Transfer Student Admissions

If you have completed high school or earned your GED and have taken one or more classes for credit at a university, college, junior college, or community college, you are eligible to apply as a transfer student. CCA has no minimum requirements to transfer, so you can apply as a transfer student in either the fall or spring semester without a minimum number of credits.

If you earned college credits by taking college courses while concurrently enrolled in high school, you are not considered a transfer student and should apply as a first-year applicant.

Application requirements

To apply for admission as a transfer student to CCA, you must create, gather, and submit the following:

• An online application and nonrefundable application fee of $70
• Personal essay
• Official high school and/or university transcripts
• One letter of recommendation
• Portfolio of 15–20 pieces (log in to SlideRoom)
• Proof of English proficiency (international applicants only)

If you have questions about the application process, please email us at [email protected].

We encourage transfer applicants to make an appointment with a CCA admissions counselor while they are making their transfer plan. We can offer guidance about which colleges and courses may best help you meet your specific goals.

For example, if you are hoping to transfer to CCA with junior standing, you should meet with us before you begin taking any college-level coursework in order to learn what requirements are necessary for your intended program. Sophomore or junior standing is not based on the number of units taken; instead, you must fulfill courses that meet specific requirements.

Maximize your college credit transfer

CCA accepts transfer credit from colleges that have been accredited by their regional associations. In general, transfer credit is accepted only for courses that satisfy CCA graduation requirements, have been passed with a letter grade of C or better, and have been completed within the past 10 years. Courses completed more than 10 years ago may require additional review for credit approval.

CCA does not recommend that you complete your associate in arts (AA) degree from a community college before transferring if your goal is to earn a bachelor’s degree from CCA. An AA degree does not guarantee transferring with junior status because CCA’s core curriculum requirements may not be met by AA degree coursework.

General education requirements at CCA are built around our first year core studio curriculum that applies to all majors. We recommend you consider transferring to CCA after successfully completing a minimum of 12 studio units at your home institution and, whenever possible, the 12 units of first-year humanities and sciences requirements (listed below).

Core Studio courses

• Drawing
• 2D Design
• 3D Design
• 4D (Introduction to Digital Media and Film)

Humanities and Sciences courses

• English Composition
• Introduction to Art History (Prehistoric–1700s)
• Introduction to Modern Art History (1800s–present)
• Foundations in Critical Studies

Questions about your credits and coursework? You may send your official transcripts to [email protected] for a preliminary evaluation. Our transfer admissions team will assess if your credits would fulfill the first-year core requirements needed to transfer as a second-year student.

If you receive an offer of admission from CCA, you will receive a preliminary academic progress report, based on the transcripts provided with your application to help you understand how your credits have been evaluated by CCA.

Tools for transfer students

The two best tools to set you up for success as a transfer student are the course guide for your intended major and the articulation agreements CCA has established with community colleges across the country. A CCA admissions counselor can help you interpret and connect these two resources to produce a transfer plan.

An articulation agreement is a partnership between two educational institutions that creates a pathway for credits to transfer directly from one institution to the other. These agreements can help you pick courses at a given institution that will automatically count for credit toward your CCA degree. CCA has over 60 of these agreements with colleges across the country.

Check out the list below for an institution near you. If your current or local college is not listed, you can still transfer to CCA and may still be able to transfer courses for credit toward degree completion after transcript review.

2 + 2 agreements

We have another kind of educational partnership, called a 2 + 2 articulation agreement, that is specific to majors. This means that courses in a particular major—ones that correspond to a CCA program—have been reviewed and approved by our faculty for college credit. When completed successfully, the 2 + 2 makes it possible for students to transfer from a postsecondary institution to CCA at the start of their third academic year.

Transfer credits for international students

If you plan to transfer academic credits earned at non-U.S. institutions, you must submit a translated evaluation of your postsecondary (college) transcript(s). You will need to use an evaluation agency recommended by the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) or the Academic Credential Evaluation Institute (ACEI) to prepare such an evaluation.

We recommend the following services:

• World Education Services (WES)
• SpanTran
• Josef Silny & Associates, Inc., International Education Consultants
• International Education Evaluations (IEE)
• Association of International Credential Evaluators (AICE)

Making CCA more accessible

CCA funds a wide array of scholarship opportunities. Here’s who can be considered:

• All transfer students who apply for fall admissions by March 1 or for spring admissions by October 1 are considered for institutional scholarships

Scholarships created for transfer students

CCA’s Faculty Honors awards are based on outstanding creative ability and academic achievement of transfer applicants. With a grade point average of 3.0 or higher, you could receive a minimum $10,000 per year.

Application

Transfer students who complete all admission application requirements by the priority deadline, are automatically considered for the Visionary Practice Scholarship. No separate scholarship application is required.

Grants

Grants are one of the most beneficial forms of financial aid because they don’t need to be repaid after attendance. When you combine CCA scholarships with Cal Grants and federal grants you may receive up to 85% of your tuition covered each year depending on your (and your family’s) financial circumstances.

Work-study opportunities

With both on-campus and off-campus student employment programs at CCA, transfer students have more options to help fund their education.

Loans

We have a wide range of loan options available that can help fund your education at CCA. Our financial aid team is here to support you in choosing the right loan and provide you with repayment counseling after attendance or graduation.

Important student deadlines

CCA practices rolling admissions, which means you can submit an application for review after the priority deadlines. Please note, however, that applications submitted after the priority deadlines are excluded from merit and diversity scholarship consideration. Need-based scholarships will continue to be awarded to qualified applicants who submit a late application.

Transfer counselors are standing by

We’re here to answer your questions and support you every step of the way as you consider transferring college to CCA.