Cornish College of the Arts

For more than ninety years, Cornish College of the Arts has educated students and nurtured artists who, as professionals, have consistently contributed to the culture of society. The Cornish School was founded in 1914 when Nellie Cornish, a woman of profound vision and unlimited energy, realized her vision of a school that offered arts training based on inspirational encouragement and guidance of student self-expression. While Cornish’s mission is to “provide students aspiring to become practicing artists with an educational program of the highest quality,” its role is far broader. Cornish students, alumni, and faculty members are working artists—theater directors, visual artists, set and lighting designers, dancers, and musicians—making art in and for the community. They are also innovative designers, business leaders, teachers, passionate and supportive audience members, and torchbearers for the arts.

Cornish College of the Arts, one of only three private, nonprofit performing and visual arts colleges in the nation, offers a Bachelor of Music degree and Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees in art, dance, design, music, theater, and performance production. The academic programs are a distinctive blend of visual and performing arts grounded in a core curriculum of humanities and sciences. With more than 145 faculty members and an enrollment of over 775, Cornish has the lowest student-faculty ratio (8:1) in the country for an institution of its kind. Individualized attention and mentoring for every student are emphasized, and students thrive in their chosen artistic disciplines. They are encouraged to exchange ideas, to experiment and find their unique artistic voices, and to share them in both innovative and traditional projects. Cornish challenges artists to broaden their artistic perspectives and engage in creative collaboration by encouraging students to select from a wide range of elective studio courses outside their majors. The educational programs are of the highest possible quality, and the environment at Cornish nurtures creativity and intellectual curiosity and also prepares students to contribute to society as artists, citizens, and innovators.

The Art Department is devoted to realizing the individuality and full potential of each student. The faculty members support artistic play and risk, rigor, and a strong work ethic. Students are challenged to be involved in cross-disciplinary creation and collaboration and to engage with their peers in rich, critical discourse; studio projects; and exhibitions. They become adept at both traditional and contemporary technical approaches to art-making, develop fluency in various visual languages, and learn to understand their work in the context of history and culture and within the larger world of contemporary artistic endeavor.

Campus and Surroundings

Seattle has more cultural construction projects in the works than any other urban area in the U.S., with more than $1.2 billion in cultural infrastructure for concert halls, museums, and theaters. The city has 190 galleries, five cultural heritage museums, five art museums, a dance company, a symphony, and twenty-nine professional theater companies and fifty-six fringe theater companies as well as more than eighty clubs with live music. Cornish serves as a focal point for public presentation, artistic criticism, participation, and discussion of the arts in this artistically rich community.

Faculty, Resident Artists, and Alumni

The faculty at Cornish represents the largest concentration of practicing artists in the Northwest. They are nationally renowned in their fields and are dedicated to instruction of the arts. Their art can be found in major galleries, theaters, dance troupes, and other prestigious art organizations around the nation. Dedication to Cornish College and the stability of its programs is demonstrated by a faculty retention rate of more than 90 percent.

Since its earliest days, the College has fostered influential artists, arts movements, and arts organizations in the local community and beyond. Prominent members of the Northwest School of Artists, including Mark Tobey, Morris Graves, Guy Anderson, and William Cumming, taught at Cornish College, as did Martha Graham, an inventor of modern dance. Merce Cunningham, the legendary contemporary dancer/choreographer, and broadcast pioneer Chet Huntley were Cornish students. Revolutionary composer John Cage worked and invented the prepared piano at Cornish. In more recent years, the College has nurtured the talents of Heart’s Nancy Wilson, Brendan Fraser, and award-winning composer Wendell Yuponce.

Cornish has hosted elite members of the artistic community as artists-in-residence, including Meredith Monk (performance), Mark Morris (dance), Bill Frisell (music), Rinde Eckert (theater), Syvilla Fort (dance), Imogen Cunningham (photography), and Lou Harrison (music). These acclaimed artists provide Cornish students with unique and invaluable educational experiences.

Application Procedures

Deadline--freshmen and transfers: August 15. Notification date--freshmen and transfers: August 30. Required: essay, high school transcript, college transcript(s) for transfer students, minimum 2.0 high school GPA, portfolio. Recommended: minimum 3.0 high school GPA, 2 letters of recommendation, interview, SAT or ACT test scores. Auditions held 1 time on campus and off campus. Portfolio reviews held continuously on campus and off campus in various cities; the submission of slides may be substituted for portfolios when distance is prohibitive.

Cornish College of the Arts

Campus and Surroundings

Faculty, Resident Artists, and Alumni

Application Procedures

Undergraduate Contact