by our College Data Analytics TeamCalifornia Institute of the Arts is a private not-for-profit institution in Valencia, California enrolling 860 undergraduates. It accepts 32% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 67%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #1,324 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 26%), 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.
California Institute of the Arts ranks #1,324 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 26%.
In its yearly rankings, College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities to determine which ones are the best in a variety of categories, such as overall value, quality, diversity, which schools are the best for each major, and much more.
California Institute of the Arts was awarded 4 badges in the 2027 rankings.
College Factual ranked CalArts as #1,324 out of 5,159 colleges and universities in the country on its 2027 Best Colleges list.
CalArts also holds the #152 spot on the Best Colleges in California ranking.
See all of the rankings for California Institute of the Arts.
California Institute of the Arts has an acceptance rate of 32%, which means the school is serious about who it admits. Take your time in putting together a strong application that highlights why you are a good fit for CalArts.
Learn more about California Institute of the Arts admissions.
At CalArts, the student to faculty ratio is an excellent 7 to 1. That’s much better than the national average of 15 to 1. This indicates that many classes will probably be small, and students will have ample opportunities to work closely with their professors and classmates.
When estimating how much access students will have to their teachers, some people like to look at what percentage of faculty members are full time. This is because part-time teachers may not have as much time to spend on campus as their full-time counterparts.
The full-time faculty percentage at California Institute of the Arts is 45%. This is comparable to the national average of 47%.
California Institute of the Arts has a freshmen retention rate of 82%. 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.
Students are considered to have graduated on time if they finish their studies within four years. At CalArts the on-time graduation rate of first-time, full-time students is 67%. That is great when compared to the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at California Institute of the Arts.
In the current academic year, there are 860 undergraduates at CalArts.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at California Institute of the Arts.
The overall average net price of CalArts 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 + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $26,686 | $40,899 | $51,847 | $38,627 | $58,873 |
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 CalArts, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
It’s not uncommon for college students to take out loans to pay for school. In fact, almost 66% of students nationwide depend at least partially on loans. At CalArts, approximately 36% of students took out student loans averaging $6,716 a year. That adds up to $26,864 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 4.1%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you’ll be able to pay back your student loans. Get more details about paying for California Institute of the Arts.
Yearly salaries vary depending on what you major in, but on average, bachelor’s degree recipients from California Institute of the Arts make around $41,198 per year during the early years of their employment. Unfortunately, this is 16% 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 California Institute of the Arts make the most money.
California Institute of the Arts is an private not-for-profit institution found in Valencia, California. Valencia is a good match for students who enjoy the safety and convenience of the suburbs. Get more details about the location of California Institute of the Arts.
Contact information for California Institute of the Arts are given below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 24700 W McBean Pky, Valencia, CA 91355-2397 |
| Phone: | 6612551050 |
| Website: | www.calarts.edu |
| Facebook: | facebook.com/calarts |
In the most recent reporting year, students from 7 majors graduated from California Institute of the Arts. 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 | 408 | NA |
| Drama & Theater Arts | 84 | $24,523 |
| Music | 72 | $16,906 |
| Graphic Communications | 67 | NA |
| Film, Video & Photographic Arts | 64 | $24,869 |
| Fine & Studio Arts | 42 | $16,410 |
| Computer Software Applications | 20 | NA |
| Dance | 17 | $22,773 |
| Design & Applied Arts | 15 | NA |
| Writing Studies | 11 | NA |
Want to see how other colleges compare to CalArts? Match them up using College Combat, a free interactive tool for comparing colleges on the features you care about.
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.
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