PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (PAFA) in Center City says it will end its degree programs next year.
In a letter to the school community, PAFA President Eric Pryor says the school will “wind down” both its Bachelors and Masters of Fine Arts programs at the end of the 2024-2025 academic year.
“The higher education environment has become increasingly complicated by rising costs, expanding requirements, and dwindling enrollment,” said Pryor. “Colleges and universities in our own region and across the country are struggling with these trends. PAFA, unfortunately, is no exception.”
According to Pryor, juniors and seniors on track to graduate by 2025 will be able to do so, while the school will work with first-year students and sophomores to create transfer plans for the end of this academic year. PAFA has reached agreements with Temple University’s Tyler School of Art and Architecture, Moore College of Art and Design, Pennsylvania College of Art and Design, University of the Arts and Arcadia University to transfer its first and second-year students.
Despite closing its degree-granting programs, Pryor says PAFA will continue its certificate programs, as well as its commitment to K-12 art programs and continuing education.
The decision to end the programs came after PAFA's Board of Trustees established a group to create a long-term sustainability plan for the school. “The Board and PAFA’s Leadership Team conducted extensive outreach to potential partners with whom we might collaborate to continue granting PAFA degrees,” noted Pryor. “These efforts did not bear fruit.”