by our College Data Analytics TeamThis overview lays out the cost of attending Cleveland Institute of Art, from the published cost of attendance and projected degree cost through to net price, median student debt at graduation, default outcomes, and how aid varies by family income.
Use the section links below to navigate this overview:
The cost of attendance at Cleveland Institute of Art is about $62,966.00 per academic year.
Here the cost is broken out three ways: no aid, average aid, and the aid a low-income student typically receives.
| Tuition and fees | $49,400.00 |
| + Room, board & other expenses | $13,566.00 |
| Total cost | $62,966.00 |
| That is 92% above the national average net price. |
| Total cost | $62,966.00 |
| − Grants and scholarships | −$35,379.00 |
| Net price | $27,587.00 |
| That is 16% below the national average net price. |
| Total cost | $62,966.00 |
| − Grants and scholarships | −$41,164.00 |
| Net price | $21,802.00 |
| That is 34% below the national average net price. | |
| Explore each piece on the tuition & fees page plus living costs. |
Cost of attendance here has been rising by around 2.8% a year, so a full degree will cost more than a single year — the tables below carry that forward. These tables carry the cost across a degree for three cases: low-income w/ aid, average aid, and no aid. The repayment figures use a ten-year loan at 6.8%.
| Projected 4-year net costs | Low Income w/ Aid | w/ Average Aid | No Aid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual growth rate | 2.8% | 2.8% | 2.8% |
| Freshman year | $22,409.00 | $28,355.00 | $64,719.00 |
| Senior year | $24,333.00 | $30,790.00 | $70,276.00 |
| Total 4-year net price | $93,449.00 | $118,245.00 | $269,889.00 |
| 10-year loan interest @ 6.8% | $35,601.00 | $45,047.00 | $102,818.00 |
| Total monthly payment | $1,075.00 | $1,361.00 | $3,106.00 |
| Total amount paid | $129,050.00 | $163,292.00 | $372,707.00 |
| Projected 2-year net costs | Low Income w/ Aid | w/ Average Aid | No Aid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual growth rate | 2.8% | 2.8% | 2.8% |
| Freshman year | $22,409.00 | $28,355.00 | $64,719.00 |
| Senior year | $23,033.00 | $29,144.00 | $66,521.00 |
| Total 2-year net price | $45,442.00 | $57,499.00 | $131,240.00 |
| 10-year loan interest @ 6.8% | $17,312.00 | $21,905.00 | $49,998.00 |
| Total monthly payment | $523.00 | $662.00 | $1,510.00 |
| Total amount paid | $62,754.00 | $79,405.00 | $181,237.00 |
For the complete net-price picture, see the net-price section.
Net price is what students actually pay after grants and scholarships are subtracted from the published sticker price. For most students, this is the more useful number than published tuition because it reflects the real out-of-pocket cost.
| Average net price (on-campus) | $29,208.00 |
| Average net price (off-campus) | $41,480.00 |
The real cost varies by income because need-based aid scales with financial need. Below, average net price is broken out by family income:
| Family income | Average net price |
|---|---|
| Under $30,000 | $23,681.00 |
| $30,000 to $48,000 | $24,660.00 |
| $48,001 to $75,000 | $24,259.00 |
| $75,001 to $110,000 | $25,440.00 |
| Over $110,000 | $61,310.00 |
Run your own numbers with the Cleveland Institute of Art Net Price Calculator, or contact the financial aid office.
Want to know how that aid is awarded? See the financial aid breakdown.
The typical debt load for borrowers leaving Cleveland Institute of Art amounts to $26,500.00, landing it in the Moderate ($20-30k) debt-load classification.
Across borrowers, debt at graduation distributes like this:
| Percentile | Debt at graduation |
|---|---|
| 10th | $5,500.00 |
| 25th | $12,500.00 |
| Median (50th) | $26,500.00 |
| 75th | $30,250.00 |
| 90th | $41,750.00 |
The gap between 10th and 90th percentile borrowers gives a sense of how uneven debt outcomes are.
For the full borrowing and repayment picture, see the student loan debt page.
Family income tracks closely with debt at graduation. Below the data splits borrowers across three income groups:
| Family income | Median debt at graduation |
|---|---|
| Low income | $26,625.00 |
| Middle income | $27,000.00 |
| High income | $25,000.00 |
Low-income graduates carry $1,625.00 in additional median debt versus high-income graduates.
First-gen students typically face different financial-aid contexts than students whose parents attended college.
| Student group | Median debt at graduation |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $26,500.00 |
| Continuing-generation students | $26,700.00 |
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 median debt difference between Pell-eligible and non-Pell graduates of Cleveland Institute of Art comes to $4,750.00. This institution is flagged by federal data for Pell-debt inequity.
The Department of Education default-rate tier for Cleveland Institute of Art is Low (<5%).
| Window | Cohort default rate |
|---|---|
| 2-year | 2.4% |
For scale, federal Stafford loan disbursements at Cleveland Institute of Art amount to $57,747,297.00 spread across 2,622 disbursements.
Veterans and active-duty servicemembers can tap dedicated federal aid programs including the Post-9/11 GI Bill and Department of Defense Tuition Assistance.
| GI Bill recipients | 5 |
| Avg GI Bill amount | $21,196.00 |
For the full rundown of veteran and military benefits, see the veterans benefits detail.
Numbers only tell part of the story. As you weigh Cleveland Institute of Art, consider the following:
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.