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.
Current Students
Total enrollment: 1,441 students
- Undergraduate students (BFA, Certificate): 938 (65.1%), average age 21
- Graduate students (MFA, MA, DMA, Advanced Certificate): 491 (34.1%), average age 27.56
- Special non-degree students: 12 (0.8%)
Areas of Study (Métiers)
- 21.6% School of Art
- 3.0% School of Critical Studies
- 5.7% The Sharon Disney Lund School of Dance
- 26.7 School of Film/Video
- 20.5% The Herb Alpert School of Music
- 22.5% School of Theater
Gender
- 52% Female
- 48% Male
Geographic and National Representation
- United States: 48 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands – 53% out of state
- International: 44 countries
U.S. Students: 83.8%
- 0.7% American Indian/Alaskan
- 10.3% Asian
- 7.1% Black
- 54.1% Caucasian
- 0.7% Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
- 12.3% Latino
- 10.7% Two or more races
- 4.1% Other/undeclared
International Students: 16.2%
Acceptance Rate: 33%
Retention Rate: 88.7%
Statistics
- 3,713 applications for the Fall 2012 semester
- 331 faculty members (219.60 FTE)
- 7:1 Institute student faculty ratio
- Average class size: 14 students
Number of Students 2 - 19 20 - 39 40 - 99 100+ Number of Classes 638 142 19 -- - Graduation Rates, Entering Class 2005
- Graduation Rates, Entering Class 2004
- Graduation Rates, Entering Class 2003
- 15,131 alumni (including Los Angeles Conservatory of Music and Chouinard Art Institute)
Costs and financial aid 2012-13
- $53.7 million annual operating budget
- $99 million endowment
- $38,438 yearly tuition
- Students with financial need: 79%
- 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 June 2012, the Los Angeles Times dubbed CalArts “the Harvard Business School of Animation” to describe the preponderance of industry leaders who studied there.
- In August 2012, Blouin ArtInfo listed CalArts’ School of Art among MFA programs offering “the most bang for your buck.”
- The 2012 Sundance Film Festival selected 12 “CalArtians” to screen their work.
- 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 2012
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