The Art Institute of Washington, Arlington

For over a decade, The Art Institute of Washington has welcomed students—those seeking degrees and those just taking a class or two—to its classrooms, located just across the street from the Rosslyn Metro station. Some of those classrooms smell positively delicious; the facility houses three teaching kitchens, a dining lab, and a student-run restaurant helping budding culinary experts develop their palates, knife-skills, and knack for making cauliflower appetizing. Other students master graphic and web design, fashion marketing, and photography, and interior design students get to illuminate things—literally—in the lighting lab.