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2024 Best Graphic Design Schools in California

11 Colleges in California
1,327 Graphic Design Degrees Awarded
If you pursue a degree in graphic design, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #107 most popular program in the country. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.

College Factual reviewed 11 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of graphic design. Combined, these schools handed out 1,327 degrees in graphic design to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Graphic Design School

Best Graphic Design Schools in California Your choice of graphic design school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. We derive our Best Overall Graphic Design School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Pick Your Graphic Design Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Graphic Design
Bachelor's Degrees in Graphic Design
Master's Degrees in Graphic Design

The graphic design school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Graphic Design Schools in California. You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.

In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.

More information on how we come up with our rankings can be found here: College Factual's Data Methodology.


 

Best Schools for Graphic Design in California

The schools below may not offer all types of graphic design degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.

10 Top California Schools in Graphic Design

1
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
11th Most Popular In CA

FIDM/Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising - Los Angeles is a great choice for students interested in a degree in graphic design. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, FIDM Los Angeles is a private for-profit school with a small student population.

There were approximately 25 graphic design students who graduated with this degree at FIDM Los Angeles in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in graphic design from FIDM/Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising - Los Angeles

2
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
15th Most Popular In CA

It is hard to beat San Jose State University if you want to pursue a degree in graphic design. Located in the city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #161 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means San Jose State is a great university overall.

There were roughly 19 graphic design students who graduated with this degree at San Jose State in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in graphic design from San Jose State University

3
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In CA
99 Graphic Design Degrees Awarded

Art Center College of Design is a wonderful choice for students interested in a degree in graphic design. Art Center College of Design is a small private not-for-profit college located in the midsize city of Pasadena.

There were approximately 99 graphic design students who graduated with this degree at Art Center College of Design in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in graphic design from Art Center College of Design

4
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
12th Most Popular In CA

Every student who is interested in graphic design has to look into Chapman University. Located in the city of Orange, Chapman is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #191 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Chapman is a great university overall.

There were about 24 graphic design students who graduated with this degree at Chapman in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in graphic design from Chapman University

5
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
17th Most Popular In CA
26.7% Growth in Graduates

Otis College of Art and Design is a small private not-for-profit college located in the city of Los Angeles.

There were approximately 15 graphic design students who graduated with this degree at Otis College of Art and Design in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in graphic design from Otis College of Art and Design

5
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
9th Most Popular In CA
3.8% Growth in Graduates

LCAD is a fairly small private not-for-profit college located in the rural area of Laguna Beach.

There were about 26 graphic design students who graduated with this degree at LCAD in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in graphic design from Laguna College of Art and Design

6
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In CA
113 Graphic Design Degrees Awarded

Located in the suburb of Pomona, Cal Poly Pomona is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 65th out of 168 schools for overall quality in the state of California.

There were roughly 113 graphic design students who graduated with this degree at Cal Poly Pomona in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in graphic design from California State Polytechnic University - Pomona

7
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
6th Most Popular In CA
44 Graphic Design Degrees Awarded

Sac State is a fairly large public university located in the city of Sacramento. This university ranks 39th out of 168 schools for overall quality in the state of California.

There were roughly 44 graphic design students who graduated with this degree at Sac State in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in graphic design from California State University - Sacramento

8
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
8th Most Popular In CA
31 Graphic Design Degrees Awarded

Located in the city of Fresno, Fresno State is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 74th out of 168 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.

There were about 31 graphic design students who graduated with this degree at Fresno State in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in graphic design from California State University - Fresno

9
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
24th Most Popular In CA

CalArts is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Valencia.

There were roughly 12 graphic design students who graduated with this degree at CalArts in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in graphic design from California Institute of the Arts

Best Graphic Design Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Graphic Design Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Washington 831 29
Oregon 587 125
Nevada 354 81
Hawaii 267 5

View All Rankings >

One of 9 majors within the Design & Applied Arts area of study, Graphic Design has other similar majors worth exploring.

Majors Similar to Graphic Design

Related Major Annual Graduates
Interior Design 756
Visual Communications 702
Fashion Design 486
Game & Interactive Media Design 396
Illustration 315
Other Design & Applied Arts 303
Industrial Design 215
Commercial & Advertising Art 75

View All Graphic Design Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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