As one of the country’s leading schools for the study of the arts, architecture, design and the built environment, Tyler exists to educate the world’s future innovators to develop the full expression of their voices and serve the public good.
Transformative Exploration and Discovery
We do this by encouraging students to delve deeply into their core subjects while also exploring other disciplines. Not only does this introduce students to new techniques and ideas, but it also exposes them to areas they might rather pursue. In the context of our supportive community, students transform in countless ways, as they grapple with career discovery, theory and practice and discovering ways to create social change.
Get to Know the People of Tyler
It’s common to hear the mantra at Tyler, “This is a special place.”
With a faculty of scholars and practitioners willing to engage deeply in training the next generation of creative minds, and students yearning to reach the peak of their creativity, Tyler is an inspiring, dynamic place to begin a purposeful life – and one of the best art schools in the country.
Connect to Tyler’s community of faculty, students, staff and alumni.
Tyler’s Mission
The Tyler School of Art and Architecture educates and inspires students to be active participants in society with the highest aspirations for creative and social achievement, individual expression, scholarly discovery and innovation.
Tyler Accreditations
Tyler holds national accreditations as a school of art and design, along with separate accreditations in architecture, landscape architecture, planning and facilities management.
Accessibility at Tyler
Tyler celebrates differences among people as a critical to a healthy learning environment and thriving community. As a result, we have implemented principles of Universal Design into our physical environment and learning goals and work to help all students thrive creatively.
A Close-knit Creative Community + Large Research University
Tyler students benefit from the small, interactive classes of our supportive community while also having access to vast resources of one of the country’s finest public, research universities and the dynamic city of Philadelphia.
Tyler At A Glance
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Tyler Is the Only Public School of Art and Architecture in Philadelphia
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Tyler’s Average Undergraduate Class Size Is 13 Students
A History of Individual Attention
Tyler was founded by a gift. Tyler was founded by a gift. In the 1930s, Stella Elkins Tyler donated her Elkins Park, Pennsylvania estate to Temple University as a place for the study of arts, led by her mentor, sculptor Boris Blai. Progressive-minded, Blai emphasized the development of strong artistic technique, liberal arts study, individual student attention and socially engaged practice.
Boris Blai
Sculpture
“It is the principle of the school that students…are individuals who must contribute to the life and development of society at large”
Read more about how Tyler became a multi-disciplinary school of art, architecture, design and more.
Tyler Leadership
Led by Dean Susan E. Cahan, who has promoted cross-disciplinary scholarship, practice and education, Tyler has become a place of profound discovery, where students can enrich their experience with classes in art, architecture, cultural history and design.
Susan E. Cahan
Dean
“Our students deserve an academic experience that capitalizes on the exciting breadth of fields at Tyler by fostering cross-pollination within the arts and between the arts and the environmental design disciplines.”
Indigenous Land Acknowledgment
Tyler is located at Lenapehoking, the ancestral land of the Lenape nation.
