Is your portfolio really your personal best?
If you’re anything like us, you’re sick of everyone telling you that advertising is competitive. Uhhhhhh yeah, no shit, thanks for the tip. But what if we told you it’s not as hard as you think to get ahead of the pack? That with some more rigorous training you could push yourself to create a portfolio that’s stronger and smarter than anything you’ve ever done before? Our students get to the incredible ad agencies below because they know they can be better and they’re ready to prove it to themselves. Losers settle. Winners go to DAD.
⬆️ Where some of our former students are now working ⬆️
Our newest field guide ever.
The all-new 2025 DAD Field Guide is here and it’s our beefiest boy yet, clocking in at a whopping hundo pages. It’s got our full course catalog (only available in this field guide), in-depth look into each of our programs, why we’re better than the other portfolio joints, a bunch of quotes from agency people who think we’re cool, a look at our favorite DAD student work from our first five years, and a million more things. Smash the button below, fill out the form, and we’ll send one your way.
Spring '25
ONLINE or IN-PERSON
Quarter runs March 31 - Jun 6
Apps due Feb 17
Fall '25
ONLINE or IN-PERSON
Quarter runs Sep 29 - Dec 12
Apps due August 11
⚠️ We now only enroll new students twice a year ⚠️
How does DAD stack up
against the rest?
If you’ve researched portfolio schools, then you know – they’re expensive as hell and all basically seem the same. Well, until we came along and started shakin’ things up, of course. With our consistently killer portfolios quarter-after-quarter and big agency job placements, why exactly would you go to the other schools to pay more and get less? Find out below…
Instant apps, instant gratification.
What do you think we do all day, sit around and review applications? Actually… kinda? Because we do rolling admission, we review all apps as they come in. So for you, that means the instant you apply your app goes straight to the people who actually run this joint, which then also means you don’t spend months waiting around to hear back if you got accepted or not. And because we offer the same fully-comprehensive 5 quarter programs both online and in-person, you can stop delaying your creative journey and start whenever it’s most convenient for you.
Everybody here gives a shit.
At our core, everyone here shares one thing — we all do this because we really care about it. Remember your classes in college and how over half the class didn’t want to be there including the professor? Yeah, this ain’t that. Smash that button below to find out why everybody at DAD, starting with the founders, have your back.
Imagine actually feeling,
like, prepared to work in an agency.
Feeling like you’re not ready for the big agency pace? Hey, join the club. We all felt like that until we got our shit together. And for advertising creative students, portfolio schools are where you get your shit together. Ask our former students and they’ll tell you that after you make it through DAD, working in a big ad agency is no big deal. Our entire program is structured to feel like an agency so you’ll get what feels like an entire year’s worth of on-the-job training before you even show up to your first day of work. The fact that you know you’re not ready to work in a big agency just shows that you are ready to take your skills to the next level, so let’s get you to that next level.
You pay us and
we'll get you paid.
Ok, we get it. You’ve already done the whole college thing. You’re over it. How can you justify one more year of school and 27k in tuition? At their very first job after finishing our program, our DAD Grads are making way more than your average entry-level junior position. Check this out…
That big sexy number is the average starting salary for DAD Grads. Yeah, try finding that kinda job right out of college with zero industry experience and a below-average creative portfolio.
This is why students come to DAD instead of going to grad school. Portfolio school isn’t like a university, it’s a more specialized trade school with experienced agency instructors that help students get into better ad agencies in bigger markets with higher starting salaries.
Sometimes it's all
about who we know.
Even if you’ve got the greatest portfolio in the world, it’s still completely useless unless someone actually sees it. At DAD, we surround you with creatives and recruiters from the top agencies in the country. They’re your guides, your monthly guest speakers, and the people we get you networking with from day one. Below are just a few of our industry connections and the agencies that could potentially be your first employer.
Don't forget to check the work.
Choosing between post-grad portfolio schools? We get it, there aren’t a ton of options out there. But if you can’t decide, let the work speak for itself! After all, what better way to judge a portfolio school than by the quality of the portfolios they put out? We’re so confident in ours that we wanted to make it super easy for you to compare, so smash the links below and decide for yourself what kind of standard you want your own portfolio to live up to.
tl;dr? We made you a chart.
Denver
Tuition
$27,000
Acceptance Rate
60%
Program Length
5 QTRS
Big Agency Job Placements
YEP
Full-Time Online Option?
YEP
Ad Agency Experienced Teachers
ALL
Weather
BEAUTIFUL
Breweries Per Capita
10
Feels Like More College
FUCK NO
Kickball Team
AWWWW YEAH
Climate Change Future
DRY
Miami
Tuition
$38,800
Acceptance Rate
100%
Program Length
8 QTRS
Big Agency Job Placements
YEP
Full-Time Online Option?
NOPE
Ad Agency Experienced Teachers
SOME
Weather
HUMID
Breweries Per Capita
2
Feels Like More College
MEH
Kickball Team
DOUBT IT
Climate Change Future
UNDERWATER
Virginia
Tuition
$54,640
Acceptance Rate
40%
Program Length
8 QTRS
Big Agency Job Placements
YEP
Full-Time Online Option?
NOPE
Ad Agency Experienced Teachers
SOME
Weather
SEVERE
Breweries Per Capita
5
Feels Like More College
YEP
Kickball Team
DOUBT IT
Climate Change Future
UNDERWATER
Sick of scrolling?
Then choose a path...
We offer three programs that cover the spectrum of advertising creativity. Maybe you firmly belong in one group, maybe your interests and talents overlap across two or three of the below paths, that’s perfectly normal. Explore each below and the way forward will soon be clear.
Art Direction
Craft the look and feel of a campaign. Make decisions about visuals, photography, type, colors, and the overall design. Learn everything you need to know to become an Art Director.
Copywriting
Craft the idea or story behind a campaign. Write headlines, scripts, taglines, social posts, etc. Learn everything you need to know to become a Copywriter.
Strategy
Discover insights that inspire campaigns. Research and lay the groundwork that allows creatives to create. Learn all you need to know to become a Strategist.
