Welcome to The Art Institute of Charlotte where creativity and individuality are respected and encouraged.
The Art Institute of Charlotte is a dynamic institution of higher education with a mission to give our students the knowledge and skills necessary to enter their chosen fields. Whether they choose the world of fashion merchandising, graphic arts, interior design, interactive media design or the culinary arts, our graduates are capable of contributing fully within a diverse workforce and a global environment.
The Art Institute of Charlotte is licensed and accredited to offer Bachelor of Arts and Associate of Applied Science degrees as well as Certificates.
The Art Institute of Charlotte is one of The Art Institutes, with more than 40 education institutions located throughout North America, providing an important source of design, media arts, fashion and culinary arts professionals.
The City of Charlotte
Welcome to Charlotte, a city that offers a unique blend of bustling urban innovation and sleepy Southern tradition.
Our high quality of life, reasonable cost of living, friendly people, arts and sports, as well as educational and career opportunities, attract talented individuals from around the world. Students at The Art Institute of Charlotte become a part of this dynamic city while working to make their dreams a reality.
With four distinct but mild seasons and a central Carolinas location between two large recreational lakes, Charlotte residents are only two hours from the breath-taking Blue Ridge Mountains and three hours from the Atlantic shore.
Fun Things to Do
Beyond the college, students can enjoy everything a major metropolitan area offers — from dance clubs and concerts to galleries and amusement parks, from Panthers football to NASCAR. The Mint Museum of Art and the McColl Center for Visual Art are wonderful resources for students of the applied arts, as are the Mint Museum of Craft + Design, Discovery Place, ImaginOn and the dozens of art galleries throughout the city.
Students will find music, movies and terrific places to eat. Student ID cards mean discounts at the Blumenthal Center for Performing Arts, and the First Friday Night Gallery Crawls are popular in historic, high-tech SouthEnd and in the funky NoDa area.
The City's Beginnings
Referred to as the Queen City, Charlotte was named for 18th century British Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg in Germany. British General George Cornwallis during the Revolutionary War referred to Charlotte as a “hornet’s nest” of patriots, and historic lore has it that the county wrote its own Mecklenburg Declaration before the U.S. Declaration of Independence was written and signed.
With a population of about 648,000, Charlotte sits in the center of the nation’s fifth largest urban region. Some 7.1 million people live within a 100-mile radius, and Charlotte ranks as one of the fastest growing areas in the nation.* The region enjoys a national reputation as a great place to live and conduct business.
Charlotte’s thriving business environment includes high-tech companies as well as corporate giants. More than 300 of the Fortune 500 companies have offices here, and Charlotte is second only to New York City as a banking center. As a leading provider of applied arts education, The Art Institute of Charlotte contributes to the growth of Charlotte’s high-technology business initiatives and healthy economy.