California College of the Arts

Overview

Rankings

• #7 Colleges With the Largest Endowments Per Student

Academics & Admissions

Is It Hard to Get Into California College of the Arts? Acceptance Rate & Requirements

Based in San Francisco, California, California College of the Arts admits most of the students who apply; the acceptance rate is roughly 91%. The graduation rate is roughly 62%.

Acceptance Rate

91%

Retention Rate

87%

Full-Time Faculty

22%

Faculty Salary (mo)

$9,785

Student–Faculty Ratio

7:1

Diversity Index

0.80

First-Gen Students

24%

Applicants

2,987

Admitted

2,261

Cost & Financial Aid

How Much Does It Cost to Attend California College of the Arts? Tuition, Net Price & Aid

Published tuition at California College of the Arts is $60,226, but few families pay that. The number to watch is net price, what students actually pay each year after federal grants and institutional scholarships. Here it averages about $53,909. Students from families earning under $30,000 typically pay closer to $61,407 after need-based grants. The median graduate leaves with about $27,000 in federal student loans.

In-State Tuition

$60,226

Out-of-State

$60,226

Avg Net Price

$53,909

Median Debt

$27,000

Pell Grant Rate

25%

Federal Loan Rate

48%

Students Like You

Tell us a little about yourself to see what students like you have typically experienced at California College of the Arts — the net price for your income, your admission odds, and the outcomes that follow. These are patterns from federal data, not predictions.

Graduate Outcomes

Is California College of the Arts Worth It? Graduate Earnings & ROI

Ten years out, alumni of California College of the Arts earn a median of $49,414, roughly in line with the national average for college graduates.

6 Years After Entry

$38,308

8 Years

$44,164

10 Years

$49,414

Debt-to-Earnings

0.55x

Earning > $25K

56%

Social Mobility

Data: Raj Chetty's Mobility Report Card · 30M+ anonymized tax records

Does California College of the Arts Drive Upward Mobility? Economic Mobility & Low-Income Outcomes

California College of the Arts is a measurable contributor to upward mobility. Its mobility rate, the share of students who start in the bottom income quintile and climb to the top, is 0.86%, in line with strong performers nationally. About 7.8% of students come from families in the bottom income quintile. Among bottom-quintile students who attend, roughly 11% go on to reach the top of the income ladder. The median family income of students sits near $90,100, a snapshot of the campus's socioeconomic mix.

Mobility Rate

0.86%

Bottom 20% → Top 20%

Success Rate

11.0%

If bottom 20% get in

From Bottom 20%

7.8%

Share of students

Parent Median Income

$122,414

today's $ (2015 cohort data)

Social Capital

Data: Opportunity Insights Social Capital Atlas

How Connected Is California College of the Arts? Social Capital & Cross-Class Networks

Social capital, the web of cross-class friendships that researchers link to long-run upward mobility, runs high at California College of the Arts. Its economic connectedness score is 1.76, where about 1.0 is the national norm. Its friending bias is low (-0.00), a sign that students from different economic backgrounds actually mix rather than self-segregate. Around 7% of students take part in civic and volunteering activity.

Economic Connectedness

1.76

Cross-class friendships

Friending Bias

-0.00

Lower = more inclusive

Volunteering Rate

6.8%

Support Ratio

1.00

Community support

Innovation & Knowledge Creation

Patents, inventors, and research influence · Opportunity Insights & Times Higher Education

California College of the Arts produces inventors at an exceptional rate — the top 1% of U.S. colleges, with 0 patents tied to its graduates.

Inventor Rate

592300.00%

Top 1% nationally

Patents Produced

0

Linked to graduates

Patent Citations

118

Downstream influence

Inventors From Low-Income

0.71%

Bottom-20% families

Institutional Finances

Data: NCES IPEDS

Federal Grants

$5,487,000

Investment Income

$-6,413,000

Top Programs

The fields California College of the Arts awards the most degrees in, by share of completions. Where federal field-of-study data exists, we show what graduates in that major earned early in their careers. Each links to its degree guide — or see what someone with your income, scores, and major would pay and earn here in the Students Like You simulator.

• Visual & Performing Arts 47% $47,361 early-career
• Computer Science & IT 7%
• Precision Production 1%
• English & Literature 0% $41,658 early-career

Early-career median earnings by major (typically 1–2 years after completion, bachelor's level where available), in today's dollars (CPI-adjusted). Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard field of study. Distinct from the school-wide 10-year median; suppressed for small programs.