Nossi College of Art and Design

Key Highlights

• Founded as a fine-art school in 1973
• Institutionally accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges
• Authorized to operate by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission
• Currently enrolling students for Fall 2026

Student Life & Environment

Student life at Nossi is organized around a small, specialized creative community rather than a large residential-university system. The college promotes student groups, mentoring, volunteering, portfolio-building activities, professional events, and collaborations that connect different creative disciplines. Its student-life materials identify interest-based and identity-based groups, while the PACE program gives eligible students another route into projects with community organizations and businesses. Apartment-style student housing is available directly across Creative Way from the campus through Music City Housing Services. The current housing page describes furnished shared apartments with individual leases and bundled electricity, water, sewer, and Wi-Fi. Residents have private or shared-community arrangements depending on the available configuration, and housing acceptance is subject to a background check. The published application lists nonrefundable application and reservation fees, so students should request the current lease, monthly rate, occupancy format, and cancellation terms before committing. The campus experience is closely tied to academic production. Studios, labs, exhibition activity, portfolio shows, guest professionals, internships, and client work can serve both curricular and social functions. Career Services also supports students with résumés, portfolios, mock interviews, internship placement, job-search strategy, networking, and professional etiquette. Applicants seeking varsity athletics, a large selection of general-interest clubs, or a traditional dormitory campus should verify whether Nossi’s more compact environment matches their expectations.

Location & Surroundings

Nossi’s campus is at 590 Creative Way in the Madison area of north Nashville. Although the database identifies the city as Madison, the college publishes a Nashville postal address; Madison functions as the surrounding community within metropolitan Nashville-Davidson County. The setting provides access to Nashville without placing the school in the downtown core. For creative students, the location can support learning beyond campus through the region’s music, live-event, hospitality, media, design, and arts activity. Nossi uses local organizations, events, businesses, and creative professionals in internships, client projects, networking, and portfolio development. This proximity is especially relevant to photography, video, content creation, design, and culinary students whose work benefits from real venues and clients. Student housing across the street can make walking to class practical for participating residents. Students living elsewhere should investigate commuting time, parking, public-transport options, and transportation to internships or evening projects. Applicants should also compare Nashville-area rent and transportation costs with the housing option’s current contract terms rather than assuming that the database’s missing room-and-board figure represents no living expense.

Costs & Career Outcomes

For 2026 entrants, Nossi publishes tuition of $6,900 per semester. The stated program tuition is $41,400 across six semesters for the Culinary Arts associate program and $75,900 across eleven semesters for a bachelor’s program. These figures are tuition totals, not complete attendance budgets. The 2025–2026 catalog additionally lists a one-time $150 registration fee, a $250 graduation fee, and estimated books, supplies, computer, and software costs of approximately $700 per semester. Culinary students also have estimated knife-kit and uniform costs. Living expenses and transportation are excluded. Nossi’s fixed-tuition policy states that a student’s tuition rate will not increase while the student remains continuously active in the original degree program. The same policy applies to in-state, out-of-state, and international students. Financial aid for qualifying students may include federal grants and loans, Tennessee aid, veterans’ benefits, and institutional or external scholarships. Students should use the net-price calculator and obtain a personalized aid offer before comparing costs, since published tuition does not show grants, borrowing, or housing. Career preparation includes required internships, portfolio development, client projects through PACE, and individual support with résumés, interviews, networking, job searches, and employer research. Alumni may continue using career services and may take eligible refresher courses through the Together Program. These services do not guarantee employment or a particular salary; applicants should review the latest program-level completion and placement disclosures linked through Nossi’s accreditation page.