Tuition and Financial Aid

Institutional scholarships are designed to make a CalArts education more affordable by providing funds that do not need to be repaid. CalArts offers different institutional scholarships for BFA students such as the Merit Scholarship and Access Grant, these awards are determined at the time of admission by faculty based on the portfolios and auditions presented by students during the admission process.

Students studying at CalArts from other countries are eligible to work on campus with a maximum of 20 hours per week. All International Students must remain in F-1 or J-1 Visa Status throughout their campus employment and have applied for a social security card prior to their first day of employment.

International students must apply for an on-campus job first and then once hired they will begin the process to obtain a social security card if not already obtained. International Students are not allowed to begin working and the Payroll office will not be able to offer payments to students until the social security card is received and your position is processed.

Make sure your hiring paperwork is completed and processed by the Student Employment office before you begin working. This approval will come in a form of email. Both you and your supervisor will receive a completion confirmation email to show you completed what was required. For more information, please visit the International Student Support Website.

Looking for more information on obtaining a social security card? This Instruction Sheet will walk you through the social security application process.

CalArts offers an option to pay your direct charges over the course of a few months. Students can enroll in a monthly payment plan and their payments will be automatically withdrawn each month. To learn more about monthly payment plans and the dates to enroll by, please see the bottom of the page on this link.

Scholarships are available from many sources including high schools, places of worship, civic groups, and employers. We recommend that you check with your high school guidance counselor, the reference section of your library, and organizations in your hometown. One of the best ways to find scholarships to apply for is by using a scholarship search engine. We recommend using one of the search engines listed at the top of this link.

Receipt of outside scholarships could affect your eligibility for certain aid types and cannot exceed the total cost of attendance in a given academic year.

There are a limited number of U.S. based educational loans available to international students. These loans generally require that you have the support of a cosigner who is a legal resident of the United States with good credit. For more information on this type of loan and lenders who offer loans to international students, please click here.