deducted one star due to the major layoffs that occurred last year. When I started in 2010 each photo course in the photography program (for example, photojournalism, food photography, portraiture, architecture, fashion, studio, nature, landscape, location, etc) was taught by a local professional in the industry that specialized in that field. They did a major layoff in the school and over 40 teachers were let go, including some of the best photography teachers. Now a teacher that was teaching what he/​she specialized in is teaching multiple subjects that they do not do professionally. Learning architectural photography from a well known architectural photographer was more beneficial than learning it from someone who does not do architectural photography professionally. However with the power of social media I am able to stay in touch with those teachers that were let go, and still ask them for feedback.
In conclusion, the better student you are, the better your experience at The Art Institute will be.

I am a graduate with a bachelors of fine arts. I went for the Media arts and animation field and I loved every minute of my time there.
I’ll list the pros and cons from my point of view as a media arts and animation graduate.
Pros:
Amazing teachers with great experience in 2D and 3D animation, video games, films, etc. The faculty here has worked for Disney animation studios, DNA productions, Warner Bros, Universal, Dark Horse Comics, Marvel, DC Comics, Epic Games, etc.
Great companies like Gearbox Software, id Software, etc. close to the campus where you can network and maybe end up getting an internship and later a job.
Incredible amount of fellow students that have the same passion as you do, be it for video games, animation, feature films, vfx, etc.
Cons:
The price, I would suggest to get your basics at a community college and transfer them here because a class cost over $ 1000. This is the only thing that I really regret not doing because I feel like I wasted so much money in classes I didn’t care for.
I think everyones experiences are different but for me it was a great time and other than the waste of money on my basic college classes, I do not regret the time spent and the amazing people I met there.
Nothing is perfect but I rated the school 5 stars because of the great faculty and fellow students made my time there unforgetable.

Not impressed. The place is all torn up, it’s a mess in there. Doesn’t look very inspiring for artists either… I wouldn’t want to go there. I took my son there for a tour, he was considering going until we finished the tour and looked at tuition. It is OUTRAGEOUS. You would be paying on student loans for the rest of your life for an education where the credits won’t transfer and there are no guarantees on job placement… don’t let them fool you. Jobs in the arts are SCARCE anywhere in the US and competition is tough… take it from a recruiter and a musician.

I came here for an open house and I thought it was soo awesome. The staff and people here are great. They show you around the awesome campus and talk to you about going here. Im really interested in the fashion part of the school. Very happy with the experience and hopefully soon maybe I will be coming here.

As a graduate and a returning student — save your money, your sanity, and the drama of a roiling administration.

it was a good experience. probably cause i appreciated this school more then I ever did in AI Houston. I majored in Advertising and I’m glad that I did.

Buddha Christ! Where to start with this crazy school! Well I guess i can start off with the inside of this school. I’ve been going here pursuing a BFA in graphic design and i’m 3quarters away from graduating. When i first started this school I was like wow i’m going to an art school it must be artsy fartsy! However little did Richard Q. knows that the inside of this god forsaken building it would look like a freaking corporate office building! The last thing an art student wants to see is plain white walls with 1980s crap carpet with no creativity effort put in to this building. The only creative things that they have are students who have done exceptional designs in their class that are displayed in the display case up in the hall ways. Other than that it’s back to the old nasty charcoal/​pastel smudge thats on the wall! How do you really expect a creative student to produce works of art without inspirations through others?! I literally feel «creatively constipated» every time i set foot in this school.
Next off we have the financial advisers! Advisers who are everything but advisers! They have left me scrambling on my own trying to get funds to continue my education and half of the advisers can’t even answer your questions or refer you to another bone head that can’t answer the same damn question! I mean really? you pay soo much money to go here and you got bone head advisers who can’t help you with your education funds?! I mean if your paying so much money for your education you would expect top notch service for your mortgage debt education. Am i right?!
Oh it gets worse from here, this school will eat you broke from all angles so i already knocked out two areas now we have the student store. I know college campus stores are usually a rip, however this student store took the word rip to a whole new level! Whatever art supplies you find at hobby lobby or michaels just times their price by 2! Seriously i am not joking I mean i am already broke as it is as a student now i gotta pay louis vouitton price for supplies?! If you ever come to this school don’t bother with this store unless you really have to. You should take your business else where but here.
Alright now to something that is very vital to every program in this school that we must have is our print shop. Once again I am lost for words on how much money everyone is paying for their education and this school can’t even provide state of the art industry printers?! I have had my projects in jeopardy cause of the printers they have here. I don’t know what printers they have there but the colors are never as vibrant as it should be. It always seems like the toner is lower or something. Then you have the black and white daily printers that always go out of order for some freaking reason that no one in this campus can explain. So people get screwed when they need to print out their papers for their class. I recommend printing it at home at work or wherever except the schools printers!
You ever heard of that term or saying «I’m a starving artist.»? well here literally you will starve! Especially with the cafeterias food prices! Man you paying highland park prices with rude services. I bought a soda, bag of chips and a candy bar and it totaled to almost 4dollars! Shoo with 4dollars i can literally get a combo meal at Mickey D’s. Also this place charges for utensils, ice and a freaking cup! He’s flat out rude gives you an attitude if you try to use your credit/​debit card if your purchase isn’t over 5 dollars!
Even though through all this complaints there are some good things about this school. The professors are very helpful and know what they’re talking about when it gets down to the software and the ins and outs of the industry since all the professors have been in the field for atleast 10+ years. So if you want to learn what you came here for this is the place to get your hands on experience with the people who are in the field.
Also the students at this school are real helpful and friendly everyone here has experience in a little bit of everything. So they’re willing to give in put and help out another fellow students.
The Advisers for registration are professors themselves so that really helps you keep track on what course you have to take next and go on with the flow of things. They will leave no questions unanswered if you have any to ask them.
Overall i think my experience here at this school has been good far as getting my learn on, however the other departments are lacking! They need to step up their A game