Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) is a private art school with locations in Savannah and Atlanta, Georgia, United States, and Lacoste, France. It was founded in 1978 to provide degrees in programs not then offered in the Southeast United States and to create a specialized professional art college to attract students from throughout the United States and abroad. The university enrolls more than 17,000 students from across the United States and around the world with international students comprising up to 25.4 percent of the student population. SCAD is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges and other professional accrediting bodies.
History
Richard G. Rowan, Paula S. Wallace, May L. Poetter and Paul E. Poetter legally incorporated the Savannah College of Art and Design September 29, 1978. In September 1979, the university first began offering classes with four staff members, seven faculty members, and 71 students. Initially, the school offered eight majors: ceramics, graphic design, historic preservation, textile design, interior design, painting, photography, and printmaking. In May 1981, the first graduate received a degree. The following year, the first graduating class received degrees. In 1982, the enrollment grew to more than 500 students, then to 1,000 in 1986, and 2,000 in 1989. In 2014, the university enrolled more than 11,000 students.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, a rash of faculty suicides prompted a nervous reaction from school administrators. The unrest led a competing art school to open downtown, igniting an "all-out war."
Student unrest grew in the early 1990s regarding student representation within the school, culminating in 1992 with the detonation of an explosive device at the administration building, and two more later that year, at the Savannah Civic Center.
SCAD opened a study abroad location in Lacoste, France in 2002 that provides programming for the various academic departments offered by the university's degree-granting locations. It launched an online learning program in 2003 that U.S. News & World Report ranks as among the best for bachelor's programs in the nation. In 2005 the university opened a location in Midtown Atlanta that merged with the Atlanta College of Art in 2006. In September 2010, SCAD opened a Hong Kong location in the Sham Shui Po district.
Richard Rowan (who was married to Paula Wallace at the time) served as president of the college from its inception in 1978 until April 2000, when SCAD's board of trustees promoted him to chancellor. As chancellor, Rowan spent most of his time traveling and recruiting international students and staff. In 2001, he resigned the job and left the college.
Paula S. Wallace is the current president. Wallace, formerly Paula S. Rowan, served as SCAD's provost and dean of academics before becoming president. As president, Wallace directs the internal management of the institution. Wallace has led the collaboration for several annual events, such as the Sidewalk Arts Festival, Savannah Film Festival, a Fashion Show, SCAD Style, deFine Art Festival, Art Educators' Forum and Rising Star. Questions have been raised about the unusual pay packages granted to Wallace and her family. Paula Wallace received $9.6 million in compensation in 2014, and 13 members of her family have received $60 million over the past 20 years.
The university's second museum, SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film, opened in 2015, at SCAD Atlanta.
In 2018, a student started a petition calling for better mental health services for students after two suicides occurred after the beginning of the 2018 academic year. In 2019, SCAD increased the number of professional counseling staff and created Bee Well, which provides virtual and physical counseling, wellness workshops, and a 24/7 toll-free emotional support hotline.
In March 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, SCAD transitioned to entirely virtual learning for all students, while allowing international students and others to remain in residence halls following social distancing protocols.
In June 2020, SCAD discontinued studies at its Hong Kong location, citing concerns about student safety and academic quality following the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests and the COVID-19 pandemic. The North Kowloon Magistracy was returned to the city.
In June 2020, in the midst of Black Lives Matter protests around the U.S., SCAD created an office of inclusion and announced related initiatives to address systemic racism, including the addition of 15 endowed scholarships for Black students.
Campus
Facilities SCAD's efforts to work with the city of Savannah to preserve its architectural heritage include restoring buildings for use as college facilities, for which it has been recognized by the American Institute of Architects, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Historic Savannah Foundation and the Victorian Society of America. The college campus includes 67 buildings throughout the grid-and-park system of downtown Savannah. Many buildings are on the 22 squares of the old town, which are laden with monuments, live oaks and a Southern-Gothic feel.
Located in Atlanta's Midtown, SCAD Atlanta includes classroom and exhibition space, computer labs, library, photography darkrooms, printmaking and sculpture studios, a dining hall, fitness center, swimming pool and residence hall. SCAD Atlanta's Ivy Hall (also known as the Edward C. Peters House) opened in 2008 after extensive restoration. In 2009, SCAD Atlanta opened the Digital Media Center.
The SCAD Lacoste campus is made up of 15th- and 16th-century structures. The campus includes an art gallery, guest houses, computer lab and printmaking lab. In Hong Kong, SCAD occupied the renovated historic North Kowloon Magistracy Building, with more than . It was equipped with classrooms, meeting areas, computer labs, an art gallery and library. The Hong Kong campus was closed in June 2020 after 10 years in the city.
The college's first academic building was the Savannah Volunteer Guards Armory, which was purchased and renovated in 1979. Built in 1892, the Romanesque Revival red brick structure is included on the National Register of Historic Places. Originally named Preston Hall, the building was renamed Poetter Hall in honor of co-founders May and Paul Poetter. SCAD soon expanded rapidly, acquiring buildings in Savannah's downtown historic and Victorian districts, restoring old and often derelict buildings that had exhausted their original functions.
The college operates three libraries: Jen Library in Savannah, Georgia; ACA Library in Atlanta, Georgia; and Lacoste Library in Lacoste, France. Extensive resources are also available via the eLearning Library.
The most notable of the group is Jen Library for the size of its collection. The Jen Library houses approximately 42,000 books, 11,000 bound volumes of periodicals, and 1,600 videotapes in an 85,000 square foot building. The building, itself, once served as a Maas Brothers department store before being acquired and repurposed by the university. Its structural and design features include a large glass staircase and floor-to-ceiling windows on opposite corners of the building. The Jen Library houses multiple rare collections containing both books and visual arts materials including the Don Bluth Collection of Animation and the Newton Collection of British and American Art. It is also home to the Gutstein Gallery, an assemblage of contemporary art from both nationally recognized artists as well as SCAD alumni.
In April 2021, the college announced plans of expanding its film and digital media studio, which would make it the largest college movie studio in the country. Plans included a new digital stage and three new soundstages housed at a 10.9-acre backlot.
Student housing In Atlanta, the university provides three residence halls, ACA Residence Hall of SCAD, Brookwood Courtyard, and the Forty. Prior to the closure of the campus, the Hong Kong residence halls were located at the Hong Kong Gold Coast residences. The residence halls in Savannah are Ann Street, Barnard Village, Boundary Village, Montgomery House, Oglethorpe House, Turner House, Chatham House, the Victory Village complex consisting of Sand, Sail, and Surf at Victory Village, and The Hive student housing complex, consisting of Apiary, Bumble, Colony, Dance, Everest, Flower, Garden, and Honey at The Hive. Students in Lacoste live in Maison Pitot, Fortunee, Renard, Murier, Olivier, and Basse.
Museums and galleries SCAD operates museums, galleries, and exhibition spaces across its campuses, including the SCAD Museum of Art, located on the site of the former Central of Georgia Railway headquarters in Savannah, Georgia, and SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film in Atlanta, Georgia. Rafael Gomes is the director of fashion exhibitions and has curated several shows including ‘Robert Fairer Backstage Pass: Dior, Galliano, Jacobs, and McQueen.'
University galleries include Gutstein Gallery, Pinnacle Gallery and La Galerie Bleue in Savannah; Gallery 1600, Trois Gallery and Gallery See in Atlanta.
Academics In Fall 2023, SCAD enrolled more than 17,000 students (14,657 undergraduates; 2,918 postgraduates) from all 50 states, and more than 110 countries. As of Fall 2025, international student enrollment was 25.4 percent.
Rankings SCAD is recognized for educational and professional excellence by numerous ranking organizations. Recognitions include, without limitation, the following. In 2025, SCAD was ranked the No.1 design university in the Americas and Europe in the prestigious Red Dot Design Award Rankings. It was also ranked in the top five universities globally. The ranking recognizes excellence in teaching and exceptional performance in design. The university’s top-ranked disciplines included industrial design, fashion design, user experience design, fibers, accessory design, furniture design, and interactive design and game development. Students and graduates also won three coveted “Best of the Best” awards and 23 individual Red Dot Design Awards. Also in 2025, U.S. News & World Report ranked SCAD No.37 in Best Value Schools, No.6 in Best Undergraduate Teaching, and No.2 in Most Innovative Schools, Art & Object magazine ranked SCAD the No.1 Best Art School in the U.S., it was ranked No.1 in Forbes Best Colleges Shaping the Future of Fashion, SCAD was named the top interior design school by Architectural Digest, and it was ranked a top 13 Art and Design university in the world by QS World University Rankings.
Accreditation
SCAD is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's and master's degrees. The university confers Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Fine Arts, Master of Architecture, Master of Arts, Master of Arts in Teaching, Master of Fine Arts and Master of Urban Design degrees, as well as undergraduate and graduate certificates. The professional M.Arch. degree is accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board. The Master of Arts in Teaching degrees offered by SCAD are approved by the Georgia Professional Standards Commission. SCAD is licensed by the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education. The SCAD interior design Bachelor of Fine Arts degree is accredited by the Council for Interior Design Accreditation.
Study abroad The university offers a study-abroad campus in Lacoste, France. In Fall 2010, SCAD opened SCAD Hong Kong in the former North Kowloon Magistracy. The Hong Kong campus was closed in June 2020. SCAD students in Hong Kong were given the option to transfer to other SCAD campuses if they wanted to continue their studies.
Schools and departments
The university is divided into eleven schools:SCAD Degree Programs (2007). Savannah College of Art and Design. Retrieved December 12, 2007.
School of Animation & Motion School of Building Arts