The California College of the Arts (CCA) is a private art school in San Francisco, California. It was founded in Berkeley, California in 1907 and moved to a historic estate in Oakland, California in 1922. In 1996, it opened a second campus in San Francisco; in 2022, the Oakland campus was closed and merged into the San Francisco campus. CCA enrolls approximately 1,239 undergraduates and 380 graduate students.

History

CCA was founded in 1907 by Frederick Meyer in Berkeley as the School of the California Guild of Arts and Crafts during the height of the Arts and Crafts movement.  The Arts and Crafts movement originated in Europe during the late 19th century as a response to the industrial aesthetics of the machine age. Followers of the movement advocated an integrated approach to art, design, and craft.

In 1908 the school was renamed California School of Arts and Crafts, and in 1936 it became the California College of Arts and Crafts (CCAC).

The college's Oakland campus location was acquired in 1922, when Meyer bought the four-acre James Treadwell estate at Broadway and College Avenue. Two of its buildings are on the National Register of Historic Places. After the San Francisco campus was opened, the Oakland campus continued to house the more traditional, craft based studios like the art glass, jewelry metal arts, printmaking, painting, sculpture and ceramic programs.

In 1940 a Master of Fine Arts program was established.

In the 1980s, the college began renting various locations in San Francisco, and in 1996 it opened a campus in the city's Design District, converting a former Greyhound maintenance building.

In 2003 the college changed its name to California College of the Arts.

In 2016 it was decided to close the Oakland campus and consolidate all activities at the San Francisco campus. The final day of classes at Oakland was May 6, 2022. The college said it will "redevelop the campus with community gathering spaces, affordable housing, office space for arts nonprofits and bike parking while preserving the campus’s cluster of historic buildings and trees."

Academics

CCA offers 22 undergraduate and 13 graduate majors. In 2021, CCA unveiled a BFA in Comics. CCA confers the bachelor of fine arts (BFA), bachelor of arts (BA), bachelor of architecture (BArch), master of fine arts (MFA), master of arts (MA), master of architecture (MArch), master of advanced architectural design (MAAD), masters of design (MDes) and master of business administration (MBA) degrees.

The CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts, located near the San Francisco campus in a facility on Kansas St., is a forum for contemporary culture. In 2013 the Wattis Institute recruited a new director, Anthony Huberman, formerly of Artist's Space in New York.

In the U.S. News & World Report rankings for 2020, CCA ranked #10 in the country for graduate fine arts programs, #4 in graphic design, and #6 in ceramics.  PayScale lists CCA as the #1 art school in the United States for return on investment and #4 for average alumni salary (bachelor's degree). As of 2022, Niche rated CCA with an overall grade of B- (with B- for academics, A+ for diversity, and B- for value), reporting an acceptance rate of 85%, graduation rate of 67%, and average alumni starting salary of $29,400. The average class size is 13 for undergraduate programs and 12 for graduate. The student to faculty ratio is 8:1.

Accreditation 
CCA is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD), and the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB).

Faculty
 
 
Robin Gianattassio-Malle, visiting professor, classes that integrate journalism with contemporary art and design.

References

External links

 Official website

 
Art schools in California
Universities and colleges in Alameda County, California
Architecture schools in California
Design schools in the United States
Film schools in California
Education in Oakland, California
Potrero Hill, San Francisco
Educational institutions established in 1907
1907 establishments in California
Schools accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges
Arts and Crafts movement
Art in the San Francisco Bay Area
Private universities and colleges in California