Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

The Savannah College of Art and Design is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award baccalaureate and masters degrees.

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SCAD president and founder, Paula S. Wallace

Paula Wallace is the president and founder of SCAD, an accredited, nonprofit, degree-granting university established in 1978. Prior to being named president, she served as SCAD provost, vice president, and academic dean.

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SCAD locations

SCAD is one university — offering degrees in Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia, and online via SCADnow, with additional study abroad opportunities in Lacoste, France and other locations. Find your muse in Lacoste, get a taste of the fast life in Atlanta, or fall in love with the southern charm of Savannah. 

Learn more about SCAD locations and relocation resources > 

SCAD awards and rankings

SCAD is continually recognized for educational and professional excellence, affirming our commitment to the highest standards of achievement in art and design. For the second year in a row, SCAD has been named the No. 1 art and design university in the U.S. by Art & Object. In 2022, SCAD was ranked the No. 1 fashion design school in the U.S. by fashion education resource site Fashion Schools. For the sixth consecutive year, Red Dot Design named SCAD the No. 1 design university in the U.S. in their 2022 rankings. 

Learn more about SCAD recognition >

Academic Calendar

SCAD operates on a quarter system, and full-time faculty members are required to teach three out of the four quarters annually. Each quarter spans a duration of ten weeks. It's important to note that Friday is considered a working day, but it's not a day for conducting classes. On Fridays, many faculty members dedicate their time to workshops, office hours, extended learning sessions, make-up days (if classes are cancelled due to weather, holiday, etc.), and department meetings. Classes are 2.5 hours long and meet twice a week (Mon/Wed or Tues/Thurs).

Click here to view the academic calendar >

SCAD mission and vision

SCAD prepares talented students for creative professions through engaged teaching and learning in a positively oriented university environment.

SCAD will be globally recognized as the preeminent source of knowledge in the disciplines we teach.

SCAD mission, vision, and values > 

SCAD by the numbers

SCAD enrolls over 17,500 students from all 50 states and more than 120 countries. SCAD employs over 2,000 employees, including full- and part-time faculty and staff.

The office of institutional research publishes a fact book every fall, made available to the SCAD community in December. This fact book contains a collection of commonly used and cited official university statistics and serves as a useful resource to students, professors and staff.

Read the latest SCAD fact book > 

Benefits and perks

SCAD offers an attractive compensation package for new faculty that may also include a sign-on bonus. Full-time faculty members also enjoy a comprehensive benefits package, encompassing medical, dental, vision, 403b retirement plan, and tuition benefit.

Review SCAD benefits >

Faculty professional development

SCAD emphasizes and supports faculty development and success. The Teaching Success Program (TSP) is a mandatory 2-week professional development program conducted before the start of each quarter. TSP covers various essential topics for faculty instructional engagement including syllabus development, navigating the Blackboard learning platform, expectations for assessment and grading, providing extended learning opportunities for students, and an overview of all resources available to faculty members. Support for faculty development and research is also provided through presidential fellowships, sabbatical awards, workshops, American Academy in Rome affiliate residencies, and opportunities to teach abroad.

New faculty spotlight: Sandra Daley on the SCADworks blog

"The DNA of writing is authenticity. How do you get really honest with yourself?" asks dramatic writing professor Sandra Daley with a knowing smile. "I'm here to push students to access that place, which means tackling fears, being gutsy, and putting it all on the page."

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New faculty spotlight: Shadia Amin on the SCADworks blog

"We're delighted to have Prof. Shadia Amin on board in Atlanta," says associate chair of sequential art Pat Quinn. "Her commitment to enhancing the SCAD student experience through her own professional endeavors has opened the eyes of many of our students. Her notable work in comics means that as a cartoonist and professor, she brings a lot to the proverbial table."

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Producing excellence with professor Chris Donahue

"My aim with students is to teach them how to think, not what to think," says film and television professor Chris Donahue. "In class, we work on ‘crucial conversations,' meaning how to discuss everything from the safe placement of a ladder to the characters in a screenplay. I also teach time management and process and problem-solving, so that students are equipped to create the culture they want on-set."

A year into his SCAD teaching career, Donahue is bringing relatability and a compassionate disposition to the classroom. As a professor and a producer, he's already put in the work.

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Running on sentences with professor Tish Hamilton

Hamilton brings river-deep, mountain-high professional experience to SCAD. She excelled as an editor at publications including Rolling Stone, Outside, and Sports Illustrated for Women, and led for a decade-plus as executive editor at Runner's World, where she penned an incisive profile of Olympic marathoner Kara Goucher.

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