As of the end of 2003, there were 4,168 accredited public and private colleges and universities in this country awarding two year or four year degrees. As of March of 2006, there are 3,590 art and design schools in this country, according to artschools.com. Don’t go there.
You wouldn’t start with Alabama and work your way through the accredited colleges, universities and community colleges. More likely, you would decide what level of education that you are seeking and what you would like to major in, and then go looking for a school that meets your needs. Cost, schedule, location (if on campus) accredited (if online), that sort of approach. It probably makes sense to do the same thing if your interest is in art school.
Will it be drawing or painting, art history, photography, sculpture? Then there are the design categories, art in their own right: fashion, landscape, environmental, the graphic arts that include commercial art of all types, industrial design, and so on, into the sunset.
