by our College Data Analytics TeamAcademy of Art University is a private for-profit institution in San Francisco, California enrolling 3,587 undergraduates. It has an on-time graduation rate of 34%, near the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #2,490 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 48%), and its Value for Your Money analysis rates it a Fair Price.
Source: IPEDS 2025; College Scorecard July 2026; College Factual rankings 2027. Data as of: July 2026.
Academy of Art University ranks #2,490 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 48%.
College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities in its annual rankings and ranks them in a variety of ways, including most diverse, best overall quality, best for non-traditional students, and much more.
College Factual ranked Academy of Art University as #2,490 out of 5,159 colleges and universities in the country on its 2027 Best Colleges list.
Academy of Art University also holds the #260 spot on the Best Colleges in California ranking.
See all of the rankings for Academy of Art University.
Learn more about Academy of Art University admissions.
With a student to faculty ratio of 14 to 1, Academy of Art University is about average in this regard as the nationwide rate is 15 to 1. While this does not translate directly to class size, it’s a good indicator of how much time professors will have to spend with their students on a one-on-one basis.
In addition to the student to faculty ratio, some people look at what percentage of faculty members are full-time as a sign of how much time professors will be able to spend with their students. This is because part-time teachers may not be on campus as much as their full-time counterparts.
The full-time faculty percentage at Academy of Art University is 16%. This is lower than the national average of 47%.
Academy of Art University has a freshmen retention rate of 75%. That’s a good sign that full-time students like the school and their professors enough to want to stick around for another year. It’s also a sign that the admissions team did a good job in choosing applicants who were a good fit for the school.
The on-time graduation rate is the percent of first-time, full-time students who get their bachelor’s degree within four years. At Academy of Art University this rate is 34%, which is about average when compared to the national rate of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Academy of Art University.
In the current academic year, there are 3,587 undergraduates at Academy of Art University.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at Academy of Art University.
The overall average net price of Academy of Art University is $17,140. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.
| $0-30 K | $30K-48K | $48-75 | $75-110K | $110K + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $37,668 | $36,340 | $43,874 | $43,953 | $44,082 |
The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of Academy of Art University, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
While almost two-thirds of students nationwide take out loans to pay for college, the percentage may be quite different for the school you plan on attending. At Academy of Art University, approximately 49% of students took out student loans averaging $7,389 a year. That adds up to $29,556 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 10.9%. This is about the same as the national default rate of 10.1%. Get more details about paying for Academy of Art University.
The pay for some majors is higher than others, but on average, students who graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Academy of Art University make about $39,008 a year during their first few years of employment after graduation. Unfortunately, this is 21% less than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year. However, graduates in your major field may make more.
See which majors at Academy of Art University make the most money.
Academy of Art University is an private for-profit institution found in San Francisco, California. The surrounding area of the school is a good match for students who enjoy city life. Get more details about the location of Academy of Art University.
Get in touch with Academy of Art University are given below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 79 New Montgomery, San Francisco, CA 94105 |
| Phone: | 8005442787 |
| Website: | www.academyart.edu |
| Wikipedia: | en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_of_Art_University |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/AcademyofArtUniversity |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/academy_of_art |
In the latest year of available data, students from 10 majors graduated from Academy of Art University. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.
| Most Popular Majors | Completions | Average Salary of Graduates |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-Disciplinary Studies | 1,134 | NA |
| Computer Software Applications | 248 | $50,010 |
| Drafting & Design Engineering | 186 | $52,439 |
| Graphic Communications | 172 | $27,837 |
| Design & Applied Arts | 129 | $34,202 |
| Film, Video & Photographic Arts | 93 | $35,725 |
| Fine & Studio Arts | 72 | $31,683 |
| General Visual & Performing Arts | 60 | $29,642 |
| Textile & Apparel Studies | 51 | $32,156 |
| Drama & Theater Arts | 30 | $18,335 |
3,316 students took at least one online class at Academy of Art University.
Online learning is becoming popular at even the oldest colleges and universities in the United States. Not only are online classes great for returning adults with busy schedules, they are also frequented by a growing number of traditional students.
Learn more about online learning at Academy of Art University.
Curious how schools stack up against Academy of Art University? Compare them side by side using College Combat, our free interactive tool that lets you compare colleges on the features that matter most to you.
Footnotes
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.