PCA&D Admissions celebrates a record-setting year

Pennsylvania College of Art & Design is celebrating record-setting enrollment for our Fall 2024 semester.

By the numbers, the College:

• Welcomed 186 new degree- and certificate-seeking students.
• Those Foundation and Transfer student numbers were a new record for an incoming class at PCA&D. 
• That brings the total student body to 413, another record. 
• More than a thousand applications were received last year for Fall 2024 admission to PCA&D — another record for the school. 
• And, so far this year, applications for Fall 2025 admission are up 11 percent over the same time period last year. 
• The College also welcomed a record number of students into PCA&D-sponsored housing. 

That final statistic, said Residence Life and Housing Director Michael Parks, means that extra efforts have been made to ensure that individual attention is still at the center of the Housing team’s efforts. 

“We’re meeting students where they are — sometimes literally,” Parks said.  “Events like our Stress Relief pop-ups offer quick, easy ways to recharge and reconnect… In Residence Life, we’ve grown our Community Assistant program, giving students even more chances to connect and feel at home through active and passive programming. Foundation Village development is at the heart of our living-learning community-building efforts. 

“And because student support doesn’t take holidays, we’ve introduced flexible housing options like short-term winter break stays to support students with work responsibilities, travel limitations, and personal circumstances.”

An upward trend

Over the past five years, PCA&D has grown at the highest rate of all independent AICAD (Association of Independent Colleges of Art & Design) schools, according to Jason Hartz, Dean of Institutional Effectiveness. 

Each of those numbers represents not just a statistic — but student artists and designers who are furthering their education and their career goals at PCA&D. And each of those students also reflects the dedication of our Admissions team, composed of five counselors and Dean of Admissions Robert Beener.

“I am extremely proud of the work of our entire team,” Beener said. “The work they do transcends student recruitment. Our counselors pride themselves on connecting the right students to the opportunities at PCA&D that match their creative aspirations and career goals.

“In many cases, they are the first PCA&D mentors our new students have, and set the tone for an amazing PCA&D experience.”