by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is the data on what it actually costs to attend California Institute of the Arts, from sticker cost of attendance and projected degree cost to net price, debt at graduation, and aid breakdowns.
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The cost of attendance at California Institute of the Arts works out to about $78,425.00 annually.
Below, the published cost is shown three ways — the full sticker price with no aid, the net price after the average grant package, and the net price for low-income students who typically receive the most aid.
| Tuition and fees | $58,996.00 |
| + Room, board & other expenses | $19,429.00 |
| Total cost | $78,425.00 |
| That is 139% above the national average net price. |
| Total cost | $78,425.00 |
| − Grants and scholarships | −$31,480.00 |
| Net price | $46,945.00 |
| That is 43% above the national average net price. |
| Total cost | $78,425.00 |
| − Grants and scholarships | −$50,874.00 |
| Net price | $27,551.00 |
| That is 16% below the national average net price. | |
| Explore each piece on the tuition & fees page plus living costs. |
The reported cost series has been increasing at about 3.3% per year; the projections below compound that across a degree. Below, the cost is projected across a degree for three students at once — low-income with aid, average aid, and no aid. Loan totals assume a ten-year repayment at 6.8%.
| Projected 4-year net costs | Low Income w/ Aid | w/ Average Aid | No Aid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual growth rate | 3.3% | 3.3% | 3.3% |
| Freshman year | $28,470.00 | $48,511.00 | $81,041.00 |
| Senior year | $31,416.00 | $53,530.00 | $89,426.00 |
| Total 4-year net price | $119,708.00 | $203,973.00 | $340,752.00 |
| 10-year loan interest @ 6.8% | $45,604.00 | $77,707.00 | $129,814.00 |
| Total monthly payment | $1,378.00 | $2,347.00 | $3,921.00 |
| Total amount paid | $165,312.00 | $281,680.00 | $470,567.00 |
| Projected 2-year net costs | Low Income w/ Aid | w/ Average Aid | No Aid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual growth rate | 3.3% | 3.3% | 3.3% |
| Freshman year | $28,470.00 | $48,511.00 | $81,041.00 |
| Senior year | $29,420.00 | $50,130.00 | $83,745.00 |
| Total 2-year net price | $57,890.00 | $98,641.00 | $164,787.00 |
| 10-year loan interest @ 6.8% | $22,054.00 | $37,579.00 | $62,778.00 |
| Total monthly payment | $666.00 | $1,135.00 | $1,896.00 |
| Total amount paid | $79,944.00 | $136,220.00 | $227,565.00 |
For the complete net-price picture, see the net-price section.
The net price is the real out-of-pocket cost — what families pay after grant and scholarship aid is applied. For most families it is a more realistic figure than the published cost.
| Average net price (on-campus) | $46,080.00 |
| Average net price (off-campus) | $49,685.00 |
Net price is not the same for every family — it falls as financial need rises and grant aid increases. The table below shows the average net price by family-income bracket:
| Family income | Average net price |
|---|---|
| Under $30,000 | $33,802.00 |
| $30,000 to $48,000 | $37,082.00 |
| $48,001 to $75,000 | $35,788.00 |
| $75,001 to $110,000 | $44,448.00 |
| Over $110,000 | $59,106.00 |
Get a tailored estimate from the California Institute of the Arts Net Price Calculator, or get in touch with the financial aid office.
For the grant-and-scholarship detail behind these figures, see the financial aid breakdown.
The median amount borrowed by graduates of California Institute of the Arts is $16,994.00, which the Department of Education classifies as a Low ($10-20k) burden category.
The full distribution of debt at graduation looks like this:
| Percentile | Debt at graduation |
|---|---|
| 10th | $7,500.00 |
| 25th | $16,398.00 |
| Median (50th) | $16,994.00 |
| 75th | $36,000.00 |
| 90th | $45,500.00 |
The spread between the 10th and 90th percentiles reflects how variable debt outcomes are at this school.
Read the complete debt breakdown on the student loan debt page.
Median debt at graduation differs meaningfully across income brackets. Below, debt is broken out by low, middle, and high family income:
| Family income | Median debt at graduation |
|---|---|
| Low income | $20,000.00 |
| Middle income | $17,313.00 |
| High income | $14,000.00 |
Low-income graduates carry $6,000.00 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 | $20,000.00 |
| Continuing-generation students | $13,000.00 |
First-gen students at California Institute of the Arts leave with $7,000.00 more median debt than continuing-generation peers.
Pell Grants are the largest source of federal need-based aid for undergrads. Pell vs non-Pell comparisons surface how debt breaks down by need.
The gap between Pell-eligible and non-Pell median debt at California Institute of the Arts works out to $8,000.00. This institution is flagged by federal data for Pell-debt inequity.
The federal default-rate tier for California Institute of the Arts is Low (<5%).
| Window | Cohort default rate |
|---|---|
| 2-year | 4.1% |
For scale, federal Stafford loan disbursements at California Institute of the Arts come to $205,318,572.00 across 5,691 student borrowers.
Veterans and active-duty students can access dedicated federal education aid including the GI Bill and Department of Defense tuition support.
| GI Bill recipients | 12 |
| Avg GI Bill amount | $19,113.00 |
Dig into veteran education benefits on the college veterans page.
Use the figures above as a launch point, then think through California Institute of the Arts, think through the questions below:
Use the pages below to go deeper on a specific part of the cost story:
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.