Somehow, somebody told you that you need to develop a portfolio and they tell you about us. Imagine a school with no academic lectures. No term papers. Instead students develop concepts. Write copy. Design packages, web sites. Supervise photo and video shoots, Producing videos. Do creative stuff. Stuff you love to do.
All this with instructors who work in the creative industry. They take a few hours each week to come from their company to give you realistic assignments, often with real clients, tight budgets and timelines. You love every minute of it. If this isn't real enough, this school is loaded with internships.
All this with instructors who work in the creative industry. They take a few hours each week to come from their company to give you realistic assignments, often with real clients, tight budgets and timelines. You love every minute of it. If this isn't real enough, this school is loaded with internships.
Services
Portfolio Center, founded in 1978 by Ron Seichrist, is the first portfolio school in the world. Based on his own experience working in advertising and design, Ron reimagined education. He understood how all the disciplines are interconnected and decided to start the first school that would have the students in the different disciplines interacting the way they do in the real world while being mentored by creative professionals.
Our students have the choice of hundreds (over 750!) of opportunities a year to study and intern in top creative companies all over the world. We are the only school in the world with such an extensive partnership program. And these aren't coffee fetching internships. Students concept campaigns, present to clients, design packaging, apps and social media campaigns.
Each week, a new speaker graces our stage. They're leaders in their industry, visionaries in their fields and just the kind of people you want to know. Gain invaluable insights and benefit from their years of experience. They inspire and delight, adding fuel to the fire of your passion and your drive to succeed.
Our rigorous job placement program starts as soon as you graduate with portfolio reviews in Atlanta, Miami, New York and San Francisco. But that's just the beginning. Hundreds of companies a year contact us wanting to hire our designers, art directors, copywriters, photographers and strategists. In our Job Leads for Life program we share these leads with our grads.
Our students are like snowflakes, no two are alike. Are you a lawyer who is bursting with creativity and needs to get out of that large law firm? Did you just graduate with a 4-year degree and realize that you really need a portfolio to get your dream job? Have you always been creative and wanted a career rather than be a starving artist?
Reviews (12)
Windsor G.
Mar 04, 2020
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I'm extremely glad I came here and I learned so much about myself. But, as an autistic student, it was terrible. I had to work at least twice as hard as my fellow students. When I expressed I was having a hard time to the higher ups, they suggested I worked harder. The other students were allowed to bully me incessantly, which was brought to the attention of the staff, they did nothing. There's no help for students with learning differences. While trying to get clarification, I had multiple teachers yell at me and refuse to explain things differently; they felt repeating the same instruction
Rajath Ramamurthy
Jun 20, 2018
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Cheyenne R.
Dec 20, 2017
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Miami Ad School, the new management, has revitalized this historic institution. I recently had the pleasure of touring the facility. The people in charge were incredibly wonderful and welcoming. Moreover, they are exceptionally knowledgeable in every imaginable aspect of design, marketing, digital integration of both. Additionally, the school offers concentrations on other branches tailored to this career like copyrighting. The programs they offer give any students hands-on experience.
The facility left me in awe. The school has a basement level floor with dedicated theme rooms, a gallery that
The facility left me in awe. The school has a basement level floor with dedicated theme rooms, a gallery that
K. Grawe
Dec 02, 2016
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This is an excellent school, that will give you real world skills that will pay off in the marketplace. It is also a tough two year (or more) program where I had many all nighters to get my work done. The culture is a competitive one and also one where you will learn excellence. Not sure who was more talented the teachers or the students. Anyway if you are serious about working in one of the fields of study that they offer then it is worth going for! It paid off for me and I feel it has turned out to be one of the better life decisions I have made. If I could do it all over I would have had a four
Dave S.
Jul 10, 2014
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Will S.
Feb 17, 2014
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The second best decision I've ever made--going to PC.
Go to Portfolio Center to position yourself for a better job and better wages at a better agency. Stress out, freak out and lose your mind alongside like-minded peers, future colleagues and lifetime friends. In the end, you'll have a stellar portfolio and be a valuable asset to any creative team. Good luck and lemme know when ya graduate--always stoked to network with Portfolio talent!
*Beware of the franchise art school factories accepting anybody with a pulse and box of crayons.
Go to Portfolio Center to position yourself for a better job and better wages at a better agency. Stress out, freak out and lose your mind alongside like-minded peers, future colleagues and lifetime friends. In the end, you'll have a stellar portfolio and be a valuable asset to any creative team. Good luck and lemme know when ya graduate--always stoked to network with Portfolio talent!
*Beware of the franchise art school factories accepting anybody with a pulse and box of crayons.
Joli B.
Jan 31, 2014
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Deciding to go to the Portfolio Center was one of the best choices I have ever made. I graduated from PSU with two majors and a minor (marketing, international business with a Spanish minor). I worked for a few years in sales and marketing before deciding that I wasn't happy with my current career path, and that I wanted to go back to school for graphic design. Since I would be paying for it myself (with student loans) I wanted to find a school that would pack the most amount of knowledge into the least amount of time. The Portfolio Center was exactly what I needed. I was a true graphic design
K. T.
Jan 30, 2014
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Portfolio Center was the most difficult, most rewarding, and most important endeavor I have undertaken. It prepared me completely for a life as a designer. I'm now 8 years into my career, and am an Art Director managing designers at a superb company. I hired a Portfolio Center grad, and am looking to hire more. They are remarkable, as the instruction we received was invaluable.
Jani G.
Jan 30, 2014
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After finishing college at Penn State for art education I decided to change career paths and went back to school at the Portfolio Center. It was a wild, sleep deprived, sometimes overwhelming, always exciting and often strange ride, but was undoubtably one of the best decisions I've made. I graduated from PC 2009 in a very challenging job climate but was able to land a job in NYC shortly after graduating through connections made during a portfolio review with the school. 5 years later I'm at a new job but still in New York and loving this career. It's been fun to follow my peers
Brett P.
Jan 24, 2014
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I graduated from PC close to a decade ago. It was a rigorous program that demanded both your time and your soul. But like anything hard in life, it was well worth it. I went directly to NYC and worked at some of the finest agencies around. I hit the ground running, contributing to client work immediately. Since then, I've moved back South, helping to run a couple of agencies from the creative side. PC was a game changer for me and it gave me the foundation and confidence to succeed in a highly competitive field. Sure, not everyone is going to succeed in design and advertising. You have to
M. S.
Dec 19, 2013
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I'm a former grad, and was unprepared for the real world upon my exiting. I had tried on several occasions waiting hours on end to speak w/ someone about interning or future opportunities, but most of the time any direction was left feeling rudderless. The digital classes were more like brief overviews of digital programs, with only a few instructors giving you the tools to take your work to the next level in an efficient manner.
I'm no longer in the field and neither are at least 5 people whom i went with at the same time.
I finished with a decent book but there were no placement people
I'm no longer in the field and neither are at least 5 people whom i went with at the same time.
I finished with a decent book but there were no placement people
Neenah B.
Jul 12, 2013
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I graduated from Portfolio Center 12 years ago. Going to PC was the best decision I ever made. I graduated under grad with a BA in Communications. Not only did I learn everything there is to know about graphic design ie typography, composition, color, I was taught how to concept. PC is hard work but it's fun. You will leave with an amazing book. Having Portfolio Center on your resume will open any door.
