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Pacific Northwest College of Art: Rankings, Admissions, Cost & Majors

Fair Price Value for Your Money
75% Acceptance Rate
8% Student Loan Default Rate

Pacific Northwest College of Art is a private not-for-profit institution in Portland, Oregon enrolling 420 undergraduates. It accepts 75% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 29%, near the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #5,074 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 98%), 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.

How Is Pacific Northwest College of Art Ranked?

Pacific Northwest College of Art ranks #5,074 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 98%.

#5,074 Best Colleges in Nation
#59 Best Colleges in OR
Pacific Northwest College of Art ranking badge

2027 Rankings

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.

Overall Quality

According to College Factual’s 2027 analysis, PNCA is ranked #5,074 out of 5,159 schools in the nation that were analyzed for overall quality.

Within the state, PNCA holds the #59 spot on the Best Colleges in Oregon ranking.

See all of the rankings for Pacific Northwest College of Art.

Is It Hard to Get Into Pacific Northwest College of Art?

75% Acceptance Rate
78% Of Accepted Are Women

Acceptance Rate

The acceptance rate at Pacific Northwest College of Art is 75%. That’s higher than the rate at many schools, but still low enough to be considered somewhat selective. If you want to get in, you’ll need good grades and to be able to show that PNCA is a good fit for you.

Learn more about Pacific Northwest College of Art admissions.

What Is the Student-to-Faculty Ratio at Pacific Northwest College of Art?

9 to 1 Student to Faculty
19% Full Time Teachers

Student to Faculty Ratio

At PNCA, the student to faculty ratio is an excellent 9 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.

Percent of Full-Time Faculty

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 Pacific Northwest College of Art is 19%. This is lower than the national average of 47%.

Full-Time Faculty Percent  19 out of 100
0
100

What Are the Graduation and Retention Rates at Pacific Northwest College of Art?

69% Freshmen Retention
29% On-Time Graduation Rate

Freshmen Retention Rate

The freshmen retention rate tells us what percentage of first-year, full-time students choose to continue on to their sophomore year at a particular school. The rate at Pacific Northwest College of Art is 69%, which is about average when compared to the national rate of 68%.

Freshmen Retention Rate  69 out of 100
0
100

Graduation Rate

The on-time graduation rate is the percent of first-time, full-time students who get their bachelor’s degree within four years. At PNCA this rate is 29%, which is about average when compared to the national rate of 33.3%.

On-Time Graduation Rate  29 out of 100
0
100

Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Pacific Northwest College of Art.

How Diverse Is Pacific Northwest College of Art?

420 Undergraduate Students
34.8% Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
78.0% Percent Women

The current enrollment includes 420 undergraduates at PNCA.

Get more detailed information on the diversity at Pacific Northwest College of Art.

How Much Does Pacific Northwest College of Art Cost?

$17,140 Net Price
52% Take Out Loans
$26,736 Total Student Loans

The overall average net price of PNCA 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.

Net Price by Income Group for PNCA

$0-30 K $30K-48K $48-75 $75-110K $110K +
$28,219 $30,517 $30,916 $36,998 $44,522

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 PNCA, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.

Student Loan Debt

Almost 66% of college students who graduated with the class of 2018 took out student loans, but that percentage varies from school to school. At PNCA, approximately 52% of students took out student loans averaging $6,684 a year. That adds up to $26,736 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 8.2%. Although this is lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, you’ll still want to keep this in mind when taking out student loans. Get more details about paying for Pacific Northwest College of Art.

How Much Do Pacific Northwest C of Art Graduates Earn?

$34,883 Avg Salary of Grads
Low Earnings Boost

The pay for some majors is higher than others, but on average, students who graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Pacific Northwest College of Art make about $34,883 a year during their first few years of employment after graduation. This is about 29% less than the average pay for college graduates overall. However, graduates with your major may make more. Average Salary for Pacific Northwest College of Art Graduates

See which majors at Pacific Northwest College of Art make the most money.

Where Is Pacific Northwest College of Art Located?

Oregon State
420 Undergraduate Students
Large City Campus Setting

Pacific Northwest College of Art is an private not-for-profit institution found in Portland, Oregon. Portland is a great location for students who prefer city over country life. Get more details about the location of Pacific Northwest College of Art.

Location of Pacific Northwest College of Art

Contact details for Pacific Northwest College of Art are given below.

Contact Details
Address: 511 NW Broadway, Portland, OR 97209-3404
Phone: 5032264391
Website: pnca.edu
Facebook: www.facebook.com/PNCA.PORTLAND
Twitter: twitter.com/pnca

What Majors Does Pacific Northwest College of Art Offer?

4 Majors With Completions
212 Undergraduate Degrees

In the latest year of available data, students from 4 majors graduated from Pacific Northwest College of Art. 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 106 NA
Fine & Studio Arts 38 $25,083
Design & Applied Arts 34 $20,535
General Visual & Performing Arts 20 NA
Writing Studies 6 NA
Cultural Studies & Analysis 6 NA
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 2 NA

Learn more about the majors offered at Pacific Northwest College of Art along with which ones have the highest average starting salaries.

Want to see how other colleges compare to PNCA? Pit them head to head with College Combat, our free tool for head-to-head college comparisons.

Notes and References

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

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