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The action-oriented

art, design, and architecture

school in San Francisco

A r t

D e s i g n

A r c h i t e c t u r e

W r i t i n g

F i l m

C r a f t

C o m m u n i t y

P l a y

S t o r y t e l l i n g

I n t e r a c t i o n

Exterior of CCA's entrance and main quad with students milling around.
#1 art school in the nation ROI #1 best undergraduate art school by salary potential (Payscale 2024) 83% of all students receive scholarships 100% of faculty are active practitioners 7:1 student to faculty ratio

California College of the Arts cultivates ideas, industry, and impact in the progressive San Francisco Bay Area, educating our students as global changemakers through purposeful practice and critical discourse.

Take a look at the highlights from the vibrant Class of 2025 showcase.

California College of the Arts cultivates ideas, industry, and impact in the progressive San Francisco Bay Area, educating our students as global changemakers through purposeful practice and critical discourse.

Take a look at the highlights from the vibrant Class of 2025 showcase.
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Hand drawn yellow spiral

Student work

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Layla Namak
Urban Analysis, El Campo de la Cebada
Architecture

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Lufan Yang
Rest stop 1, interior render 3
Architecture

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Tonghe Ge
OwnWay
Design

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Chibuzor Darl-Uzu
SOFT MATTER
Design

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PJ Parker
Proceed with Caution, Recall with Care
Fine Arts

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Yelyzaveta Vlasenko
Gray Fangs
Fine Arts

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Lindsey Machado
Humanities & Sciences (Ecological Practices)

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Furdeuce Mused
Seeing the Unseen
Humanities & Sciences

E x p e r i e n c e

All are welcome at CCA, where diverse cultures, practices, and ideas merge.

Looking at the back of CCA's main building through newly planted trees.

Tour Campus
A crowd of people at CCA's end-of-year Design and Architecture Show.

Attend programming
The exterior of the Wattis Institute with three people about to enter.

Explore the CCA Wattis

Student life

Illustration Chair Michael Wertz attends the Hello Trouble Exhibition at CCA's Campus Gallery.
A diverse group of people celebrating Holi, joyfully adorned with vibrant colors and paint on their faces.
A group of people gathered around a table, engaging with a colorful spinning wheel in the center.
Three student musicians perform on CCA's campus.
A group of students creating artwork by pressing painted hands onto a large vertical canvas.
Person with blue and white skull face paint applies makeup to another person indoors, with face paint supplies and reference images on the table.
Two students pose for photos at CCA's Making Futures celebration.
A CCA student DJ mixes music on a laptop at the Making Futures celebration.
A student drummer performs during CCA's Making Futures celebration.
People gather around a table displaying various items, engaged in conversation and examining the objects.
A student stands behind a display of handmade ceramics arranged on shelves and crates at a booth.

C o n n e c t

Our creative community makes a living by changing the world.

QT group with extended members, left to right, back to front: Farzad Kargaran, Maria Cardenas, Devan Ponce, Savithri Velaga, Cole Ryder, Thomas Euyang, and Andrew Roque

Quality Time

CCA MFA Design alums from collaborative design studio Quality Time—Devan Ponce, Maria Cardenas, Andrew Roque, Savithri Velaga, and Cole Ryder—share the foundation of their work and the importance of community building.

Read their story

Purposeful practices

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MA VisCrit 2016

Veronica Jackson

A group of diverse students gathers around a table, attentively listening to a speaker. The table displays architectural models and 3D printed objects.

Faculty

David Curiel

Grecia Rivera, Lineup.

BFA Fashion Design 2022

Grecia Rivera

Photo of Alegra Figeroid winning an Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Emmy.

BFA Illustration 2018

Alegra Figeroid

TAKE ME TO YOUR LEADER ASIA’S OLDEST BIENNIAL BLINDFOLDED WHEEL THROWING AGING AGAINST THE MACHINE JAPANESE AESTHETICS STACKED SKINCARE KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE HUBS ARE HUMANS THE ONLY DREAMERS ON EARTH?
KNITTED FILM SCENES DIGITAL SUBMARINE HABITATS THE FUTURE IS HERE ALGAE MASK HOW TO HAVE AN AMERICAN BABY NON-HIERARCHICAL DIALOGUE ANIMAL DREAMS FIRE ROAD MATERIAL TECHNOLOGY INDIGENOUS ECOLOGICAL PRACTICES
IMPROVE YOUR ART STAMINA GREEN TOYS LIMESTONE SINKHOLES CARDBOARD JETPACK CALL THIS # NOW RADICAL ARCHITECTURE JAPAN&SEOUL&MEXICO&ICELAND&LONDON&PARIS MAIDU GOVERNANCE SLOW BEETHOVEN

A t t e n d

Come learn to make work that makes a difference.

Oct 01

Undergraduate spring priority deadline for first-year and transfer students

Deadline for first-year and transfer applicants to submit applications for spring semester to guarantee consideration for institutional scholarships.

Dec 15

Spring Extension registration opens

Register for spring Extension courses.

Jan 15

Graduate application priority deadline

Deadline to submit an application for institutional scholarship consideration and admission for the following academic year. Applications received after this date will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

Feb 01

First-year fall priority deadline

First-year applicants must submit an application by this deadline to guarantee merit scholarship consideration, including eligibility for Visionary Practice Scholarships.

Mar 01

Transfer fall priority deadline

Transfer applicants must submit an application by this deadline to guarantee merit scholarship consideration, including eligibility for Visionary Practice Scholarships.

An abstract, teal blob.
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A yellow, abstract flower, shaped like a daisy.
A green, abstract, starburst-shaped object with unevenly protruding arms on a white background.