CCA at a Glance

Founded

• 1907 by Frederick Meyer, a German cabinetmaker, whose vision was shaped by the Arts and Crafts movement

The College's Mission

• CCA educates students to shape culture through the practice and critical study of the arts. The college prepares its students for lifelong creative work and service to their communities through a curriculum in fine art, architecture, design, and writing.

Description

• Private, nonprofit
  
• Coeducational, residential
  
• 20 undergraduate programs and 7 graduate programs in the fields of art, architecture, design, and writing

Location

CCA has two campuses in the San Francisco Bay Area, a global hub for technological and cultural innovation (visit How to Get Here for directions to either campus).

The historic Oakland campus is a traditional college setting, spread over four acres in the picturesque Rockridge neighborhood, two miles from UC Berkeley.

It is home to CCA's first-year community and the undergraduate programs in Animation, Ceramics, Community Arts, Glass, Jewelry / Metal Arts, Media Arts, Photography, Printmaking, Sculpture, Textiles, Visual Studies, and Writing and Literature.

Take the Oakland virtual tour now.

The San Francisco campus is located in Potrero Hill, near the design district, SOMA (the South of Market neighborhood), and the University of California's Mission Bay campus.

It is home to the undergraduate programs in Architecture, Fashion Design, Furniture, Graphic Design, Illustration, Industrial Design, Interior Design, and Painting/Drawing. The seven graduate programs also are based here.

Take the San Francisco virtual tour now.

Enrollment (2008–9)

• 1,383 undergraduate students
  
• 357 graduate students

Community Life

• The 2008 entering class comprises 412 undergraduates and 193 graduate students, from 32 states and 13 countries, not including the United States
  
• 75–80 percent of first-year students are living on campus
  
• Residential life includes the first-year community and a continuing student community
  
• CCA offers a unique living and learning community, Artists for Community (AFC), as well as two theme halls: the Artists' Retreat Community and the International and Multicultural Community
• The Center for Art and Public Life and the Office of Student Activities & Leadership Development provide service and leadership opportunities
  
• On-campus gallery exhibitions of student work open each Tuesday and Wednesday evenings
  
• The Student Council sponsors monthly outings via shuttle from the Oakland campus to various San Francisco galleries
  
• Preprofessional student organizations active on campus include the American Institute of Architecture Students, the American Society of Interior Designers, the Industrial Designers Society of America, and the National Organization for Minority Architects
  
• 20+ student-initiated clubs and organizations exist

Degrees Offered

• Bachelor of Architecture (BArch)
  
• Bachelor of Arts (BA)
  
• Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA)
  
• Master of Architecture (MArch)
  
• Master of Arts (MA)
  
• Master of Business Administration (MBA)
  
• Master of Fine Arts (MFA)
  

Accreditation

• Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC)
  
• National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD)
  
• National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB)
  
• Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA)

Rankings

• Named one of the world's best design schools by Businessweek magazine
  
• Named one of the top 10 colleges and universities in interior design by the respected Almanac of Architecture and Design

Financial Aid

• 88 percent of undergraduate students receive financial aid in the form of grants, scholarships, loans, work-study, or some combination of these
  
• 79 percent of students receive CCA scholarships
  
• CCA provides more than $13 million of its scholarships

Faculty

• CCA's 450+ faculty members are nationally and internationally known artists, designers, writers, architects, etc., active in their respective fields

Special Opportunities

• Annual Career Expo
  
• Community service fellowships
  
• Honors program
  
• Internships
  
• Pre-College Program
  
• Professional practice courses
  
• Sponsored studios
  
• Summer language program for
  international students
  
• Option to design custom individualized major

Study Abroad / International Exchange

• Exchange opportunities in more than 30 associated art schools in more than 14 countries
  
• Summer travel opportunities to Brazil, Italy, Sweden, and Switzerland
  
• Mobility program with colleges in the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design (AICAD)

Spotlight on Alumni

Read Spotlight on Alumni to learn about accomplished alumni, many of whom have been highlighted in Glance, the college's twice-yearly magazine.

Celebrated Alumni:

• Tomie dePaola, celebrated children's book writer, illustrator, and recipient of the Caldecott Honor Award (for Strega Nona) and the Newbery Honor Award
  
• Michael Vanderbyl, internationally known designer
  
• Wayne Wang, film director
  
• Viola Frey, ceramicist
  
• Squeak Carnwarth, painter

Student Achievements

• Architecture: Jessica Kmetovic was a finalist in the World Trade Center competition while she was completing her undergraduate degree and is now working on projects around the globe.
  
• Fashion Design: The November 2007 issue of Surface magazine featured fashion designs by Christopher Weiss, a CCA undergrad who recently won the Surface Emerging Talent Award.
  
• Graphic Design: The November 2007 issue of Surface also featured student thesis projects from various design schools, and CCA had more student work selected than any other school. The 2007 Graphis New Talent Design Annual featured projects by nine CCA Graphic Design students. Other undergrads have recently won the Adobe Design Achievement Award and awards from the Art Directors Club, STEP Inside Design, the Type Directors Club, and ID magazine.
  
• Industrial Design: CCA undergrads have been included in the Milan Furniture Fair, the International Contemporary Furniture Fair, and the International Home and Housewares Show. They have won awards in the Microsoft Next-Gen design competition, ID magazine's student competitions, and the Industrial Designers Society of America student competitions.
  
• Interior Design: CCA students have recently won the prestigious Donghia Foundation Interior Design Scholarship and the International Interior Design Association Scholarship.
  
• Media Arts: CCA's Juan Leguizamon was one of 10 student filmmakers Adobe chose to participate in its Reel Ideas Studio at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival. Other students have participated in Yahoo!'s Annual University Design Expo, shown their films at the Venice Biennale, and won the VH1 / IFILM Show Us Your Junk competition.
  
• Fine Arts: In 2007 Crow Cianciola, a CCA undergrad, received a Jack Cooke Foundation scholarship, one of the most generous academic awards in the United States. Other students have been accepted into the Skowhegan residency program and the Headlands Center for the Arts residency program, and have received such awards as the Toby Devan Lewis Fellowship and the Joan Mitchell Foundation Award.

Back to top

BusinessWeek designated CCA "one of the world's best design schools"

Frederick Meyer

CCA's Oakland campus

The Nave (SF main campus)

First-year student artwork

Almanac of Architecture and Design named CCA one of the top 10 colleges and universities in interior design.

Center for Art and Public Life

Students practice technique

Industrial Design Program Chair Yves Béhar inspires students

CCA's Career Fair