Pittsburgh & Cultural Life-School of Art - Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh & Cultural Life

A mid-sized city in southwestern Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh captures the essence of a cosmopolitan city while retaining small-town charm.

Old-fashioned character and contemporary style mix to form 89 distinctive neighborhoods and communities. Nearly 300,000 people reside in Pittsburgh city limits (3 million in the metro region). Its accessibility, affordability, diversity and reputation as a safe place, make Pittsburgh an ideal location for students. Carnegie Mellon and other Pittsburgh universities are consistently featured in the US News & World Report as having some of the best programs nation-wide.

Pittsburgh's art and technology communities are lively and growing.

With some of the most non-profits per capita in the country, a wide range of programming occurs in venues that span alternative spaces, established institutions and public festivals, theater, music and film. The region supports 1,600 technology companies, ranging from a Google campus to small startups.

Creative Connections:

View a complete list of arts organizations in Pittsburgh.

CMU's Neighborhood - Oakland
Nestled between the 450-acre Schenley Park and Craig Street shopping/museum district, CMU is within easy walking distance of significant cultural resources including:

Carnegie Museum of Art
Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Carnegie Library
Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh Filmmakers


top ranked city

Pittsburgh has been named:
  • #1 Most Livable City in America (Places Rated Almanac 2007, The Economist 2009, Forbes 2009 & 2010);
  • Top 5 best places for creatives (Kiplinger Personal Finance 2007);
  • Top 10 places to start as a professional;
  • #2 largest college town in the USA;
  • Top 10 tech cities for geeks (Wired Magazine 2007).

accessible & affordable

Pittsburgh is centrally-located (about a 1 hour's flight from New York City, Chicago, Washington DC, Toronto, Philadelphia and Baltimore) and boasts a cost of living that is 55% of New York City's, making it an inexpensive, fun and productive place to live and work.