Education

Elementary Schools

The Santa Fe Public Schools system has a total enrollment of 13,775 students, making it the third largest district in the state.

The district comprises 20 elementary schools, 4 junior high schools, 3 senior high schools and three charter schools.  Average teacher salary in the district is $40,512.

In addition to public schools, the city is home to over thirty private schools, from pre-school through 12th grade. Prominent high schools include Santa Fe Preparatory School, St Michael’s High School, Santa Fe Waldorf, Santa Fe Girls School and Desert Academy.

Colleges and Universities

The roots of the Santa Fe University of Art and Design grow directly from New Mexico’s oldest chartered college, St. Michael’s College, which was founded in 1859 and granted a charter for higher education in 1874. Saint Michael’s College changed its name to the College of Santa Fe in 1966 and enrolled its first female students in that same year. On August 30, 2010, the name of the college was changed to Santa Fe University of Art and Design. The new name reflects the mission and vision of the school while also recognizing and upholding the reputation of the college, students, alumni, faculty, and staff.

Programs at the university combine practical experience with core theory, empowering students to develop a thorough understanding of their professional aspirations in contemporary music, creative writing, theater, art, graphic design, moving image arts (film/video), photography, business, and education.

This approach, a key part of the university’s interdisciplinary curriculum, puts students on the path to becoming well-rounded, creative problem-solving professional.

St. John’s College, which has a sister campus in Annapolis MD, has a curriculum based around the “Great Books”. St. John’s College is a co-educational, four year liberal arts college known for its distinctive “great books” curriculum.  The course of study is based on the reading, study, and discussion of the most important books of the Western tradition.  Students study from the classics of literature, philosophy, theology, psychology, political science, economics, history, mathematics, laboratory sciences, and music.  St. John’s College is a community dedicated to liberal education. Such education seeks to free men and women from the tyrannies of unexamined opinions and inherited prejudices.

The Institute of American Indian Arts serves the Native American community across the US, with representation from over 140 different tribes.  It offers associates and bachelor’s degree programs. IAIA Museum in downtown Santa Fe is home to the 7,000-piece National Collection of Contemporary Indian Art.

Santa Fe Community College (SFCC) provides the region with affordable high quality education and training and works with companies to develop specialized workforce training and education programs they may require. The Santa Fe office of the New Mexico Small Business Development Centeris also located on the campus.

Courses are presented through a variety of delivery methods and time formats, this includes basic skill programs; certificates and technical degrees; associate degrees with four year transfer potential, and personal enrichment courses both for credit and not for credit.

Each semester SFCC has around 5,400 students enrolled in the various associate degree programs or certificate or professional credential programs.

SFCC is also home to the Sustainable Technology Center which delivers education in sustainability, renewable energies technologies, environmental technologies, and certifications for energy raters. The Center is part of the national Advanced Technology Center network to develop and deliver curriculum in smart grid technology and green building construction.The college is also developing curriculum to add sustainability across all our educational programs including science, math, English, and history.

Southwestern College, devoted to the study of mental health, offers master’s degrees in counseling, counseling with a concentration in grief and loss, and art therapy.

Southwest Acupuncture College offers a Master of Science in Oriental Medicine.

Although not a college per se, the Santa Fe Institute “is devoted to creating a new kind of scientific research community, one emphasizing multi-disciplinary collaboration in pursuit of understanding the common themes that arise in natural, artificial, and social systems.”  It has an active campus and faculty, building on its worldwide reputation as the home of complexity science.