ArtCenter at a Glance
Founded in 1930 and located in Pasadena, California, ArtCenter College of Design is a global leader in art and design education. With a current enrollment of approximately 2,385 students (59% female and 41% male, representing more than 50 countries), the College has a student/faculty ratio of 8 to 1. ArtCenter offers 11 undergraduate and 10 graduate degrees in a wide array of industrial design, visual and applied arts disciplines, as well as minors for undergraduate students in Business, Creative Writing, Material Science, Research, and Social Innovation. The Industrial Design Program offers a joint MS/MBA in partnership with the Drucker School of Management, and the Integrated Studies department offers a First-Year Immersion program that supports students’ transition to undergraduate-level majors with a specialized two-semester course of study.
In addition to its top-ranked academic programs, the College also serves residents of the Greater Los Angeles region through its ArtCenter Extension programs - a highly regarded series of year-round educational programs for all ages and levels of experience.
ArtCenter is a private nonprofit fully accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC). Renowned for both its ties to industry and social impact initiatives, the College is the first design school to receive the United Nations’ Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) status.
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Want to know more? Drill down into our data below.
Admissions Profile
Headcount (HC) unless noted (Fall 2023)
- UG Acceptance Rate1: 67%
- UG Percentage (New) Male/Female: 36% / 64%
- Average SAT Verbal/Average SAT Math2 = 672 / 572
- Average high school GPA3 = 3.54
- Average prior college GPA3 = 3.40
- Percentage of New Undergraduate Students from:
- California: 50%
- Out of State: 8%
- International: 42%
- UG Applications Received (CY3 2023) : 1,895
- UG Acceptance Rate1 (CY 2023): 67%
- GR applications received (CY 2023): 911
- GR Acceptance Rate (CY 2023): 41%
Enrollment Profile
Headcount (HC) as of (Fall 2023)4
- Undergraduate students: 2,082
- Graduate students: 303
- Total FTE5 (UG + GR6): 2250.7
- Percentage New First-Time Freshman/New Transfers7: 70% / 30%
- Average Age for New First-Time Freshmen: 19
- Average Age for all New Degree-Seeking UG Students: 19
- Average Age for Undergraduate Students: 21.9
- Average Age for Graduate Students: 27.7
- Student/Faculty Ratio: 8:1
- # of Internships8: 37
- Average Class Size: 11 (UG)/9 (GR)
Faculty/Staff Profile
Fall 2023 HC
- Full-Time Faculty: 113
- Part-Time Faculty9: 360
- Staff (FT + PT): 399
Retention/Graduation Rates
- First-Year Retention of New First-Time Freshmen (Fall 2022 Cohort): 82%
- Six-Year Graduation Rates New First-Time Freshmen (Fall 2017 cohort): 83%
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Costs
- Yearly Undergrad Tuition and Fees: $49,942 (2 semesters, 2023-2024)
- Yearly Graduate Tuition and Fees: $52,726 (2 semesters, 2023-2024)
- Annual Operating Budget: $127 million (FY 2023)
- $44 million Board-designated endowment (as of 6/30, FY 2023)
- $93 million Donor-restricted endowment (as of 6/30, FY 2023)
Financial Aid
Calendar Year (CY) 2023 unless noted10
- Aid processed: $48,841,301 million
- Students with Financial Need11: 59%
- Students who Received Financial Aid12: 67%
- Students who Received ACCD Scholarship13: 58%
- Average Amount of Scholarship14: $6,829
- Undergraduates who received a Pell Grant15: 25%
- New full-time first-time degree/certificate seeking students who received a Pell Grant15: 20%
Undergraduate Enrollment by Major16
Fall 2023 HC
- Advertising/Creative Direction: 30
- Entertainment Design: 443
- Environmental Design/Spatial Experience Design: 49
- Film: 78
- Fine Art: 60
- First Year Immersion: 23
- Graphic Design: 231
- Illustration: 567
- Interaction Design: 105
- Photography: 56
- Product Design: 259
- Transportation: 153
- Non-Degree: 25
Graduate Enrollment by Major
Fall 2023 HC
- Art: 31
- Brand Design and Strategy: 16
- Grad Film/ Broadcast Cinema: 55
- Grad Environmental Design/Spatial Experience Design17: 21
- Furniture, Lightning, and Fixtures: 8
- Grad Graphic Design: 69
- Grad Transportation Systems and Design: 18
- Interaction Design: 8
- Industrial Design: 29
- Media Design Practices: 47
- Non-Degree: 1
Academic Programs and Distinctions
2023-202418
- Included in Graphic Design USA's 2023 GDUSA Top Graphic Design Schools.
- Included in The Princeton Review's 2024 list of the Top 50 Game Design programs.
- Included in Niche's 2024 list of Best Colleges for Architecture in California and Best Colleges for Film and Photography in America.
- Named one of 30 Best Film Schools in America by Backstage in 2024.
- Appears in The Hollywood Reporter's 2023 list of Top 25 Film Schools in America.
- ArtCenter President Karen Hofmann included in Los Angeles Business Journal's 2023 list of LA500 for Most Influential People in LA.
- Ranked #1 in The Young Ones Student Awards, a prestigious global advertising, design and digital marketing competition.
- Ranked #1 by Payscale's Best Undergraduate Art Schools by Salary Potential above all other art and design colleges. (updated 2023).
- Ranked #1 in Animation Career Review's 2023 Top 20 Graphic Design School Programs in California.
- Ranked #3 in Graphic Design (2023) and in U.S. News & World Report's list of Best Graduate School Rankings.
- Ranked #5 on Intelligent's 2023 rankings as the most innovative curriculum in the Top 21 Online Graphic Design Programs, and #8 best in the West in the Top 42 Master's in Graphic Design Degree programs.
- Ranked #5 (top 1%) in Animation Career Review's 2023 Top Graphic Design Schools and Colleges in the U.S.
- Ranked #6 in TechGuide's 2024 list of Best Bachelor's in Graphic Design degree programs.
- Ranked #7 in GradDegree.com's 2023 Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in California
- Ranked among Top 10 Game Design Programs (#9) in California for Animation Career Review's 2023 College Rankings.
- Ranked #12 in Animation Career Review's 2023 Top 50 Animation Schools in the U.S.
- Ranked #14 on TheWrap's Top 50 Film Schools for 2023.
- Ranked #14 in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2024 according to TopUniversities.com.
- Ranked #26 in Regional Universities West and #26 in Top Performers on Social Mobility in U.S. News & World Report's 2024 list.
Employment
Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 figures19
- 95%: Job Placement Rate for Classes of 2021–2022 Bachelor’s (One-Year Out Graduates, 88% Knowledge Rate)
- 96%: Job Placement Rate for the Classes of 2021–2022 Masters (One-Year Out Graduates, 80% Knowledge Rate)
- 96%: Percent of Classes of 2021–2022 Bachelor’s Graduates that indicated Post-Graduation Occupation was Related or Very Related to their Program/Area of Study (One-Year Out Graduates, 88% Knowledge Rate)
- 95%: Percent of the Classes of 2021–2022 Master’s Graduates that indicated Post-Graduation Occupation was Related or Very Related to their Program/Area of Study (One-Year Out Graduates, 80% Knowledge Rate)
- $60,000 - $69,99920: Median salary for Classes of 2021–2022 Bachelor’s (One-Year Out Graduates, 83% survey response rate)
- $60,000 - $69,99920: Median salary for Classes of 2021–2022 Master’s (One-Year Out Graduates, 88% survey response rate)18
Post Graduate Studies 21
- 6% of Bachelor’s recipients from 2021-2022 indicated that they were subsequently enrolled fulltime in graduate level education within one year of graduation (88% Knowledge Rate)
ArtCenter Extension20
Calendar Year (CY) 2023 figures
- Year-round open enrollment programs for students of all ages. Courses offered at both campuses. ArtCenter Extension consists of three programs: ArtCenter Extension (ACX), ArtCenter Teens (ACT), and ArtCenter Kids (ACK).
- Course Enrollment in ArtCenter Extension: 2,099
- Course Enrollment in ArtCenter Online22: 69
- Many of the same faculty members teach in the College’s degree programs
- Staff: 7
- Total ACX faculty: 98
- ACX-only faculty: 64
- Faculty Shared with Degree Program: 34
- Course tuition is individually priced
- Typical tuition for one course in ACX $830, ACT $400, ACK $300
- Scholarship applications: 250
- Scholarships awarded: 218
Public Galleries23
- 3 Galleries: Alyce de Roulet Williamson Gallery, Peter and Merle Mullin Gallery, ArtCenter DTLA
- 7 exhibitions in CY 2023
Facilities
2023-2024
- 2 campuses: Hillside and South
- 162.66 acres
- 304,359 net sq. feet of academic/instructional facilities
Library
Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 figures
- Book volumes: 91,545
- DVDs and other cinema: 11,826
- Zines24: 1,094
- Video Games: 412
- Current periodical subscriptions: 464
- Research, Image, Video, and Training Databases: 47
- Gate count (i.e. Number of people who walk in the Library): 34,144
- Research/Reference questions: 352
- Instructional sessions: 44
- Total attendance in instructional sessions: 133
Undergraduates Students by Gender25
Fall 2023
- Male: 41%
- Female: 59%
- Another: 0%
Graduate Students by Gender25
Fall 2023
- Male: 44%
- Female: 56%
- Another: 0%
All Students by Gender25
Fall 2023
- Male: 41%
- Female: 59%
- Another: 0%
Undergraduate Students by Ethnicity25
Fall 2023
- International: 45%
- Hispanic/Latino: 10%
- American Indian/Alaska Native: 0%
- Asian: 30%
- Black/African American: 1%
- Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
- White: 9%
- Two or more races: 4%
- Unknown/Undeclared: 0%
Graduate Students by Ethnicity25
Fall 2023
- International: 68%
- Hispanic/Latino: 5%
- American Indian/Alaska Native: 0%
- Asian: 9%
- Black/African American: 3%
- Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
- White: 14%
- Two or more races: 2%
- Unknown/Undeclared: 0%
All Students by Ethnicity25
Fall 2023
- International: 48%
- Hispanic/Latino: 9%
- American Indian/Alaska Native: 0%
- Asian: 27%
- Black/African American: 2%
- Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
- White: 10%
- Two or more races: 4%
- Unknown/Undeclared: 0%
Faculty by Gender25
Fall 2023
Full-Time
- Male: 65%
- Female: 35%
- Another: 0%
Part-Time
- Male: 71%
- Female: 29%
- Another: 0%
Faculty by Ethnicity25
Fall 2023
Full-Time
- International: 2%
- Hispanic/Latino: 13%
- American Indian/Alaska Native: 1%
- Asian: 12%
- Black/African American: 4%
- Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
- White: 66%
- Two or more races: 2%
- Unknown/Undeclared: 0%
Part-Time
- International: 3%
- Hispanic/Latino: 8%
- American Indian/Alaska Native: 1%
- Asian: 17%
- Black/African American: 3%
- Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 1%
- White: 64%
- Two or more races: 2%
- Unknown/Undeclared: 2%
All Staff by Gender25
Fall 2023
- Male: 51%
- Female: 49%
- Another: 0%
All Staff by Ethnicity25
Fall 2023
- International: 1%
- Hispanic/Latino: 27%
- American Indian/Alaska Native: 1%
- Asian: 16%
- Black/African American: 6%
- Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
- White: 49%
- Two or more races: 1%
- Unknown/Undeclared: 1%
Executive Management26
7 in 2022-2023
- Male: 60%
- Female: 40%
- Another: 0%
Executive Management by Ethnicity26
Fall 2023
- International: 0%
- Hispanic/Latino: 0%
- American Indian/Alaska Native: 0%
- Asian: 0%
- Black/African American: 20%
- Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
- White: 80%
- Two or more races: 0%
- Unknown/Undeclared: 0%
Trustees
28 in 2022-2023
- Male: 71%
- Female: 29%
- Another: 0%
Trustees by Ethnicity
Fall 2023
- International: 0%
- Hispanic/Latino: 4%
- American Indian/Alaska Native: 0%
- Asian: 4%
- Black/African American: 18%
- Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
- White: 68%
- Two or more races: 4%
- Unknown/Undeclared: 4%
- 1 Acceptance Rate = Total Accepted Students/Total Applications (including incomplete applications) (note: this differs from IPEDS).
- 2 SATs are optional and only recorded for students who submitted scores.
- 3 CY = Calendar Year
- 4 Data as reported to IPEDS. Differs from internal institutional reports.
- 5 FTE = Full-Time Headcount + (Total PT Credits/12)
- 6 UG = Undergraduate, GR = Graduate
- 7 First-Time Freshmen and New Transfers are coded according to IPEDS definitions.
- 8 Number of internships for credit.
- 9 Part-time faculty who do not teach courses but who may serve as advisors in particular programs are included in count.
- 10 Total aid processed by Financial Aid. This model historically uses Calendar Year 1/1-12/31.
- 11 Percentage = number of students with need/number of students receiving financial aid in Calendar Year.
- 12 Percentage = students receiving financial aid/unduplicated enrollment count from Enrollment Services in Calendar Year.
- 13 Percentage = students receiving ArtCenter scholarship in Calendar Year/unduplicated enrollment count from Enrollment Services.
- 14 Average Institutional scholarship received in Fall 2023 term. For CY21 average aid per term was used.
- 15 Pell Grant reported to IPEDS uses Fall 2022 data. Category sourced from IPEDS reporting.
- 16 Advertising became Creative Direction and Undergraduate Environmental Design became Spatial Experience Design in Spring 2022. First Year Immersion was launched in 2022. Students matriculate into a degree program after completing first year.
- 17 Graduate Environmental Design was split into two programs and renamed Graduate Spatial Experience Design and Graduate Furniture, Lighting and Fixtures in 2022.
- 18 Rankings include what is currently available to the public.
- 19 Data sourced from the College’s annual Graduate Employment Survey distributed to One-Year Out Graduates and from the Knowledge Rate internet research, for graduates from the classes of Fall 2021, Spring 2022, and Summer 2022. Job Placement Rates are calculated using data from both sources: graduates who indicated the survey a primary status of “Working full-time”, “Working part-time”, or “Enrolled in additional education” one-year post-graduation or had current employment information available publicly.
- 20 In 2023, the question was transitioned to a salary range to provide robust information for One-Year Out graduates.
- 21 Post-Graduation Studies is calculated using the following selections from the survey responses: graduates indicating they were “Enrolling in additional education” one-year post-graduation (not necessarily their primary status) in the annual Graduate Employment Survey or indicated via Knowledge Rate Internet Research.
- 22 Effective May 2023: ArtCenter Online as a separate entity was streamlined and courses integrated into the ArtCenter Extension division.
- 23 Public Galleries information reflects 2023 responses.
- 24 A zine is a small-edition, self-published work of original or appropriated texts, comics, collages, stories and/or images, usually reproduced via photocopier or risograph.
- 25 All ethnicities and gender reflect IPEDS definitions.
- 26 Executive Management is made up of President/CEO, Provost, Senior Vice President/CFO, Senior Vice President of Development, Senior Vice President, Admissions and Enrollment Management, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications, and Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer.