Best Art and Design colleges in California

Best Art and Design colleges in California for 2025

New York Film Academy
Burbank, CA

New York Film Academy offers 28 Art and Design degree programs. It's a small, private for-profit, four-year university in a midsize city. In 2022, 562 Art and Design students graduated with students earning 216 Bachelor's degrees, 169 Certificates, 169 Master's degrees, and 8 Associate's degrees.

Whoever came up with the saying “location, location, location” must have been talking about USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. Situated in the heart of Los Angeles, the university is near the corporate offices and production facilities of major motion picture, television, and interactive companies. This proximity helps to connect you to awesome internships and allows industry notables to drop in on classes. The school also is notorious for its help-a-fellow-Trojan mindset, allowing students remarkable access to alumni working in the area. Brian Grazer, George Lucas, Robert Zemeckis, Judd Apatow, and Will Ferrell are just a few of the well-known graduates. Though it has the distinction of being the oldest film school in the nation (it was founded in 1929 in collaboration with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences), USC’s School of Cinematic Arts is a mecca of state-of-the-art facilities that support the philosophy that people learn best by doing. Undergraduate programs include animation and digital arts, interactive entertainment, media arts and practice, writing for screen and television, film and television production, and critical studies. The school also awards a variety of master’s degrees and doctorates.

Academy of Art University
San Francisco, CA

Academy of Art University offers 63 Art and Design degree programs. It's a medium sized, private for-profit, four-year university in a large city. In 2022, 387 Art and Design students graduated with students earning 201 Bachelor's degrees, 169 Master's degrees, and 17 Associate's degrees.

Musicians Institute
Hollywood, CA

Musicians Institute offers 19 Art and Design degree programs. It's a very small, private for-profit, four-year university in a large city. In 2022, 180 Art and Design students graduated with students earning 65 Certificates, 58 Associate's degrees, and 57 Bachelor's degrees.

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University of California-Los Angeles offers 24 Art and Design degree programs. It's a very large, public, four-year university in a large city. In 2022, 419 Art and Design students graduated with students earning 249 Bachelor's degrees, 145 Master's degrees, and 25 Doctoral degrees.

San Francisco Conservatory of Music offers 39 Art and Design degree programs. It's a very small, private not-for-profit, four-year university in a large city. In 2022, 149 Art and Design students graduated with students earning 67 Master's degrees, 48 Bachelor's degrees, and 34 Certificates.

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California State University-Long Beach offers 16 Art and Design degree programs. It's a very large, public, four-year university in a large city. In 2022, 723 Art and Design students graduated with students earning 672 Bachelor's degrees, 50 Master's degrees, and 1 Certificate.

University of California-Santa Barbara offers 13 Art and Design degree programs. It's a very large, public, four-year university in a midsize suburb. In 2022, 327 Art and Design students graduated with students earning 305 Bachelor's degrees, 14 Doctoral degrees, and 8 Master's degrees.

Santa Rosa Junior College
Santa Rosa, CA

Santa Rosa Junior College offers 32 Art and Design degree programs. It's a large, public, two-year college in a midsize city. In 2022, 123 Art and Design students graduated with students earning 63 Associate's degrees, and 60 Certificates.

California Institute of the Arts offers 27 Art and Design degree programs. It's a small, private not-for-profit, four-year university in a large suburb. In 2022, 238 Art and Design students graduated with students earning 134 Bachelor's degrees, 102 Master's degrees, and 2 Doctoral degrees.

List of all Art and Design colleges in California

School Average Tuition Student Teacher Ratio Enrolled Students
New York Film Academy Logo New York Film Academy Burbank, CA
5/5
9 : 1 1,285
University of Southern California Logo University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA
5/5
23 : 1 48,945
Academy of Art University Logo Academy of Art University San Francisco, CA
5/5
54 : 1 6,786
Musicians Institute Logo Musicians Institute Hollywood, CA
5/5
8 : 1 864
University of California-Los Angeles Logo University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA
3/5
23 : 1 46,430