The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale opened its doors in September 1968, offering diploma programs in Commercial Art, Interior Design, and Fashion Illustration. The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale received state approval for Veterans' training in September 1970 and was accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Trade and Technical Schools of the Career College Association in April 1971.

In November 1973, Education Management Corporation acquired The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale from its founder, Mark K. Wheeler.

In February 1975, The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale was licensed by the newly-legislated State Board of Independent Post-secondary Vocational, Technical, Trade, and Business Schools.

In 1979, The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale was recognized as a two-year degree-granting institution in the State of Florida, authorized to confer the Associate of Science degree by the State Board of Independent Colleges and Universities.

In May 1986, The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale moved and expanded facilities from 3000 East Las Olas Boulevard to 1799 SE 17th Street in Fort Lauderdale.

In November 1987, The State Board of Independent Colleges and Universities approved the conferring of the Bachelor of Science degree, and The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale added Bachelor's-level programs in Business Management and Marketing and Fashion Marketing.

In addition to Bachelor Science degree programs, The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale added the following Associate of Science degree programs between 1973 and 1988:  Photography, Fashion Marketing, Music and Video Business, Travel and Tourism, and Fashion Design.  The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale started a new Associate of Science degree program in Broadcasting in fall 1990.

In fall 1991, The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale began two new Associate of Science degree programs, Culinary Arts and Industrial Design, and added a Bachelor of Science degree program in Interior Design.  In 1995, the college was approved to add Computer Animation, Video Production, and Multimedia and Web Design.

In September 1989, The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale leased space at 1650 SE 17th Street.  This building, referred to as Harbor Walk, currently houses the college's Culinary Arts, General Education, and Industrial Design departments and the Chef's Palette restaurant.

The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale began offering the following diploma programs in 1987: Applied Photography, Residential Design, and Layout and Production Art.  In 1992, Desktop Publishing was added.  In 1994, two Culinary Arts programs, The Art of Cooking and Baking and Pastry, were added.  Layout and Production Art and Desktop Publishing were merged to create Graphic and Desktop Design.  In April 1996, Travel Industry was added to the diploma offerings.

In 1996, the college took a large step in the reorganization of the programs and the extension of the bachelor's degree offerings.  Four Bachelor of Science degrees were offered:  Computer Animation, Graphic Design, Industrial Design, and Interior Design.

In keeping with educational trends in higher education and realizing the necessity to offer convenient course-scheduling opportunities to students with many obligations, The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale embarked on a distance-education initiative in January 1999.  Approval was granted in September 1999, and the first online course was added to the schedule in Fall 1999 through a consortium agreement with the Online division of the Art Institute of Pittsburgh.

In 2001, The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale initiated conversion of the college's course codes to codes approved by the Florida State Course Numbering System and used by all public Post-secondary institutions in Florida, so that transfer of credit from and to other colleges within the state of Florida would be less complicated and more effective.  The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale also approved three study abroad articulation agreements with colleges in Germany, Argentina, and South Korea.

Also in 2001, The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale was awarded the Distinguished Performance Award of Career College of the Year by the National Alliance of Business (NAB).  The Distinguished Performance Awards are present to "businesses, organizations, and individuals for their commitment to, and accomplishments in, improving student achievement and workforce quality” (source: NAB 2001 Distinguished Performance Awards pamphlet).

The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale approved articulation agreements with Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach counties of Florida in 2002 under the Tech Prep high-school program, facilitating the granting of credit to high-school graduates who have successfully completed one of these select programs during their high-school years.  During 2002, the college also entered into a statewide articulation agreement with Florida Restaurant Association Educational Foundation's ProStart School-to-Career Programs.  This agreement allows high-school graduates who have completed secondary and Post-secondary vocational ProStart culinary programs to receive academic credit at The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale.

Four new Bachelor of Science degree programs, Digital Media Production, Game Art & Design, Visual Effects & Motion Graphics, and Yacht & Marine Design, were offered in 2002; a new Bachelor of Science degree in Fashion Design was added in 2004.  In 2005, two additional Bachelor of Science degree programs, Illustration and Fashion Merchandising, were added.  In 2007, a new Bachelor of Science program in Photography and an Associate of Science program in Baking & Pastry were added. In 2009, the Associate of Science degree program in Interior Design was added.

In July 2006, the Council for Interior Design Accreditation granted accreditation to the Bachelor of Science Interior Design program and in January 2008, the Accrediting commission of the American Culinary Federation Foundation accredited both the Bachelor of Science Culinary Management and Associate of Science Culinary Arts programs.

As of October 2008, The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale offers 14 Bachelor of Science degree programs: Advertising, Culinary Management, Digital Filmmaking & Video Production, Game Art & Design, Fashion Design, Fashion Merchandising, Graphic Design, Illustration, Industrial Design, Interior Design, Media Arts & Animation, Photography, Visual Effects & Motion Graphics, and Web Design & Interactive Media.  Also offered are nine Associate of Science degree programs: Animation Art & Design, Broadcasting, Baking & Pastry, Culinary Arts, Fashion Design, Graphic Design, Web Design & Interactive Media, Photography, and Video Production.  Three diploma programs are offered: Art of Cooking, Graphic & Desktop Design, and Residential Design.

The purpose of The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, as initially developed when it opened its doors in 1968, was to prepare its graduates to enter careers in their chosen fields.  Although The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale has expanded its program offerings through the years, this basic purpose remains unchanged.