California College of the Arts
1111 8th Street
San Francisco, CA 94107

California College of the Arts was founded in 1907 by Frederick Meyer to provide an education for artists and designers that would integrate both theory and practice in the arts. Meyer's vision continues to the present day.

There are two campuses that comprise the California College of the Arts. The San Francisco location is in the Potrero Hill neighborhood. It is home to the California college's graduate programs, undergraduate programs in architecture and design, and the California College of the Arts Wattis Institute. The historic four-acre Oakland campus is home to the California college's undergraduate programs in art. First-year studios, residence halls, and the Center for Art and Public Life are also located here.

Noted for the interdisciplinary nature and breadth of its programs, California College of the Arts offers studies in 20 undergraduate and seven graduate majors and grants a variety of degrees. Some of these include the Bachelor of Architecture, the Bachelor of Fine Arts, the Master of Business Administration, and others.

California College of the Arts 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.

Quick Facts:

• California College of the Arts is the largest regionally accredited, independent, nonprofit school of art and design in the western United States.


• CCA is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD), the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB), and the Foundation for Interior Design Education Research (FIDER).


• The college has changed its name three times in 100 years. Frederick Meyer changed the name (School of the California Guild of Arts and Crafts) after the first year, and research has not turned up a reason.


• Campuses combined, California College of the Arts currently enrolls more than 1,600 full-time students.