Art Center College of Design Overview
Located in Pasadena, California, Art Center College of Design is a private not-for-profit institution. The location of the school is great for students who enjoy the amenities of city life.
What Is Art Center College of Design Known For?
- Art Center College of Design has an impressive student to faculty ratio of 9 to 1.
- The student loan default rate at Art Center College of Design is 5%, which is significantly lower than the national rate of 10.1%. That's great news for students who are worrying about paying off their student loans.
- Although it may not be available for every major, the master's degree is the highest award a student can attain at Art Center College of Design.
- In 2017-2018, 26% of the faculty were full-time.
- Students who graduate from Art Center College of Design with a bachelor's degree make about $53,600 a year. That's 31% more than those who graduate from other schools.
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Art Center College of Design Rankings
Art Center College of Design is ranked #298 out of 2,320 schools in the nation for overall quality on our 2021 Best Colleges list. This puts it in the top 15% of all schools in the nation. Art Center College of Design also holds the #27 spot on the Best Colleges in California ranking.
Our rankings are based on an outcomes-based approach rather than subjective ones used by other media outlets. As such, we utilize data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and the College Scorecard, among other sources. Visit our rankings and methodology section to learn more.
Program Level Awards
These are highlights of some of the most noteworthy awards granted to specific programs at Art Center College of Design.
Awards From Around the Web
The following table lists some notable awards Art Center College of Design has earned from around the web.
Rank | Ranking Name | Source |
---|---|---|
#2 | Best Colleges for Design & Applied Arts | College Factual |
#2 | Best Design & Applied Arts Colleges for Veterans | College Factual |
#6 | Highest Paid Design & Applied Arts Graduates | College Factual |
#8 | Highest Paid Visual & Performing Arts Graduates | College Factual |
#14 | Best Colleges for Visual & Performing Arts | College Factual |
#28 | Best Visual & Performing Arts Colleges for Veterans | College Factual |
Where Is Art Center College of Design?

Contact details for Art Center College of Design are given below.
Contact Details | |
---|---|
Address: | 1700 Lida St, Pasadena, CA 91103 |
Phone: | 626-396-2200 |
Website: | www.artcenter.edu |
Facebook: | https://www.facebook.com/artcenteredu |
Twitter: | https://twitter.com/artcenteredu |
How Do I Get Into Art Center College of Design?
You can apply to Art Center College of Design online at: www.artcenter.edu/apply.html
Admission Requirements for Art Center College of Design
Submission | Required? |
---|---|
High School GPA | recommended |
High School Rank | neither required nor recommended |
High School Transcript | required |
College Prep Program | recommended |
Recommendations | considered but not required |
SAT or ACT Scores | recommended |
TOEFL | required |
How Hard Is It To Get Into Art Center College of Design?
Approximately 33% of accepted students are men and 67% are women. The acceptance rate for men is 61%, and the acceptance rate for women is 76%.
Can I Afford Art Center College of Design?
Student Loan Debt
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 Art Center College of Design, approximately 43% of students took out student loans averaging $5,880 a year. That adds up to $23,520 over four years for those students.
The student loan default rate at Art Center College of Design is 4.8%. 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.
Art Center College of Design Undergraduate Student Diversity

There are also 273 graduate students at the school.
Gender Diversity
Of the 1,793 full-time undergraduates at Art Center College of Design, 44% are male and 56% are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity
The racial-ethnic breakdown of Art Center College of Design students is as follows.

Race/Ethnicity | Number of Grads |
---|---|
Asian | 574 |
Black or African American | 23 |
Hispanic or Latino | 177 |
White | 219 |
International Students | 735 |
Other Races/Ethnicities | 65 |
Geographic Diversity
California students aren't the only ones who study at Art Center College of Design. At this time, 12 states are represented by the student population at the school.
Online Learning at Art Center College of Design
The following chart shows how the online learning population at Art Center College of Design has changed over the last few years.

This is the #2,028 largest growth rate of all schools that are only partially online. This refers to all students at Art Center College of Design regardless of major.
Art Center College of Design Undergraduate Concentrations
The table below shows the number of awards for each concentration.
Major | Bachelor’s | Master’s | TOTAL |
---|---|---|---|
Design & Applied Arts | 216 | 10 | 226 |
Engineering-Related Fields | 59 | 5 | 64 |
Film, Video & Photographic Arts | 50 | 14 | 64 |
Mechanical Engineering Technology | 51 | 10 | 61 |
Fine & Studio Arts | 16 | 11 | 27 |
Architectural Sciences & Technology | 17 | 7 | 24 |
Computer Software & Applications | 12 | 10 | 22 |
Graphic Communications | 18 | 0 | 18 |
TOTAL | 439 | 67 | 506 |
References
*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.
- College Factual
- National Center for Education Statistics
- Image Credit: By Garnethertz under License
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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