"The flexibility of the coordinated degree program is its greatest advantage: I essentially tailored my own curriculum.” -Brittany Bennett (PAFA drawing major, painting minor; Penn fine art major, biology minor)
Exceptional Ivy League academics. Extraordinary fine arts training.
Since 1929, the coordinated Bachelor of Fine Arts program with the University of Pennsylvania has paired PAFA’s renowned fine arts studio training with an Ivy League liberal arts education.
An undergraduate program like no other, the program provides fine arts students with an extraordinary opportunity to earn a BFA degree while studying at two of Philadelphia’s most prestigious institutions.
The coordinated BFA is offered at a significantly discounted tuition rate by the University of Pennsylvania, which has been named the top college in the U.S. for two consecutive years by College Factual, a data-driven college choice resource.
Combining PAFA’s intensive studio training in the fine arts with Penn’s intellectual education in the liberal arts creates a world-class education in two environments offering the support, resources and flexibility to ensure students' success.
Liberal arts from Penn. Studio training from PAFA. Together in one program.
Marked by flexible and personalized course options, the coordinated BFA is ideal for self-motivated and committed students seeking to pursue their artistic passions as well as their intellectual interests.
At PAFA, students receive rigorous training from renowned faculty who are masters in the classic artistic disciplines drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture and illustration.
At Penn, students have access to hundreds of courses taught throughout the School of Arts and Sciences and the College of Liberal and Professional Studies, in more than 50 areas of study.
The coordinated BFA requires students to complete 16 classes at Penn -- including four in art history -- and 12 classes in any combination of liberal arts electives that deepen and broaden their engagement with the ideas and practices that are most meaningful to them.
Students admitted to the coordinated BFA program may begin studies at Penn after completing their first year of study at PAFA.
Applications can be completed online at: