CalArts Fact Sheet

Established in 1961 by Walt and Roy Disney, California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is the nation's first higher education institute to offer undergraduate and graduate degrees in both the visual and performing arts. CalArts is dedicated to training and nurturing the next generation of professional artists, fostering brilliance and innovation within the broadest context possible. Admission to CalArts is competitive and considered mainly on the basis of demonstrated talent, creativity and commitment. Other important considerations include educational records, recommendations and artist's statement.

Students

• 1,441 students from 48 states, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, and 44 nations
• 904 undergraduate students
• 524 graduate students
• 13 special non-degree students
• 62% are from out-of-state
• 52% female, 48% male
• International students represent 12% of the student body.
• U.S. Students are from diverse ethnicities and backgrounds: 59.7% Caucasian; 10.6% Asian-American; 10.8% Latino; 7.1% African descent; 0.6% American Indian/Alaskan; 0.2% Hawaiian/Pacific Islander; 7.1% Two or more races; 3.9% Undeclared
• Undergrad average age: 21.20
• Graduate student average age: 27.44
• 14,638 alumni (including Los Angeles Conservatory of Music and Chouinard Art Institute)

Statistics

• 3,773 applications for the Fall 2011 semester
• 28% acceptance rate
• Six schools under one Institute:
  • School of Art
  • School of Critical Studies
  • The Sharon Disney Lund School of Dance
  • School of Film/Video
  • The Herb Alpert School of Music at CalArts
  • School of Theater
• 328 faculty members
• 7:1 Institute student faculty ratio
• Average class size: 14 students
  

  Number of Students	2 - 19	20 - 39	40 - 99	100+
  Number of Classes	489	108	9	1

• Concentrations: Film/Video (26.5%), Theater (23%), Art (21.2%), Music (20%), Dance (6%), Critical Studies (3.3%) (MFA Writing Program and MA in Aesthetics and Politics only)
• Graduation Rates, Entering Class 2004
• Graduation Rates, Entering Class 2003

Costs and Financial aid 2010-11

• $52.7 million annual operating budget 
• $105 million Endowment
• $37,684 yearly tuition
• Students with financial need: 80%
• 78% of students receive CalArts Gift Aid
  • 88% of our graduate students receive CalArts Gift Aid
  • 74% of our undergrads receive CalArts Gift Aid

Distinctions

• In 2011, Newsweek/Daily Beast ranked CalArts as the nation's number one college for students in the arts.
• In 2008, U.S. News & World Report names CalArts in its Top 10 rankings for: Fine Arts Schools, Graphic Design, Multimedia/Visual Communications, Sculpture and Photography. (Other programs offered by CalArts are not ranked by U.S. News.)

 Campus and environs

• Located 30 miles north of Downtown Los Angeles in Valencia, California (in the City of Santa Clarita)
• The center of campus life is a sprawling five-level, 500,000-square-foot building—equivalent to 11 acres of square footage—which houses all six schools.
• REDCAT, the Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater, is CalArts' downtown center for innovative visual, media and performing arts.

Updated: October 2011