Baltimore School for the Arts

Baltimore School for the Arts (BSA) is a public high school in downtown Baltimore for students who want to train seriously in the arts. Founded in 1979 as part of Baltimore City Public Schools, it sits in the historic Alcazar building on Cathedral Street in the Mount Vernon neighborhood and serves grades 9 through 12.

Admission works differently than at most schools. Students audition and interview in their field of interest, whether that is visual art, film, music, stage design and production, theatre, or dance. Acceptance is based solely on that audition and interview, with no academic criteria, so talent and potential matter more than grades or test scores. Auditions are held each January for 8th and 9th graders, and of roughly 1,000 students who audition each year, about 115 are offered a spot.

Once enrolled, students split the day between a full college-preparatory academic program and intensive training in their art form, taught by working professional artists. The school keeps a strong academic support system in place and partners with major Baltimore institutions including the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Center Stage, the Hippodrome Foundation, and the Walters Art Museum. Its campus includes a recital hall, music practice rooms, art and dance studios, a film editing lab, and a black box theatre.

As part of the public school system, BSA is tuition-free for Baltimore City residents. Students who live outside the city pay tuition, listed at $10,000 per year for the 2023 to 2024 school year. The school enrolls about 430 high school students. BSA also runs TWIGS, a free after-school and Saturday arts program for roughly 550 children in grades 2 through 8, which introduces younger students to the same training and feeds into the high school.