In its first 200 years, the Maryland Institute College of Art survived a fire that burned down its main, and at the time only, building. Twice.

College and local leaders brought up that fact repeatedly during Wednesday afternoon’s bicentennial celebration, invoking the resilient nature of the Bolton Hill-based art school, which calls itself the nation’s oldest independent, continuous degree-granted college of art and design. The college’s 200th birthday celebration comes as the school has struggled in recent years with enrollment and cash flow.

MICA will continue innovating, President Cecilia McCormick told a packed auditorium. She announced the relaunch of the School for Creative and Professional Studies, a new design and innovation hub and further investment into the Ratcliffe Center for Creative Entrepreneurship.

“These new programs will open pipelines into the school,” McCormick said in an interview after the event. “It will benefit our enrollment as well as providing answers in education that are needed during this time.”

And though McCormick didn’t mention enrollment during her public speech, it’s clearly on the college president’s mind. MICA has struggled since the COVID-19 pandemic, with leaders blaming the college’s challenges on economic reverberations from the virus.

But as other colleges in the area have bounced back from a rocky few years, MICA’s difficulties have continued: Its student body has shrunk by nearly a quarter in five years, and the college has consistently spent more than it has brought in, according to public financial disclosures.

The college lost almost $9 million in 2025, with expenses of $90 million and revenue of $81.3 million.

MICA is bleeding money partially because it is bleeding students. Its former president, Samuel Hoi, predicted in 2022 that enrollment would be 2,100 students by 2025. Instead, it has declined from 1,900 students to 1,600 in three years.

Raymond Barclay, the college’s senior vice president for enrollment strategy, innovation and partnerships, said he believes the new offerings will help recruit more students and open up new, untapped markets.

The revamped School for Creative and Professional Studies, for example, features a relaunched master of professional studies program. The school offers short-form master’s courses focused on creative leadership, technology visualization and business for creatives. It also offers pathways in fields like luxury brand management and ethical global sourcing and sustainability.

The college now offers a non-BFA program, which is unusual for an arts school, Barclay noted. There are two new bachelor’s of design degrees launched by MICA this year: one in interior design and another in user experience.

“It will help us grow and expand the kinds of students we educate at MICA,” Barclay said.

The college has recently raised tuition, perhaps in an attempt to offset the loss of students. The cost of attendance — made up by tuition, fees and room and board — has increased by nearly 13% in the last five years, from $66,810 in 2021 to $75,318 this year. But the college is still bringing in less tuition revenue than it did a year ago.

McCormick, in her address, announced two scholarship gifts totaling $8.4 million, that will help offset tuition costs for some students.

MICA accepts about 75% of undergraduate students who apply, but only about 10% of those accepted actually attend. This past fall, the admissions office saw the highest number of applications in college history, Barclay said. So while yield might be low, interest is not, he noted.

Barclay added that this year’s incoming first-year class is the third-largest the college has seen in the last eight years.

For graduate students, the acceptance rate has dramatically increased, from about 50% in 2021 to over 70% this year. The matriculation rate has hovered at around 40%.

But as the admissions office works to prop up enrollment, a new threat has emerged. MICA’s student body is 30% international, leaders said, so the Trump administration’s crackdown on student visas could stop some prospective students from enrolling.

“We’re hoping to change the minds of our international students and show them that MICA is still a place where they can learn,” McCormick said in an interview.

The new programs should help offset the loss of international students, she hopes, and “lure people back to college.”

“We want to be able to show them that a college degree will help their careers grow,” McCormick said.

The college has, for several years in a row, attempted to “rightsize” through employee layoffs and buyouts. In 2022, MICA cut nearly 20 positions, representing about 6% of employees in departments like admissions and communications. The library hours were trimmed, and students worked less often with live models in drawing classes because of cost cuts.

Then in 2023, the college announced further cuts in the form of voluntary buyouts and nonvoluntary layoffs. The college consolidated 18 undergraduate studies departments to seven and offered more “applied practical” courses that teach skills outside of art-making.

Despite those two money-saving maneuvers, the college is still struggling to retain cash. Its cash and liquid assets dropped from $25.6 million at the beginning of 2024 to $13.8 million by the end of 2025 — a 46% decrease.

McCormick and other speakers didn’t mention many of those challenges during Wednesday’s event, which featured remarks from Maryland first lady Dawn Moore.

McCormick was emotional during her speech and in an interview afterward when she spoke about the importance of an arts education.

“I am so passionate about the work I do, and that’s why the tears come.”

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