Art Center College of Design: Statistics

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Position Category
#3710 of 14,131 In the World
#1049 of 2,597 In North America
#977 of 2,496 In the United States
#87 of 249 In California
#3 of 7 In Pasadena
#713 of 1,101 For Photography
Subject rankings

Quick Review

Acceptance rate
75%
Avg. cost to attend
$53,271 /y
Aid receiving
64%
Undergraduates
2,038
Graduates
270
Male:Female Ratio
40:60
Control
Private
not-for-profit
Highest Degree
Master's degree

Art Center College of Design Acceptance rate and admissions statistics

Art Center College of Design has an acceptance rate of 75% and is among the top 39% of the most difficult universities to gain admission to in the United States. The university reports the admission statistics without distinguishing between local and international students.

Total Men Women
Acceptance Rate 75% 70% 76%
Applicants 1,461 432 1,029
Admissions 1,089 302 787
Freshmen enrolled full time 343 125 218

793 students enrolled in some distance education courses.

28 enrolled exclusively in distance education.

Admissions requirements

Formal demonstration of competencies Required
Secondary school record Required
TOEFL Required
College-preparatory program Considered but not required
Recommendations Considered but not required
Secondary school GPA Considered but not required
Other Tests Neither required nor recommended
SAT/ACT Neither required nor recommended
Secondary school rank Neither required nor recommended

Enrollment demographics by race or ethnicity

Nonresident Alien 1089 (47%)
Asian 634 (27%)
White 242 (10%)
Hispanic 198 (9%)
Two or more races 100 (4%)
Black or African American 26 (1%)
Race or Ethnicity unknown 13 (0.6%)
Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander 4 (0.2%)
American Indian or Alaska Native 2 (0.1%)

Costs per year: Tuition, Housing, Fees

The average net cost to attend Art Center College of Design is $53,271 per year, calculated as the sum of the average cost of tuition, room and board, books, and supplies, reduced by the amount of average financial aid received.

The final cost of attendance varies for each student based on household income, residency, program, and other factors.

Net average cost to attend
$53,271/year
Average aid awarded
$22,412
Students receiving aid
64%

Average costs by household income

<$30K $39,645
$30-48K $42,161
$48-75K $44,738
$75-110K $45,677
$110K+ $61,144

Tuition and fees

UndergraduatesGraduates
Tuition in-district $53,086$56,104
Tuition in-state $53,086$56,104
Tuition out-of-state $53,086$56,104
Fee in-district $1,084$1,084
Fee in-state $1,084$1,084
Fee out-of-state $1,084$1,084

Art Center College of Design majors

Art Center College of Design has granted 485 bachelor's degrees across 11 programs and 123 master's across 8 programs. Below is a table with majors that lead to degrees at Art Center College of Design.

Major Bachelor Master
Illustration 140
Animation, Interactive Technology, Video Graphics, and Special Effects 95
Graphic Design 52 32
Engineering-Related Fields, Other 60 10
Cinematography and Film & Video Production 34 14
Computer Software and Media Applications, Other 22 23
Automotive Engineering Technology & Technician 37 7
Fine & Studio Arts, General 12 18
Architectural and Building Sciences & Technology 12 9
Photography 15
Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services, Other 10
Commercial and Advertising Art 6
Grand Total 485 123

Art Center College of Design has a graduation rate of 79%, which is among the 12% highest for universities in the US.

Total Men Women
Graduation rate 79% 75% 81%
  • Full-time retention rate - 86%

Publications & Citations

Art Center College of Design has published 190 scientific papers with 1,191 citations received. The research profile covers a range of fields, including Liberal Arts & Social Sciences, Computer Science, Political Science, Art & Design, Law, Engineering, Environmental Science, History, Philosophy, and Sociology.

Publications
190
Citations
1,191

Publication / Citation count by topic

Liberal Arts & Social Sciences
137 / 793
Computer Science
93 / 639
Political Science
93 / 623
Art & Design
83 / 360
Law
82 / 618
Engineering
80 / 842
Environmental Science
76 / 644
History
75 / 242
Philosophy
69 / 514
Sociology
65 / 501
Biology
53 / 478
Physics
50 / 656
Geography and Cartography
47 / 242
Business
47 / 353
Fashion Design
45 / 178
Psychology
45 / 340
Medicine
40 / 125
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
39 / 371
Art History
35 / 120
Archaeology
35 / 163
Human-Computer Interaction
34 / 405
Geology
34 / 403
Linguistics
32 / 227
Mechanical Engineering
31 / 388
Library and Information science
30 / 279
Chemistry
27 / 471
Paleontology
27 / 361
Anatomy and Physiology
24 / 55
Quantum and Particle physics
23 / 227
Aesthetics
22 / 157
Economics
21 / 206
Mathematics
20 / 281
Literature
19 / 33
Social Psychology
19 / 223
Materials Science
19 / 107
Management
18 / 75
Theology / Divinity / Religious studies
15 / 167
Media Studies
15 / 5
Ecology
14 / 326
Statistics
14 / 160

Annual publication & citation counts

Year Publications Citations
1993 1 0
1994 1 0
1995 0 0
1996 0 0
1997 3 1
1998 2 1
1999 0 1
2000 0 2
2001 3 3
2002 1 2
2003 2 5
2004 6 6
2005 1 8
2006 1 6
2007 10 8
2008 2 2
2009 7 7
2010 9 12
2011 7 18
2012 4 24
2013 6 28
2014 6 41
2015 10 43
2016 10 63
2017 7 57
2018 5 83
2019 10 88
2020 13 130
2021 23 125
2022 7 96
2023 11 98
2024 13 127
2025 5 119
Academic rankings

Art Center College of Design alumni

  1. Michael Bay

    Michael Bay
    Born in
    United States Flag United States
    Years
    1965-.. (age 61)
    Occupations
    actorscreenwriterdirectorfilm actorfilm director
    Biography

    Michael Benjamin Bay is an American film director and producer. He is best known for making big-budget high-concept action films with fast cutting, stylistic cinematography and visuals, and extensive use of special effects, including frequent depictions of explosions. The films he has directed include Bad Boys (1995) and its sequel Bad Boys II (2003), The Rock (1996), Armageddon (1998), Pearl Harbor (2001), the first five films in the Transformers film series, Pain & Gain (2013), 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi (2016), and Ambulance (2022). His films have grossed over US$6.6 billion worldwide, making him the fifth-most commercially successful director in history.

  2. Mike Shinoda

    Mike Shinoda
    Born in
    United States Flag United States
    Years
    1977-.. (age 49)
    Occupations
    composersinger-songwriterpianistguitaristrapper
    Biography

    Michael Kenji Shinoda is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and graphic designer. He co-founded the rock band Linkin Park in 1996 as the band's co-lead vocalist, as well as rhythm guitarist, keyboardist, primary songwriter and producer. He also created the hip-hop-driven side project, Fort Minor, in 2004. He has also served as a producer for tracks and albums by artists such as Lupe Fiasco, Styles of Beyond, and the X-Ecutioners.

  3. Evan Spiegel

    Evan Spiegel
    Born in
    United States Flag United States
    Years
    1990-.. (age 36)
    Occupations
    computer scientistentrepreneur
    Biography

    Evan Thomas Spiegel is an American and French businessman who is the co-founder and CEO of Snap Inc. Spiegel was the youngest billionaire in the world in 2015. As of August 2025, he had a personal net worth of $2.5 billion according to Forbes.

  4. Aldis Hodge

    Aldis Hodge
    Born in
    United States Flag United States
    Years
    1986-.. (age 40)
    Occupations
    screenwritertelevision actoractorfilm actor
    Biography

    Aldis Alexander Basil Hodge is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Alec Hardison in the TNT series Leverage, MC Ren in the 2015 biopic Straight Outta Compton, Levi Jackson in the 2016 film Hidden Figures, Noah in the WGN America series Underground, Matthew in Girlfriends, Jim Brown in the 2020 film One Night in Miami..., and Alex Cross in the Prime Video series Cross. He portrays Hawkman in the DC Studios film Black Adam and John Stewart / Green Lantern in the animated film Green Lantern: Beware My Power.

All 63 notable alumni

General info

Alternative names ArtCenter
Founded 1930
Motto Learn to create. Influence change.
Academic calendar September to August
Total FTE staff 583
Carnegie classification Master's Colleges & Universities: Small Programs

Location and contacts

Address 1700 Lida St
Pasadena, California, 91103
United States
City population 139,000
Phone 6263962200

Art Center College of Design in social media