The Art Institutes Reviews

•  155 Reviews
•  Nationwide
• Annual Tuition: $17,410 – $19,354

 18% of 155 students said this degree improved their career prospects

 15% of 155 students said they would recommend this school to others

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Programs with 5+ Reviews

Art & Design
Bachelor’s1.59 Computer Animation
Bachelor’s1.45 Culinary Arts
Associate2.19 Fashion
Bachelor’s1.32 Film Production
Bachelor’s1.02 Graphic Design
Associate1.59 

STUDENT & GRADUATE REVIEWS

IH

• Reviewed: 10/6/2021
• Degree: Advertising Design

“The worst mistake I ever made in my life was listening to my high school art teacher and attending the Art Institute. The school is a joke and worst of all, it is a unaccredited “school”. To waste your college years at a place like this truly sad. Do not, under any circumstance, attend this school. Go to an accredited university and have a real college experience. Whoever created this institution has done a great disservice to thousands of well-meaning students. It’s embarrassing telling people where I went to school and even more embarrassing on the resume. There isn’t a single day that goes by where I do not curse myself for going to this school. It haunts me daily. If you are reading this and are considering attending the Art Institute, please heed my advice: This school will not give you an education, it will give you a useless and worthless degree.”Anthony

• Reviewed: 10/1/2021
• Degree: Film Production

“The program was a joke; most of it was me sitting in class watching youtube videos. The first year we actually did stuff relevant to our major, but after that it was pointless filler classes. Without those filler classes there was no way my degree would have taken 2 years to finish. Career services was non-existent. I would go to the office and they would work with me and then they would quit leaving with no one to help me. They also lied to me; The advisors told me that my pell grant would cover my entire education and that it was free money from the government. (They failed to mention that the amount is limited each semester) They said there was an “error” with financial aid and asked me to take out private loans. I refused and the school told me I did not have enough money. They told me if I didn’t take out private loans I would be expelled. After 1 year of their shenaningans I unenrolled and never looked back.”Sam

• Reviewed: 3/15/2021
• Degree: Fashion

“DO NOT go to this school!!! Its a complete joke. 1 & 2nd term are going to feel normal. And then all of a sudden you’re kicked out with no explanation. I went to every department. They told me to call a number. I ask for the number. ” oh we dont have it” EXCUSE ME?? IM KICKED out. Lost all my aid and my apartment (because i had loans out for living) Then i go to request my transcripts because I had to move 800 miles back home. And I HAD TO PAY 2K TO GET THEM?! DO. NOT. GO. HERE.!!!! IM NOW 23K In debt and no degree. Dont waste your money”Nik

• Reviewed: 11/11/2020
• Degree: Art & Design

“I had spent over a YEAR working at a sewing factory and working in retail to save enough money to move to Nashville, where one of the Art Institutes was (it is now closed). Everything was going so well; I rented a motel room so I could attend the interview, I got accepted, I kept in constant contact with the staff (who was very nice), one of them even helped me find a great place to live, which is the apartments that are literally a stone-throw away from the campus. I had moved all the way from my home state, where I had lived ALL MY LIFE, to my new apartment about 3 weeks away from the beginning to the semester. The next week, however, I got a freaking TEXT MESSAGE from the school saying they are closing down and my classes are no longer available. That… That was one of the most horrible moments of my life. I was calling the numbers of the staff I stayed in contact with frantically only to get a “this number was not available”. I called HQ, told me what was happening, I was in tears, and they told me to apply for the online classes. Okay, I did NOT leave behind all I’ve ever known and made all those sacrifices so I could go take online courses. What also amazed me is that not even the staff knew it was going to happen. They said it was just announced one day that they were closing and one of the nice people who helped me get there had a meltdown and they had to walk her out. I had a break down and spent the next 2 days shivering and vomiting. My nerves couldn’t take it… The next 3 months, I had the awfullest taste in my mouth that wouldn’t go away, which apparently has something to do with your nerves. I was a nervous reck. THANKFULLY I found Nossi College of Art, they have been very good to me and are a very professional art college. A lot of ex-students of the Art Institutes had transferred there and they told me that I dodged a bullet. I believe them. This all took place in 2018 and I still have that text message from them to remind me what brought me to Nashville. However, as well as things turned out, I still find the whole experience traumatic.”Lauren T

• Reviewed: 12/5/2019
• Degree: Graphic Design

“I am currently trying to apply to grad schools for public health, but I went to one semester at the Art Institute. The branch I went to is closed, so I can’t contact the registrars office there, there is no headquarter or customer support phone number that works anywhere, and I guess the two transcript request forms I sent in got lost somewhere? I am currently in limbo, possibly not able to apply to grad school, because this one school is so incompetent it cant set up a working transcript transfer system. I’m basically doomed to spend months (and I mean I have spent a cumulative year contacting back and forth with the art institute to get my transcript sent to various schools over the past few years) for the rest of my life trying to get a transcript. Absolutely absurd. The first time I tried to get my transcript they tried to tell me I had a balance remaining, luckily I had a receipt to show I had paid it all off– I wasn’t going to let them pull that off. Horrendous school, should be shut down completely.”Pam

• Reviewed: 7/11/2019
• Degree: Video Game Design

“My son’s experience at this school was horrible from the beginning. We should have cut our losses and withdrew the first year. But, because the credits would not transfer, he stuck with it. Their only interest is to see how much money they can squeeze out of you and the federal government through loans and grants. They are never responsive when you want to speak with someone and I have nothing good to say about the entire 4 years he was enrolled.”Samantha Mera

• Reviewed: 6/18/2019
• Degree: Graphic Design

“What a disappointing school…the teachers were so great until budget cuts happened and they laid off all the good ones. All this money poured into a school where credits cant even be transferred and transcripts are lost and apparently charged for. I cannot describe my disappoint with this school right now and im still paying my loan off to a college that no longer exists…dont do it everyone. Save your checkbooks and your sanity.”Tianna

• Reviewed: 2/27/2019
• Degree: Fashion

“I attended this school because my friend was there, and made it seem to be pretty decent. The only decent thing about this school is how much money was put into it. The culinary program is what keeps the school running. I wasn’t even there 3 months, and Ive decided to call it quits. I am a veteran, so I use my Post 9/11 to go to school. Upon enrolling into this establishment, my information was NEVER submitted to the VA. So guess who didn’t get paid the first month and a half? I had to call the VA and see what was going on, then go to the financial aid department myself to be told that for sure it was never submitted. Then after that, the online textbooks that they charge you $200 dollars every semester for DOES NOT WORK! How the heck are we being charged hundreds of dollars for textbooks we can’t access, and then being told to go find physical copies until further notice. How about you refund us that money back? Since we pay out of pocket for those electronic textbooks. The payments are automatically taken from your account, and if you don’t want them to take it out then you have to submit a request form. Then back to the financial aid department…if you have a refund for financial aid you can forget about receiving it. I have a refund over $2000 just sitting there and its been months, to be told they’re on hold. For months? Ive emailed 2 members of financial aid, including the manager to be told they arent sending out stipends just yet. Some of us have families and siblings to take care of. This school is quick to take your money, but slow to refund it back. From what Ive read from other students, the reason this money isnt being refunded is because its being pocketed. To be honest it doesn’t seem like the administrative staff care too much. Upon submitting paperwork stating I would no longer be in attendance, I got asked why I was leaving; and if I had tried to find other resources in order to stay with the school. Why would I want to stay at a school with all of these problems? I’m glad Im leaving, instead of wasting my G.I. Bill.”Dinah

• Reviewed: 1/1/2019
• Degree: Restaurant Management

“I enjoyed the program. The admission counselor was helpful. I didn’t like my academic counselor, I felt he didn’t treat me as an adult and showed no compassion when i had a hardship in my life. The program i selected is good for learning how to start my own business, so job placement wasn’t my concern.”abriana

• Reviewed: 10/31/2018
• Degree: Graphic Design

“i shouldve listened to the reviews. this school is absolute TRASH they care about nothing but the money in your pocket. theyll do everything in their power to help you get enrolled and get your papers in sooner than later, but the second you have any kind of problem? they disappear. and you cant get in contact with them. and you decide to leave because they dont HELP and find yourself in debt. this school can choke.”Valerie

• Reviewed: 10/22/2018
• Degree: Marketing

“My experience has been very different than most here. I have an Associate Degree in Broadcasting and will be finishing my Bachelors Degree (Online) in January of 2019. I am super happy with the experience and have learned a lot. Yes, it is expensive but I have truly been able to learn a lot and it has benefited my career. You can’t expect the degree to go out and look for a job for you, you need to put the effort into the job seeking process. The only thing I can say is that the school is very expensive, but I believe to have gotten my money’s worth.”Andy liu

• Reviewed: 8/23/2018
• Degree: Computer Animation

“They are a business not a school, They are not being honest and upfront, they don’t care about the succeed of the student only money, you will most likely ending up in debt! you will most likely get depression, basically your life is F****d! AVOID THIS SCHOOL AT ALL COST!”Tristan

• Reviewed: 8/9/2018
• Degree: Web Design

“They don’t care. This school simply does not care at all about their students. I’ve regretted going here ever since my first few quarters, and now I only have 1 quarter left until graduation. I wanted to transfer immediately, but my parents were skeptical about my concerns of the school not giving a quality education at all and only handing out good to average grades. What ever they call “career services” s****. It’s a sham, there is NOTHING to do with career services or helping students find information on how to pursue careers, how to interview, how to write a proper resume- nothing. Career services here is literally just an empty office that’s never open, and when it is NOBODY is there. It has been like this during my entire stay here. I can barely ever find anyone to talk to in the main office, no program directors, advisors, teachers, nobody ever. It’s like there are less and less employees here every quarter. The “print center” they provide for students is absolutely useless. Again, it is never open, nobody is in there, and nobody in this school teaches you how to properly print. there’s never any paper, and half the time when someone is in there, the computers and/or printers do not work. Every piece of tech is out of date here, we’ve all come to realize that the 8 yr old computers are finally breaking down, and barely any work properly or even turn on anymore. There are no educational resources, and the library contains about 100 books, if even that, and again, more than half of the computers do not work, and there are no technicians in the building to help with technology problems we always seem to face. This school is a huge slap int he face to those who actually come to school to learn. I had always wanted to go to art school, and really hone my craft as a graphic designer. But a majority of everything I have learned has been by myself and I would consider myself mostly self taught. Instructors rarely ever care about the quality of work a student exhibits and many instructors freely pass out good grades for nothing. Critiques here are lousy and non-helpful which cause poor quality work to never improve. The environment here is terrible and students only ever become passive and by the end everyone is unhappy and knows it was not worth going here at all. Please save yourself, time, money, and stress. I received a very poor quality education here. I only feel that it is because of my persistence in independent study and learning on my own as a freelancer that I feel like I can successfully find careers in my field. I can’t say much for other students who never even got a chance to learn for what they paid for. This school is terrible.”Raoul Watanabe

• Reviewed: 7/5/2018
• Degree: Graphic Design

“The Art Institute offers a mixed bag of educational experiences. Some of the instructors are very good and dedicated, some are indifferent at best. They are increasingly using adjunct part-time instructors to save money on teachers — and the slippage in quality of teaching and the dedication of the teachers shows as a result. The enrollment at the campus has declined bigly in the past few years — the parking lot looks like a ghost town. They have cut back a lot on their services, class offerings, and support for students. Go to a public school.”A and B student does not reccomend this college

• Reviewed: 5/3/2018
• Degree: Graphic Design

“The art institute IE CA is totally unprofessional they are employing teachers that are old and displaying memory problems they do not allow you to choose your electives they have attendance rule they revise and do not inform the students of so that they can screw the out of they money and classes they paid for, they have teachers who are biased and discriminate against students who dont hold the same thoughts as them, they have teachers who are being paid to teach design and art but use their class time to b**** about the president or their own political opinions and use the class to indoctrinate young students to adopt their bs political views, they have teachers that only encourage their “dreamers” teachers who think the kids of people who broke the law and came here illegally are more entitled to have dreams about a future than the other students who are citizens, they say if youre absent 3X your out of the class but if you are absent 2X they drop you from classes you paid for and have attended and been doing the work for even when they are notified of a valid reason and that you intend to not drop any classes because they want to scam as many as possible for tuition and deny your the education you paid for they erase all your classes and deny you access to do the work. they put you in totally irrelevant classes that you wont benefit from until graduation make you do resumes and portfolios that will be irrelevant by the time you graduate so the classes can be filled some classes you need they dont offer so you have to go somewhere else to take them. their art kit they claim was a $500 value is full of junk cheap art supplies crappy colored pencils the teachers wont want you to do your work with low quality drawing paper 100 year old dried up rubber cement markers that are all old and dried up, ink pens that dont work cuz they are all old and also dried up.basically you get charged 500+ bucks for low quality old unusable supplies and you end up having to go buy all new stuff to do the work. dont use the v ending machines cuz when it steals your cash they do nothing to get your cash back when you call the number and the vending guy ignores you so they are enabling the dishonest guy and allowing him to rob the students.”Liam

• Reviewed: 4/7/2018
• Degree: Computer Animation

“I would not recommend going to this school. One, you don’t really receive a quality “college education” — even though it is officially accredited, you are not guaranteed that your units will transfer to another school (if you need to, or want to go on to grad school), or be regarded as valid by potential employers. Not only is the tuition expensive, but many graduates do not go on to successful “dream” careers in their field of interest (only a small percentage, actually). I know many grads who end up working as receptionists or ‘customer service’ reps. It is true that many of the instructors are incredibly dedicated and talented, but the recent declines in enrollment and cost-cutting at the college have caused the school to fire many long-time instructors — those who were most invested in the school and most dedicated to its mission and its students. Those instructors were in many cases replaced with “adjunct” or part-time faculty who regard teaching at A.i. as a ‘gig’ before they jump on the freeway to ‘fly’ to the next part-time teaching job (or their Uber assignment). It’s true – the school does host weekend seminars — but you could go to these for free if you wanted to. Ultimately, I would suggest that you would be better off going to a state school or some other real college than an overpriced institution of questionable value like this.”ShellyF

• Reviewed: 2/1/2018
• Degree: Computer Animation

“I had transferred to the AI of Austin from AI of Tampa after the Pell grant was supposedly cut from there. I only had a year left before graduating, as they claimed, but upon going over my credits, Austin said not all of it would transfer over despite being the same program and school. Though, I would have enough to be able to finish in a year. Year passes and guess what? They said I had another year to go, because I didn’t have enough credits transferred over! Frustrated, but I was talked into finishing since I would now only have a year left. That year passes, and all this time I was a straight A student, 4.0 gpa, and suddenly I am failed in a portfolio class. Teacher told me I would never make it, and I was not good enough. Once again, they inform me I have ANOTHER year to go because of that one class, and on top of that my loans were drained and I would need to apply for private loans through them to finish. I promptly walked out of that school. Besides that, I learned they lied about how they help their graduates get a job in major businesses, and how many students actually graduate. Also how they can fail you even on the day of graduation walking across the stage. Don’t even try to transfer to university with those credits from AI, because the schools won’t accept them; I had a friend who managed to graduate from AI and tried to get a master’s and was informed they don’t consider them official.”Chad W.

• Reviewed: 1/26/2018
• Degree: Film Production

“My B.S. Degree from the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale was a big waste of time and resources. This degree has done nothing to further my career or even get a foot in the door. When I enrolled in 2006, their statistics reported my degree average income could be $63k. In the eight years since graduation, I have yet to see a third of that salary with zero prospects or opportunities on the horizon. Furthermore, there was virtually no career placement services available at the time of my graduation. I regret wasting my life with this school and the debt that came with it.”Christiana Marinez

• Reviewed: 1/23/2018
• Degree: Art & Design

“Horrible Institution. They are more of a scam than anything else. Claiming to have a good education. Over priced education for a poor education. Most of the professors where not good and would just show you tube videos to teach. This institution claims to be now non profit but are very money hungry and do not care for their students. Avoid this institution at all cost. Get a real education at an accredit institution this one is not. Avoid this student loan trap.”abhalmon

• Reviewed: 1/9/2018
• Degree: Art & Design

“This school is overly priced; under educated; and ran into the ground by very poor functioning business “professionals.” $85,000 for four years is what it costs for a Bachelors degree. This only includes classes, books, and $100 worth of art supplies they charge you $345 for. No meals, no room and board. Then, should you have an issue and not pay your bill because you have an issue. They don’t care to kick you to the curb. Then everyone you speak with hears about the situation. I’m pretty sure my records are supposed to be privileged. They blatantly shared my information with everyone who could hear it previous to my arrival.Lastly they send me on a wild goose chase to find the person who can fix my issue; mind you he only works business hours, and I have a full time job working 8 am to 5:00 pm. There is no way I am ever going to be able to resolve my issue. Please share so that your kids or anyone interested in Fine Arts will know to steer very clear of this college.”

The Art Institute of Houston Data & Information Overview

52 awardsRANKING BADGES23%STUDENT LOAN DEFAULT RATEGet the facts about The Art Institute of Houston. Learn how it ranks, what majors it offers, how diverse it is, and much more. Want to know more about a specific stat? Just click on its tile, and you’ll go to a page that goes more in-depth on that subject. You can also use the links below to go directly to any section on this page.

How Well Is The Art Institute of Houston Ranked?

Culinary Arts/Chef TrainingHIGHEST RANKED MAJOR

2022 Rankings

College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities in its annual rankings and ranks them in a variety of ways, including most diverse, best overall quality, best for non-traditional students, and much more.

The Art Institute of Houston was awarded 52 badges in the 2022 rankings. The highest ranked major at the school is culinary arts/chef training.

Overall Quality

Ai Houston was not ranked in College Factual’s Best Overall Colleges report this year. This may be because not enough data was available.

Is It Hard to Get Into Ai Houston?

OpenADMISSIONS POLICY

Acceptance Rate

As long as you meet basic requirements, you should not have any trouble getting into The Art Institute of Houston since the school has an open admissions policy. Still, be sure to submit any requested materials and that your application is completed in full.

Learn more about The Art Institute of Houston admissions.

Is Ai Houston a Good Match for You?

The Art Institute of Houston Faculty

12 to 1STUDENT TO FACULTY11%FULL TIME TEACHERS

Student to Faculty Ratio

The student to faculty ratio at Ai Houston is an impressive 12 to 1. That’s quite good when you compare it to the national average of 15 to 1. This is a good sign that students at the school will have more opportunities for one-on-one interactions with their professors.

Percent of Full-Time Faculty

Another measure that is often used to estimate how much access students will have to their professors is how many faculty members are full-time. The idea here is that part-time faculty tend to spend less time on campus, so they may not be as available to students as full-timers.

The full-time faculty percentage at The Art Institute of Houston is 11%. This is lower than the national average of 47%.Full-Time Faculty Percent  11 out of 1000100

Retention and Graduation Rates at The Art Institute of Houston

54%FRESHMEN RETENTION21%ON-TIME GRADUATION RATE

Freshmen Retention Rate

The freshmen retention rate is a sign of how many full-time students like a college or university well enough to come back for their sophomore year. At The Art Institute of Houston this rate is 54%, which is a bit lower than the national average of 68%.Freshmen Retention Rate  54 out of 1000100

Graduation Rate

The on-time graduation rate is the percent of first-time, full time students who obtain their bachelor’s degree in four years or less. This rate is 21% for first-time, full-time students at Ai Houston, which is lower than the national rate of 33.3%.On-Time Graduation Rate  21 out of 1000100

Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at The Art Institute of Houston.https://bd40fa6002ad7227aefda8944cfe553b.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html

The Art Institute of Houston Undergraduate Student Diversity

416FULL-TIME UNDERGRADUATES73.3%RACIAL-ETHNIC MINORITIES*49.0%PERCENT WOMEN

During the 2017-2018 academic year, there were 711 undergraduates at Ai Houston with 416 being full-time and 295 being part-time.

How Much Does The Art Institute of Houston Cost?

$22,844NET PRICE80%TAKE OUT LOANS$31,644TOTAL STUDENT LOANSThe overall average net price of Ai Houston is $22,844. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.

Net Price by Income Group for Ai Houston

$0-30 K	$30K-48K	$48-75	$75-110K	$110K +
$21,248	$21,747	$24,954	$27,535	$28,349

The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid.Note that the net price is typically less than the published for a school. For more information on the sticker price of Ai Houston, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.

Student Loan Debt

It’s not uncommon for college students to take out loans to pay for school. In fact, almost 66% of students nationwide depend at least partially on loans. At Ai Houston, approximately 80% of students took out student loans averaging $7,911 a year. That adds up to $31,644 over four years for those students.

The student loan default rate at Ai Houston is 23.3%. Watch out! This is significantly higher than the national default rate of 10.1%, which means you could have trouble paying back your student loans if you take any out.

Get more details about paying for The Art Institute of Houston.https://bd40fa6002ad7227aefda8944cfe553b.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html

How Much Money Do Ai Houston Graduates Make?

$34,100AVG SALARY OF GRADSHighEARNINGS BOOSTThe pay for some majors is higher than others, but on average, students who graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Ai Houston make about $34,100 a year during their first few years of employment after graduation. Unfortunately, this is 14% less that the average college graduate’s salary of $39,802 per year. However, graduates in your major field may make more.

See which majors at The Art Institute of Houston make the most money.

Location of The Art Institute of Houston

TexasSTATE416FULL-TIME UNDERGRADUATESLarge CityCAMPUS SETTINGLocated in Houston, Texas, The Art Institute of Houston is a private for-profit institution. The location of the school is great for students who enjoy the amenities of city life.

Get more details about the location of The Art Institute of Houston.

Contact details for Ai Houston are given below.

	Contact Details
Address:	4140 Southwest Freeway, Houston, TX 77027-9625
Phone:	713-623-2040
Website:	www.artinstitutes.edu/houston
Facebook:	https://www.facebook.com/artinstitutes
Twitter:	http://twitter.com/Art_Institutes

The Art Institute of Houston Majors

9MAJORS WITH COMPLETIONS168UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES

Most Popular Majors	Bachelor’s Degrees	Average Salary of Graduates
Design & Applied Arts	30	$28,200
Fine & Studio Arts	28	$21,100
Computer Software & Applications	19	$35,500
Culinary Arts	13	$26,600
Audiovisual Communications	11	$25,500
Film, Video & Photographic Arts	8	$25,700
Specialized Sales, Merchandising & Marketing	6	$27,600
Drafting & Design Engineering Technology	1	NA
Graphic Communications	0	NA