Moore College of Art and Design

Key Highlights

• Founded in 1848 and currently operates as a private nonprofit college.
• MSCHE lists Moore as an accredited institution with bachelor’s and master’s credentials in scope.
• Moore reported 490 students in fall 2025, 95% of whom were undergraduates.
• Undergraduate enrollment is planned to open to qualified applicants of all genders in 2027–2028, subject to the approvals described by Moore.

Student Life & Environment

Student life is organized around a compact urban arts community. Moore lists student groups spanning creative interests, identity and campus governance, including the Student Voice Council, Black Student Union, Cinema Collective, Concept Art Club, Moore Animation Club and Moore Scientific Illustration Club. The available organizations can change, so prospective students should use the current club directory rather than assume every past group remains active. The Galleries at Moore provide free public exhibitions and connect academic work with visiting and contemporary artists. Students also encounter campus traditions, talks, workshops and annual showcases. Support services described by the College include on-campus health services, individual and group counseling, academic advising and a campus response team. Moore offers undergraduate housing in Rittenhouse Hall, Sartain Hall and Stahl Hall and says housing availability is guaranteed for all four years. New full-time undergraduates are generally required to live in College-operated housing for their first two years unless granted an exemption. Commuter eligibility and other exceptions depend on the College’s published criteria. Rittenhouse Hall, opened in 2025, provides furnished apartment-style accommodation near Rittenhouse Square, while the other residences are closer to the academic campus.

Location & Surroundings

Moore’s academic campus is at 1916 Race Street in Philadelphia’s Logan Square area, along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. This places students near major cultural institutions, including the Barnes Foundation, Rodin Museum, Franklin Institute, Free Library of Philadelphia, Academy of Natural Sciences and Philadelphia Museum of Art. For an art and design student, proximity to museums, galleries and public cultural programming can complement formal studio coursework and provide subjects, collections and professional contexts for study. The setting is distinctly urban rather than a self-contained residential campus. Students should plan for city transportation, traffic and the everyday costs associated with central Philadelphia. Moore’s residence halls are distributed near the academic buildings: Sartain and Stahl halls are close to the main campus, while Rittenhouse Hall is approximately a seven-minute walk away near Rittenhouse Square. The latter is also close to shopping, public transportation and the Schuylkill River Trail. Prospective students should visit both the academic facilities and housing locations to understand how the campus functions across Center City.

Costs & Career Outcomes

Moore’s official 2026–2027 BFA cost-of-attendance table lists full-time tuition of $54,018, plus a $1,852 general fee and $266 technology fee. Its estimated first-year total is $81,622 for an on-campus student, $77,874 for a student living off campus and $64,328 for a commuter living at home. These totals include different housing, food, books, computer, transportation and personal-expense assumptions; they are planning estimates, not each student’s final bill. Health insurance may add a charge unless waived under the College’s rules. Applicants should compare an individual aid offer and net-price estimate rather than use the published sticker price alone. Incoming undergraduate applicants are automatically considered for institutional merit scholarships. US applicants seeking federal or need-based assistance generally need the FAFSA, while international students are not eligible for Moore or US-government need-based aid. Scholarship conditions and amounts should be checked for the relevant entry year. Career preparation is embedded in the BFA curriculum. Moore states that students in every major except Art Education complete a 4.5-credit, 240-hour internship, generally between the junior and senior years, supported by a $1,000 payment. Art Education majors instead complete a supervised student-teaching assignment. The Locks Career Center assists with internship searches, résumés, correspondence, interviews and alumni career support. Moore reports that 91% of surveyed 2024 BFA alumni were employed or in graduate school one year after graduation, based on a 65% survey response rate; this is an institutional outcome measure, not a guarantee for an individual graduate.