Here is what you can expect to pay at Art Center College of Design, including attendance costs, projected four- and two-year degree costs, average net price, debt outcomes, and how aid is distributed across income levels.
Use the links below to jump straight to any section on this page:
The full cost of attending Art Center College of Design amounts to about $71,652.00 per academic year.
Cost is shown below as the full sticker price, the average net price after aid, and the low-income net price.
| Tuition and fees | $54,170.00 |
| + Room, board & other expenses | $17,482.00 |
| Total cost | $71,652.00 |
| That is 118% above the national average net price. |
| Total cost | $71,652.00 |
| − Grants and scholarships | −$26,988.00 |
| Net price | $44,664.00 |
| That is 36% above the national average net price. |
| Total cost | $71,652.00 |
| − Grants and scholarships | −$36,004.00 |
| Net price | $35,648.00 |
| That is 9% above the national average net price. | |
| Go deeper on the components with tuition and fees and room and board. |
Costs have trended upward in recent years by around 4.1% annually, so the projections below total more than one year of attendance. The projections below run a full degree for a low-income aided student, an average-aid student, and the full sticker price. The loan rows amortise the projected total over a ten-year, 6.8% repayment.
| Projected 4-year net costs | Low Income w/ Aid | w/ Average Aid | No Aid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual growth rate | 4.1% | 4.1% | 4.1% |
| Freshman year | $37,104.00 | $46,488.00 | $74,578.00 |
| Senior year | $41,837.00 | $52,418.00 | $84,091.00 |
| Total 4-year net price | $157,755.00 | $197,654.00 | $317,085.00 |
| 10-year loan interest @ 6.8% | $60,099.00 | $75,299.00 | $120,798.00 |
| Total monthly payment | $1,815.00 | $2,275.00 | $3,649.00 |
| Total amount paid | $217,853.00 | $272,952.00 | $437,882.00 |
| Projected 2-year net costs | Low Income w/ Aid | w/ Average Aid | No Aid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual growth rate | 4.1% | 4.1% | 4.1% |
| Freshman year | $37,104.00 | $46,488.00 | $74,578.00 |
| Senior year | $38,619.00 | $48,386.00 | $77,623.00 |
| Total 2-year net price | $75,722.00 | $94,874.00 | $152,201.00 |
| 10-year loan interest @ 6.8% | $28,847.00 | $36,143.00 | $57,983.00 |
| Total monthly payment | $871.00 | $1,092.00 | $1,752.00 |
| Total amount paid | $104,570.00 | $131,017.00 | $210,184.00 |
Read more in the net price section below.
The net price is the real out-of-pocket cost — what families pay after grant and scholarship aid is applied. It is usually a better planning number than the sticker cost above.
| Average net price (on-campus) | $48,661.00 |
| Average net price (off-campus) | $50,209.00 |
Net price varies sharply by family income, dropping as need-based aid grows. Here is the average net price for each family-income range:
| Family income | Average net price |
|---|---|
| Under $30,000 | $42,545.00 |
| $30,000 to $48,000 | $40,905.00 |
| $48,001 to $75,000 | $46,301.00 |
| $75,001 to $110,000 | $52,165.00 |
| Over $110,000 | $60,976.00 |
For a personalized estimate, try the Art Center College of Design Net Price Calculator, or visit the financial aid office.
Curious how grants and scholarships are distributed? Explore the financial aid breakdown.
Typical debt at graduation from Art Center College of Design comes to $26,000.00, placing the school in the Moderate ($20-30k) debt-load classification.
The full distribution of debt at graduation looks like this:
| Percentile | Debt at graduation |
|---|---|
| 10th | $5,500.00 |
| 25th | $18,000.00 |
| Median (50th) | $26,000.00 |
| 75th | $41,000.00 |
| 90th | $51,638.00 |
The spread between the 10th and 90th percentiles reflects how variable debt outcomes are at this school.
Explore borrowing, repayment, and default in detail on the student-loan-debt breakdown.
Family income tracks closely with debt at graduation. The figures below split graduating borrowers into three income brackets:
| Family income | Median debt at graduation |
|---|---|
| Low income | $28,500.00 |
| Middle income | $26,800.00 |
| High income | $23,288.00 |
Low-income graduates carry $5,212.00 more debt than their high-income peers.
First-generation college students often carry different debt loads than their continuing-generation peers.
| Student group | Median debt at graduation |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $27,906.00 |
| Continuing-generation students | $25,000.00 |
First-gen students at Art Center College of Design carry $2,906.00 more median debt than continuing-generation peers.
The Pell Grant is the main federal need-based award for undergraduates. Looking at Pell recipients versus non-recipients tells us how debt is distributed across need.
The Pell-versus-non-Pell median debt difference at Art Center College of Design works out to $6,850.00. This institution is flagged by federal data for Pell-debt inequity.
The Department of Education default-rate tier for Art Center College of Design is Low (<5%).
| Window | Cohort default rate |
|---|---|
| 2-year | 5.1% |
For context on the loan portfolio, Stafford disbursements at Art Center College of Design total $187,749,867.00 distributed across 5,770 disbursements.
Veterans and active-duty service members may qualify for substantial federal education benefits including the Post-9/11 GI Bill and Department of Defense Tuition Assistance.
| GI Bill recipients | 18 |
| Avg GI Bill amount | $21,616.00 |
Explore GI Bill and military aid in detail on the college veterans page.
Numbers only tell part of the story. As you weigh Art Center College of Design, the questions below are worth your time:
Dig further into the cost picture with the related pages below:
Data sources. Figures on this page draw from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), and MediaFactual editorial review. Net-price calculator and financial-aid office links are taken from the institution’s own published data.