Inside the Ringling College of Art & Design: A Hub for Creativity and Innovation in Sarasota

Ringling College of Art and Design Sarasota isn’t your typical Florida campus—it’s a launchpad for creative careers where students trade lecture halls for studio time and walk away with degrees that open doors to some of the biggest names in art, design, and entertainment.

Degrees That Launch Creative Careers

Ringling offers a surprisingly wide range of majors for a school its size. Students can pursue:

🎨 Illustration – preparing future book, magazine, and concept artists.

🎬 Film & Animation – some of the most competitive programs in the country, feeding directly into studios like Pixar, Disney, and DreamWorks.

💻 Game Art & Virtual Reality – blending design and tech for careers in gaming and immersive media.

🖋️ Creative Writing – developing storytellers for publishing, TV, and film.

🎧 Motion Design, Photography, Graphic Design, Fine Arts, and more.

What makes Ringling stand out? Students aren’t just studying theory—they’re building portfolios with industry-ready work by the time they graduate.

A friend’s daughter pursued photography at Ringling. While costly, the parent believed then (& now) her daughter gained value. She learned photography as art & as business.

Why Students Choose Ringling College of Art & Design

Parents often ask, “Why Ringling over bigger art schools in New York or LA?” The answer is focus. Ringling is a boutique campus where class sizes are small, professors know your name, and every project is geared toward preparing you for the industry.

For students, the draw is obvious:

Reputation. Ringling consistently ranks among the top art schools in the U.S.

Industry Connections. Recruiters from Pixar, Sony, Marvel, and major ad agencies look here first.

Florida Lifestyle. While Sarasota isn’t a “college town,” the flip side is fewer distractions and a chance to build close-knit friendships within the creative community.

Where Do Graduates Go?

This is the question every parent asks—and Ringling has the kind of answer most schools dream of. Graduates have landed jobs at:

Pixar & DreamWorks (animation & storyboarding)

Disney (visual development & media design)

Electronic Arts (game art & VR development)

Marvel Studios (concept & digital design)

Publishing houses, ad agencies, and media companies worldwide

In short: Ringling grads don’t just get degrees—they get hired.

A Note on Location: What Parents Should Know

Ringling College sits in Northwest Sarasota, an area that sometimes raises questions for parents. The reality? Like many urban-edge campuses, the surrounding neighborhood has a mix of older homes, commercial spaces, and pockets that feel less polished than downtown Sarasota or Siesta Key.

Parents worry about safety, and that’s fair. But Ringling takes this seriously:

🚨 Campus security is active and visible.

🌙 The campus itself is gated and well-lit at night.

🚍 Students typically stick to campus or head downtown, to the beaches, or to UTC for fun.

The upside? Students get a safe, self-contained campus that encourages them to focus on their art while still being minutes from Sarasota’s cultural scene.

Ringling College of Art and Design Sarasota is Internationally Recognized...For Good Reason

Ringling College of Art & Design proves that Sarasota isn’t just a sun-soaked getaway—it’s a creative powerhouse.

Here, the next generation of artists, filmmakers, and designers sharpen their craft in studios that buzz with imagination and ambition.

The campus hums with energy as students from around the globe bring new ideas to life, often collaborating with major brands, studios, and industry leaders before they even graduate.

It’s one more reason Sarasota stands apart from other Gulf Coast destinations—a place where art, innovation, and inspiration are woven into everyday life. From the Sarasota Art Museum to public murals downtown, creativity doesn’t just live here—it thrives here.