California Institute of the Arts
- 4 Year
- VALENCIA, CA
CollegeGrad School
California Institute of the Arts
- 4 Year
- VALENCIA, CA
- Rating 3.86 out of 5 284 reviews
Report Card
- Academicsgrade A minus
- Valuegrade C minus
- Diversitygrade A+
- Campusgrade C minus
- Athleticsgrade unavailable
- Party Scenegrade B+
- Professorsgrade B
- Locationgrade C+
- Dormsgrade C+
- Campus Foodgrade B
- Student Lifegrade B+
- Safetygrade B+
editorial
About
California Institute 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.
California Inst. of the Arts Admissions
Acceptance Rate
29%
Application Deadline
January 5
SAT Range
No data available
ACT Range
No data available
Application Fee
$70
SAT/ACT
Neither required nor recommended
High School GPA
Considered but not required
Early Decision/Early Action
No data available
Application Website
Students also applied to ...
- grade B minus
- grade unavailable
- grade A minus
- grade A minus
- grade A minus
- grade B+
Will You Get In?
Will You Get Into California Inst. of the Arts?
Test Scores and High School GPA for California Institute of the Arts See Other Colleges
Cost
Net Price
$53,916 / year
National
$15,523Average cost after financial aid for students receiving grant or scholarship aid, as reported by the college.
Average Total Aid Awarded
$18,119 / year
National
$7,535Students Receiving Financial Aid
99%
Scholarship
Academics
Professors
grade B
Based on faculty accomplishments, salary, student reviews, and additional factors.
Student Faculty Ratio
5:1
Evening Degree Programs
No
94%
of students agree that professors put a lot of effort into teaching their classes. 16 responses79%
of students agree that it is easy to get the classes they want. 24 responses58%
of students agree that the workload is easy to manage. 24 responsesMajors
Most Popular Majors
- Animation, Video Graphics and Special Effects37 Graduates
- Acting23 Graduates
- Studio Arts19 Graduates
- Dance17 Graduates
- Theatre Design17 Graduates
- Photography14 Graduates
- Cinematography and Video Production13 Graduates
- Graphic Design12 Graduates
- Music History and Literature10 Graduates
- Music Theory and Composition9 Graduates
Students
Full-Time Enrollment
938 Undergrads
Part-Time Undergrads
27
Undergrads Over 25
10%
Pell Grant
11%
Varsity Athletes
No data available
Campus Life
Freshmen Live On-Campus
87%
Poll
83%
of students say they don't have Greek life. 29 responsesPoll
92%
of students say no one pays attention to varsity sports. 36 responsesAfter College
Median Earnings 6 Years After Graduation
$37,900 / year
National
$33,028Graduation Rate
72%
National
49%Employed 2 Years After Graduation
87%
National
83%89%
of students feel confident they will find a job in their field after graduation. 9 responsesSimilar Colleges
Colleges like California Institute of the Arts
- grade C+California State Polytechnic University - Humboldt
- 4 Year
- ARCATA, CA
- Rating 3.6 out of 5 1,933 reviews
California Institute of the Arts Reviews
Rating 3.86 out of 5 284 reviews
I transferred from Los Angeles Mission Community College to California Institute of the Arts in 2020.
Since, I have been studying Music Technology and Digital Arts and am set to graduate this upcoming Fall! With my time at Calarts coming to a close, I am incredibly sad to leave my Calarts family behind.
I love the Music Technology faculty, the amazing courses I have taken such as; Interface Design, Creative Producing for music, Advanced Electronic Ensemble, and Visual Programming (the list goes on)! These classes are some of the few that left me inspired and motivated to continue learning and pursuing my artistry after college. Nonetheless, these are classes that were very specific to my learning goals, that I would not have commonly found at any other university.
My mentor, Madeline Falcone, has done an OUTSTANDING job of supporting me in my academic goals, while also pushing my artistry to the next level. I would love if the tuition was lower, because I am currently 120k in debt.
Since, I have been studying Music Technology and Digital Arts and am set to graduate this upcoming Fall! With my time at Calarts coming to a close, I am incredibly sad to leave my Calarts family behind.
I love the Music Technology faculty, the amazing courses I have taken such as; Interface Design, Creative Producing for music, Advanced Electronic Ensemble, and Visual Programming (the list goes on)! These classes are some of the few that left me inspired and motivated to continue learning and pursuing my artistry after college. Nonetheless, these are classes that were very specific to my learning goals, that I would not have commonly found at any other university.
My mentor, Madeline Falcone, has done an OUTSTANDING job of supporting me in my academic goals, while also pushing my artistry to the next level. I would love if the tuition was lower, because I am currently 120k in debt.
CalArts fosters an exceptional community of people doing interesting work in a wide variety of artistic mediums; I was involved with both the fine art and music departments and benefited artistically and academically from both.
However, it's experimental nature and diversity, by which it's been known for decades, is under severe threat from increasingly unrealistic tuition fees, and from an unsupportive, bloated, and darkly bureaucratic administration. While tuition fees continue to increase, these costs to students are also not reflected in fair wages for their educational staff, nor in the state of the school and it's facilities, which is largely under equipped for contemporary art making in many key areas, and is in a state of steady decline.
Overall, I valued my experience at calArts, but owed entirely to connections made with professors and peers, and whether this made up for the egregious debt I'm now in is deeply questionable.
However, it's experimental nature and diversity, by which it's been known for decades, is under severe threat from increasingly unrealistic tuition fees, and from an unsupportive, bloated, and darkly bureaucratic administration. While tuition fees continue to increase, these costs to students are also not reflected in fair wages for their educational staff, nor in the state of the school and it's facilities, which is largely under equipped for contemporary art making in many key areas, and is in a state of steady decline.
Overall, I valued my experience at calArts, but owed entirely to connections made with professors and peers, and whether this made up for the egregious debt I'm now in is deeply questionable.
As an art school there is no athletics, we don't have sports or even a mascot. There's also no Greek life, but that's preferred. There are a lot of other student events, a pool, and every Thursday night is Gallery night to enjoy student's work as well as performances. Everyone is very open and accepting and I would say there is a good amount of diversity with the international students. Teachers are very exceptional in their fields and are kind, open to giving us opportunities most of the time. You put in what you get out. The more work you volunteer or audition for the more recognition you get and can build your connections. For theater, there are so many shows to participate in, it's great to learn on the job. Work study is very helpful. The campus is very small with only one main building for classes, however being on a big hill I would say that it isn't fully navigable for those with disabilities.