California College of the Arts named one of the country’s top graduate schools for fine arts by U.S. News & World Report

SAN FRANCISCO—March 27, 2020—California College of the Arts is one of the nation’s top graduate schools for fine arts, according to the latest rankings from U.S. News & World Report.

The 2020 rankings, which assessed 227 MFA-granting colleges and universities across the country, lists CCA 10th overall, tied with Alfred University, Bard College, Columbia University, and University of California, San Diego. CCA is the only art school in the Bay Area to rank in the top 10.

CCA also received high marks from U.S. News for its graduate-level programs in graphic design (ranked No. 4) and ceramics (ranked No. 6). Each program is evaluated based on ratings by educators at peer schools.

The recognition is one of many national accolades the college has received in the last year. CCA was recently named the No. 1 art college in the nation for best return on investment by PayScale, an online salary, benefits, and compensation information company.

CCA’s 11 graduate programs are led by renowned industry leaders and visionaries like James Voorhies, Joshua Faught, Clay Jensen, Maria Porges, Sunny A. Smith, and Martin Venezky. Graduate students at CCA learn to refine, reinvent, and expand their areas of practice while also taking advantage of the Bay Area’s creative communities and thriving industries. Upon completion of their graduate degrees, students join a long list of distinguished alumni who have gone on to make significant contributions to diverse areas of practice.

The full rankings are available online. To see the complete list of top-value institutions, visit U.S. News & World Report's website. Extended rankings data will be available in the U.S. News Graduate School Compass.

About California College of the Arts

Founded in 1907, California College of the Arts (CCA) educates students to shape culture and society through the practice and critical study of art, architecture, design, and writing. Benefiting from its San Francisco Bay Area location, the college prepares students for lifelong creative work by cultivating innovation, community engagement, and social and environmental responsibility.

CCA offers a rich curriculum of 22 undergraduate and 11 graduate programs in art, design, architecture, and writing taught by a faculty of expert practitioners. Attracting promising students from across the nation and around the world, CCA is one of the 10 most diverse colleges in the U.S.

Graduates are highly sought-after by companies such as Pixar/Disney, Apple, Intel, Facebook, Gensler, Google, IDEO, Autodesk, Mattel, and Nike, and many have launched their own successful businesses. Alumni and faculty are often recognized with the highest honors in their fields, including Academy Awards, AIGA Medals, Fulbright Scholarships, Guggenheim Fellowships, MacArthur Fellowships, National Medal of Arts, and the Rome Prize, among others.

CCA is creating a new, expanded college campus at its current site in San Francisco, spearheaded by the architectural firm Studio Gang. The new campus design will be a model of sustainable construction and practice; will unite the college’s programs in art, crafts, design, architecture, and writing in one location to create new adjacencies and interactions; and will provide more student housing than ever before. For more information, visit cca.edu.

Media contact

Lindsay Wright

Director of Integrated Communications

+1 530-906-8805

[email protected]