Academic Support
The Tim Disney Prize for Excellence in the Storytelling Arts is a $2,500 prize that is awarded annually to one current CalArts student whose originality, courage, and excellence in storytelling illustrates the human condition and uplifts the human spirit. The prize recognizes the courage and commitment to make the world a better place, and the originality to do it through the unique powers of gifted storytelling.
Available for faculty and current students, The Nick England Intercultural Arts Project (ICAP) Awards was established at CalArts in 1988 to help increase and sustain the presence of artists from many different cultures (emphasis on artists who live and work beyond the Eurocentric sphere while maintaining the aesthetic perspective of their specific backgrounds). The Project seeks to foster the mutual exchange of aesthetic, social, and political concerns through artistic interaction among diverse artists, the CalArts community and the wider constituencies of Southern California.
Current students can find the application form on the Hub.
Interdisciplinary Project Grants are available to students who will be enrolled at CalArts during the semester of the award. Grants are available for up to $1,500 to support projects with a significant interdisciplinary element.
Registered students who have an unmet financial need are eligible for these grants. For questions, please contact Student Affairs at studentaffairs@calarts.edu.
CalArts Emergency Grants are designed to provide assistance to currently enrolled students who are struggling with a personal crisis or an emergency situation. For some students, the financial impact of a fire, temporary homelessness, an unexpected auto expense, injury or loss of a family member could drastically affect their success.
Qualified students in good standing are rendered assistance in the form of single, one-time per semester awards. Please be prepared to authenticate your request for financial assistance. Emergency funding is not intended to provide ongoing relief for recurring expenses, such as rent or car payments, tuition or enrollment related expenses, or expenses resulting from failure to follow CalArts policies or municipal laws. These awards are not loans that students are expected to repay. The value of the award will range in response to the needs of the student and the availability of funding, but is commonly between $100 and $200.
Apply for a CalArts Emergency Grant
This grant is different from the Emergency Loan.
Current students may apply for a Center for Life & Work Travel Grant to fund travel expenses incurred during creative or academic pursuits and projects that directly support their professional development outside of the classroom. Students interested in applying can find more information from the Center for Life and Work on the Hub.
Students demonstrating financial need who are pursuing unpaid or underpaid internships for academic credit are eligible to apply for a $300 internship grant to supplement expenses incurred while interning. The selection process is competitive and grants are not guaranteed. When reviewing submissions, the selection committee considers: relevance of the internship to the student’s field of study; an understanding of the benefit of the internship experience to the student’s career path; and how many previous internships the student has completed (students with no internship experience are prioritized). In-person internships are given preference. Students interested in applying can find more information from the Center for Life and Work on the Hub.
The grants listed on this page are considered qualified educational need-based grants and CalArts is not required to report the income to the IRS. However, the grant may still be taxable to the student, if the total amount received exceeds the cost of attendance. In that case, this information must be reported to the IRS by the student. For questions regarding this requirement, please feel free to contact the Office of Financial Aid for more information at finaid@calarts.edu.