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CollegeGrad School

California College of the Arts

#48 in Best Colleges for Design in America
  • 4 Year
  • San Francisco, CA
  • 362 reviews
    How to Apply
    B-
    Overall Niche Grade
    How are grades calculated?
    1. Academics
      B-
    2. Value
      B-
    3. Diversity
      A+
    4. Campus
      D
    5. Athletics
      NG
    6. Party Scene
      B-
    7. Professors
      B-
    8. Location
      A+
    9. Dorms
      D-
    10. Campus Food
      NG
    11. Student Life
      C+
    12. Safety
      B
    View Full Report Card
    CCA is a private college located in San Francisco, California. It is a small institution with an enrollment of 1,409 undergraduate students. Admissions is somewhat competitive as the CCA acceptance rate is 64%. Popular majors include Illustration, Graphic Design, and Industrial and Product Design. Graduating 61% of students, CCA alumni go on to earn a starting salary of $29,400.
    About California College of the Arts...
    Athletic Division
    —
    Athletic Conference
    —
    Address
    1111 Eighth Street
    San Francisco, CA 94107
    Website
    cca.edu

    California College of the Arts Rankings

    Niche rankings are based on rigorous analysis of key statistics from the U.S. Department of Education and millions of reviews.

    Admissions

    Acceptance Rate
    64%
    Application Deadline
    —
    SAT Range
    —
    ACT Range
    19-27
    Application Fee
    $70
    SAT/ACT
    Neither required nor recommended
    High School GPA
    Required
    Early Decision/Early Action
    —

    Cost

    Net Price
    $39,075/ year
    National
    $15,523
    Average cost after financial aid for students receiving grant or scholarship aid, as reported by the college.
    Average Total Aid Awarded
    $22,812/ year
    National
    $7,535
    Students Receiving Financial Aid
    77%

    Academics

    Professors
    B-
    Based on faculty accomplishments, salary, student reviews, and additional factors.
    Student Faculty Ratio
    11:1
    Evening Degree Programs
    No
    79%
    of students agree that professors put a lot of effort into teaching their classes.24 responses
    48%
    of students agree that it is easy to get the classes they want.29 responses
    28%
    of students agree that the workload is easy to manage.29 responses

    Majors

    Most Popular Majors
    • Illustration
      47 Graduates
    • Graphic Design
      38 Graduates
    • Industrial and Product Design
      38 Graduates
    • Animation, Video Graphics and Special Effects
      30 Graduates
    • Architecture
      22 Graduates
    • Interior Design
      20 Graduates
    • Painting
      20 Graduates
    • Human Computer Interaction
      19 Graduates
    • Multimedia
      18 Graduates
    • Metal and Jewelry Arts
      12 Graduates

    Students

    Full-Time Enrollment
    1,409Undergrads
    Part-Time Undergrads
    77
    Undergrads Over 25
    12%
    Pell Grant
    24%
    Varsity Athletes
    —
    Poll
    What one word or phrase best describes the typical student at this school?
    Based on 20 responses
    Report
    • Creative
      50%
    • All extremely different with own opinions
      10%
    • Heavily depressed and stressed
      10%
    • Distant
      5%
    • Diverse
      5%
    • Driven
      5%
    • Nerdy
      5%

    Campus Life

    Freshmen Live On-Campus
    86%
    Poll
    88%
    of students say they don't have Greek life.26 responses
    Poll
    97%
    of students say no one pays attention to varsity sports.33 responses
    Poll
    What one word or phrase best describes your school?
    Based on 19 responses
    Report
    • Intense but Fun
      32%
    • Professors are what make the school worth it.
      26%
    • Expressive
      16%
    • Introverted people, artistic environment
      16%
    • Cool people, crappy environment
      5%
    • Home away from home
      5%

    After College

    Median Earnings 6 Years After Graduation
    $37,200/ year
    National
    $33,028
    Graduation Rate
    61%
    National
    49%
    Employed 2 Years After Graduation
    86%
    National
    83%
    75%
    of students feel confident they will find a job in their field after graduation.16 responses
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    California College of the Arts Reviews

    362 reviews
    All Categories
    While no art school is perfect, CCA has an awesome community that I am glad to be part of. I'm an animation major and the community of artists are very tight-knit. Alumni are very supportive and many return to give events and advice on the industry. Professors at CCA are also very tightly associated with Pixar Animation Studios and it's very accessible to form connections with animators in the industry!

    I also believe that your experience here is really what you make of it. I decided to attend CCA initially because of the scholarship and financial aid that they offered me, but I stayed for the community and because the professors and animation students are very passionate and supportive of our craft. This year, I've also become involved in Student Council and am starting a CCA UNICEF club to improve outreach and promote awareness among the art community about social issues. These activities, and the people I've met through them, have really enriched my life.
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    CCA has an incredible community that invites diversity in order to create an environment where students and faculties are open to freely exchange their ideas and creativity. I found it easy to meet new people and the community was overall very welcoming. Academically, I had minor issues in regarding some programs that fail to provide broader opportunities and options following certain specific major programs but there are professors who aided me significantly through out my first year in college! There aren't any sports or athletics clubs that are offered and unfortunately the school also doesn't offer any gyms for students to access.
    CCA has been great- I highly recommend the MFA in Comics program! It's a low residency program where students are on campus in San Francisco for the month of July and can complete their other coursework online throughout the year. We are working on storytelling, drawing and inking skills, digital coloring, and comics history. Additionally, every student has a faculty mentor who works with them on their thesis assignments.