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 2,237 students (61% female and 39% male, representing more than 60 countries), the College has a student/faculty ratio of 11 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, 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.
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.
ArtCenter on College Navigator
Want to know more? Drill down into our data below.
General Info
- Year Founded: 1930
- Affiliation: Private, nonprofit
- Accreditations: WSCUC
- Applications: Accepted: Spring, Fall
- Semesters: 15-week Terms
- Link to College Navigator website information
Admissions
Headcount (HC) unless noted (Fall 2025)
- UG Acceptance Rate1: 69%
- UG Percentage Male/Female (New Students): 38% / 62%
- Average SAT Verbal/Average SAT Math2 = 666 / 649
- Average High School GPA3 = 3.48
- Average Prior College GPA3 = 3.44
- Percentage of New Undergraduate Students from:
- California: 45%
- Out of State: 7%
- International: 48%
- UG Applications Received (CY3 2024) : 1,831
- UG Acceptance Rate1 (CY 2024): 71%
- GR applications received (CY 2024): 726
- GR Acceptance Rate (CY 2024): 61%
Enrollment
HC (Fall 2025)4
- Undergraduate Students: 2,011
- Graduate Students: 226
- Total FTE5 (UG + GR6): 2133.5
- Percentage New First-Time Freshman/New Transfers7: 73% / 27%
- Average Age for New First-Time Freshmen: 18
- Average Age for New Degree-Seeking UG Students: 19
- Average Age for Undergraduate Students: 22
- Average Age for Graduate Students: 27
- Student/Faculty Ratio: 11:1
- Number of Internships8: 31
- Average Class Size: 11 (UG)/9 (GR)
Faculty/Staff
HC (Fall 2025)
- Full-Time (FT) Faculty: 73
- Part-Time (PT) Faculty9: 354
- Staff (FT + PT): 333
Retention/Graduation Rates
- First-Year Retention of New First-Time Freshmen (Fall 2024 Cohort): 89%
- Six-Year Graduation Rates New First-Time Freshmen (Fall 2019 cohort): 81%
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Costs
- Yearly Undergrad Tuition and Fees: $56,308 (2 semesters, 2025-2026)
- Yearly Graduate Tuition and Fees: $59,446 (2 semesters, 2025-2026)
- Annual Operating Budget: $120 million (FY 2025)
- $53 million Board-designated Endowment (as of 6/30, FY 2025)
- $129 million Donor-restricted Endowment (as of 6/30, FY 2025)
Financial Aid
Calendar Year (CY) 2025 unless noted10
- Aid Processed: $51,270,996 million
- Students with Financial Need11: 55%
- Students who Received Financial Aid12: 68%
- Students who Received ACCD Scholarship13: 61%
- Average Amount of Scholarship14: $7,445
- Undergraduates who received a Pell Grant15: 25%
- New Full-Time First-time Degree/certificate Seeking Students who Received a Pell Grant15: 21%
Undergrad Enrollment by Major16
HC (Fall 2025)
- Advertising/Creative Direction: 30
- Entertainment Design: 510
- Environmental Design/Spatial Experience Design: 44
- Film: 70
- Fine Art: 51
- First Year Immersion: 25
- Graphic Design: 206
- Illustration: 516
- Interaction Design: 121
- Photography and Imaging: 50
- Product Design: 233
- Transportation: 130
- Non-Degree: 22
Grad Enrollment by Major
HC (Fall 2025)
- Art: 25
- Brand Design and Strategy: 10
- Grad Film/ Broadcast Cinema: 31
- Grad Environmental Design/Spatial Experience Design17: 14
- Furniture, Lighting, and Fixtures: 0
- Grad Graphic Design: 51
- Grad Transportation Systems and Design: 0
- Interaction Design: 15
- Industrial Design: 34
- Media Design Practices: 45
- Non-Degree: 1
Academic Programs and Distinctions
2025-202618
- Included in Graphic Design USA's 2025 and 2026 GDUSA Top Graphic Design Schools.
- Included in The Princeton Review's 2026 list of the Top 50 Game Design programs.
- Included in Niche's 2026 list of Best Colleges for Design, Art, Film and Photography in America. Also, listed as one of the Best College Locations, Best Academics, Safest Colleges and Most Diverse Colleges in California.
- Named one of 30 Best Film Schools in America by Backstage in 2024.
- Appears in The Hollywood Reporter’s 2025 list of Top 25 Animation Schools in America.
- Appears in The Hollywood Reporter's 2025 list of Top 25 Film Schools in America.
- Ranked #1 by Payscale's Best Undergraduate Art Schools by Salary Potential above all other art and design colleges. (updated 2023).
- Ranked #1 on the West Coast in Animation Career Review’s 2025 Top Graphic Design Programs and Top Illustration Programs, Ranked #2 nationally in Top Graphic Design Programs and Top Private College Graphic Design Programs, Ranked #3 nationally in Illustration and Top Private College Illustration Programs, #3 in Best Illustration BFA Programs, #4 in Visual Effects (VFX) Schools and Colleges on the West Coast, #5 in Private Visual Effects (VFX) Schools and Colleges and #7 in Top Visual Effects (VFX) Schools and Colleges in the US.
- Ranked #2 in the 2025 and #4 in the 2026 Young Ones Student Awards, a prestigious global advertising, design and digital marketing competition.
- Ranked #3 in Animation Career Review’s 2026 Best BS Animation Programs in the U.S., #5 in Top Animation Schools and Colleges on the West Coast, #7 in Game Design Schools and Colleges in California and #9 in Game Design Schools and Colleges on the West Coast.
- Ranked #4 in Global Design Education Ranking 2024/25
- 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 #6 in TechGuide's 2024 list of Best Bachelor's in Graphic Design degree programs. [most recent rankings]
- Ranked #7 in GradDegree.com's 2023 Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in California [most recent rankings]
- Ranked #12 in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2026 for Art and Desing according to TopUniversities.com.
- Ranked #20 in Fine Arts (2025) and in U.S. News & World Report's list of Best Graduate School Rankings.
- Ranked #23 on TheWrap's Top 50 Film Schools for 2023.
- Ranked #34 in Regional Universities West and #31 in Top Performers on Social Mobility in U.S. News & World Report's 2025 list.
Employment
(FY 2025)19
- 90%: Employment Rate for Classes of 2023-2024 Bachelor’s (One-Year Out Graduates, 78% Knowledge Rate)
- 94%: Employment Rate for the Classes of 2023-2024 Masters (One-Year Out Graduates, 83% Knowledge Rate)
- 84%: Percent of Classes of 2023-2024 Bachelor’s Graduates that indicated Post-Graduation Occupation was Related or Very Related to their Program/Area of Study (One-Year Out Graduates, 78% Knowledge Rate)
- 91%: Percent of the Classes of 2023-2024 Master’s Graduates that indicated Post-Graduation Occupation was Related or Very Related to their Program/Area of Study (One-Year Out Graduates, 83% Knowledge Rate)
- $60,000 - $69,99920: Median salary for Classes of 2023-2024 Bachelor’s (One-Year Out Graduates, 77% survey response rate)
- $80,000 - $89,99920: Median salary for Classes of 2023-2024 Master’s (One-Year Out Graduates, 86% survey response rate)18
Post Graduate Studies 21
- 3% of Bachelor’s recipients from 2023-2024 indicated that they were subsequently enrolled fulltime in graduate level education within one year of graduation (78% Knowledge Rate)
ArtCenter Extension
Data for 2025 not available
Public Galleries23
- 3 Galleries: Alyce de Roulet Williamson Gallery, Peter and Merle Mullin Gallery, and HMCT Gallery
- 8 exhibitions in CY 2025
Facilities
(2025-2026)
- 2 campuses: Hillside and South
- 162.66 acres
- 304,359 net sq. feet of academic/instructional facilities
Library
(FY 2025)
- Book volumes: 79,110
- DVDs and other cinema: 11,713
- Zines24: 1,138
- Video Games: 421
- Current periodical subscriptions: 355
- Research, Image, Video, and Training Databases: 46
- Gate count (i.e. Number of people who walk in the Library): 34,875
- Research/Reference questions: 281
- Instructional sessions: 83
- Mobile App Sessions: 763
- Mobile App Page Views: 2,656
- Total attendance in instructional sessions: 456
Undergrad Students by Gender25
Fall 2025
- Male: 39%
- Female: 61%
- Another: 0%
Grad Students by Gender25
Fall 2025
- Male: 39%
- Female: 61%
- Another: 0%
All Students by Gender25
Fall 2025
- Male: 39%
- Female: 61%
- Another: 0%
Undergrad Students by Ethnicity25
Fall 2025
- International: 44%
- Hispanic/Latino: 9%
- American Indian/Alaska Native: 0%
- Asian: 30%
- Black/African American: 1%
- Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
- White: 10%
- Two or more races: 5%
- Unknown/Undeclared: 0%
Grad Students by Ethnicity25
Fall 2025
- International: 64%
- Hispanic/Latino: 4%
- American Indian/Alaska Native: 0%
- Asian: 12%
- Black/African American: 1%
- Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
- White: 17%
- Two or more races: 2%
- Unknown/Undeclared: 0%
All Students by Ethnicity25
Fall 2025
- International: 46%
- Hispanic/Latino: 8%
- American Indian/Alaska Native: 0%
- Asian: 28%
- Black/African American: 1%
- Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
- White: 11%
- Two or more races: 5%
- Unknown/Undeclared: 0%
Faculty by Gender25
Fall 2025
Full-Time
- Male: 68%
- Female: 32%
- Another: 0%
Part-Time
- Male: 71%
- Female: 29%
- Another: 0%
Faculty Ethnicity25
Fall 2025
Full-Time
- International: 0%
- Hispanic/Latino: 16%
- American Indian/Alaska Native: 1%
- Asian: 8%
- Black/African American: 3%
- Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
- White: 70%
- Two or more races: 1%
- Unknown/Undeclared: 0%
Part-Time
- International: 1%
- Hispanic/Latino: 8%
- American Indian/Alaska Native: 1%
- Asian: 21%
- Black/African American: 3%
- Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 1%
- White: 59%
- Two or more races: 2%
- Unknown/Undeclared: 4%
All Staff by Gender25
Fall 2025
- Male: 47%
- Female: 53%
- Another: 0%
All Staff by Ethnicity25
Fall 2025
- International: 1%
- Hispanic/Latino: 30%
- American Indian/Alaska Native: 0%
- Asian: 15%
- Black/African American: 5%
- Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
- White: 46%
- Two or more races: 1%
- Unknown/Undeclared: 2%
Executive Management26
(6 in 2025-2026)
Gender
- Male: 33%
- Female: 67%
- Another: 0%
Ethnicity
- International: 0%
- Hispanic/Latino: 17%
- American Indian/Alaska Native: 0%
- Asian: 0%
- Black/African American: 0%
- Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
- White: 83%
- Two or more races: 0%
- Unknown/Undeclared: 0%
Trustees
(23 in 2025-2026)
Gender
- Male: 65%
- Female: 35%
- Another: 0%
Ethnicity
- International: 0%
- Hispanic/Latino: 9%
- American Indian/Alaska Native: 0%
- Asian: 9%
- Black/African American: 13%
- Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
- White: 65%
- Two or more races: 0%
- 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 for Calendar Year.
- 13 Percentage = students receiving ArtCenter scholarship /unduplicated enrollment count for Calendar Year.
- 14 Average Institutional scholarship received in Fall 2025 term.
- 15 Pell Grant reported to IPEDS uses Fall 2024 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 2023, Spring 2024, and Summer 2024. Employment Rates (also referred to as 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 As of August 2024, ArtCenter Extension classes are under redesigning. Anticipated relaunch of the program is slated for 2026.
- 23 Public Galleries information reflects 2025 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 Advancement, Senior Vice President, Admissions and Enrollment Management, and Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications.