California Institute of the Arts vs Harvard

California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) and Harvard University stand as two distinct beacons of higher education, each offering a unique path to academic excellence. CalArts, renowned for its focus on the arts, boasts an acceptance rate of 33%, while Harvard, a bastion of academic rigor, maintains a highly selective admissions process with an acceptance rate of just 5%. While both institutions attract a diverse student body, CalArts' student population leans towards the arts, with popular majors including Film/Video, Music, and Dance, while Harvard's student body is more evenly distributed across a wide range of disciplines, with popular majors including Computer Science, Economics, and Government. With a graduation rate of 89%, CalArts ensures that its students are well-prepared for their chosen careers, while Harvard's exceptional 98% graduation rate speaks to its commitment to academic achievement. Delve into the comparison table below to discover more about these two esteemed institutions and determine which one aligns best with
California Institute of the Arts logo

California Institute of the Arts

Harvard University logo

Harvard University

Overview

Location Valencia, California Cambridge, Massachusetts
Campus setting Suburb: Large City: Midsize
College type 4 year 4 year
Control/business model Private (Non Profit) Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system Semester Semester
Degrees offered Undergraduate and Graduate Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate 94.0% 96.0%
Common app member No Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission

Acceptance rate 29.0% 4.0%
Application fees
Undergraduate: $70

Graduate: $70
Undergraduate: $75

Graduate: $105
SAT range N/A 1480 - 1580
ACT range N/A 33 - 36
Students submitting SAT score 54.0%
Students submitting ACT score 31.0%
Total number of applicants 2,364 57,786
Total number of admissions given out 685 2,318
Admitted students who chose to enroll 203 1,951
Yield rate 29.6% 84.2%
Test scores (SAT/ACT) N/A N/A
High school GPA Not required Not required
Recommendation letters Required Required
High school transcript Not required Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL) Required Not required

Tuition and Fees

Sticker price $79,792 $78,028
Average net price $53,916 $13,910
Tuition $52,850 $51,143
Room & board
Room/dormitory: $7,040

Meal plan: $5,095
Room/dormitory: $11,705

Meal plan: $7,236
Available payment plans
  • Tuition payment plan
  • Prepaid tuition plan
  • Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid

Students receiving financial aid

(Grants & scholarships)

99.0%
Average amount $18,119
56.0%
Average amount $59,840
Students receiving federal student loan 26.0%
Average amount $5,615
3.0%
Average amount $5,180
Students taking out private loans 1.0%
Average amount $12,000
2.0%
Average amount $8,080

Students and Campus

Undergraduate students 965
Men 41.6% Women 58.4%
9,579
Men 49.0% Women 51.0%
Graduate students 479
Men 37.2% Women 62.8%
21,766
Men 46.3% Women 53.7%
Racial/ethnic diversity
Moderate
Moderate
Out-of-state students N/A N/A
International students 29.0% 23.9%
Campus local/setting Suburb: Large City: Midsize
Dormitory capacity 441 12,874
First year students are required to live on campus? No Yes
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from N/A New York California Texas Illinois New Jersey

Academics

Popular study areas
  • Visual & Performing Arts
  • Communications Technology
  • English Language and Literature
  • Computer and Information Science
  • Multidisciplinary Studies
  • Business
  • Health Professions
  • Social Sciences
  • Education
  • Legal Profession
Students to faculty ratio 7:1 7:1
Institutional accreditation Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission New England Commission on Higher Education

Outcome

Graduation rate 71.9% 96.7%
Dropout rate 28.1% 2.0%
Transferred out N/A N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)
Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $24,469
  • Year 2: $32,563
  • Year 3: $36,735
Fine and Studio Arts (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $14,239
  • Year 2: $23,456
  • Year 3: $29,527
Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: N/A
  • Year 3: $29,030
Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $24,555
  • Year 2: $22,420
  • Year 3: $28,984
Music (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $17,629
  • Year 2: N/A
  • Year 3: $28,791
Film/Video and Photographic Arts (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $22,992
  • Year 2: $20,140
  • Year 3: $22,579
Music (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $15,918
  • Year 2: $20,140
  • Year 3: $21,662
Film/Video and Photographic Arts (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $26,425
  • Year 2: $25,194
  • Year 3: $21,635
Dance (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $22,773
  • Year 2: $15,182
  • Year 3: N/A
Design and Applied Arts (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: $49,840
  • Year 3: N/A
Statistics (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $78,193
  • Year 2: $128,716
  • Year 3: $240,408
Law (First Professional Degrees)
  • Year 1: $184,307
  • Year 2: $165,340
  • Year 3: $199,043
Business Administration, Management and Operations (First Professional Degrees)
  • Year 1: $171,333
  • Year 2: $171,907
  • Year 3: $187,553
Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $140,072
  • Year 2: $128,737
  • Year 3: $163,896
Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences (Graduate/Professional Certificates)
  • Year 1: $151,371
  • Year 2: $174,023
  • Year 3: $163,512
Public Health (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $123,508
  • Year 2: $117,916
  • Year 3: $129,281
Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: $106,421
  • Year 3: $121,832
Applied Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $102,707
  • Year 2: $90,856
  • Year 3: $121,771
Education, General (Doctoral Degrees)
  • Year 1: $97,905
  • Year 2: $98,670
  • Year 3: $107,389
Dentistry (First Professional Degrees)
  • Year 1: $68,745
  • Year 2: $71,486
  • Year 3: $106,375

Compare Similar Colleges

The list of suggested college comparisons provided below is generated automatically by our system, utilizing statistics gathered from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and various online sources. If you don't find the colleges you wish to compare, please visit our comparison page. There, you can search for the specific colleges and initiate your comparison.
California Institute of the Arts California Institute of the Arts vs American Conservatory Theater American Conservatory Theater
California Institute of the Arts California Institute of the Arts vs Art Center College of Design Art Center College of Design
California Institute of the Arts California Institute of the Arts vs California College of the Arts California College of the Arts
California Institute of the Arts California Institute of the Arts vs Design Institute of San Diego Design Institute of San Diego
California Institute of the Arts California Institute of the Arts vs San Francisco Art Institute San Francisco Art Institute
California Institute of the Arts California Institute of the Arts vs Savannah College of Art and Design Savannah College of Art and Design
California Institute of the Arts California Institute of the Arts vs Northwestern University Northwestern University
California Institute of the Arts California Institute of the Arts vs University of Notre Dame University of Notre Dame
California Institute of the Arts California Institute of the Arts vs Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music
California Institute of the Arts California Institute of the Arts vs Harvard University Harvard University
California Institute of the Arts California Institute of the Arts vs Massachusetts College of Art and Design Massachusetts College of Art and Design
California Institute of the Arts California Institute of the Arts vs Massachusetts Institute of Technology Massachusetts Institute of Technology
California Institute of the Arts California Institute of the Arts vs Dartmouth College Dartmouth College
California Institute of the Arts California Institute of the Arts vs Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art
California Institute of the Arts California Institute of the Arts vs Cornell University Cornell University
California Institute of the Arts California Institute of the Arts vs Duke University Duke University
California Institute of the Arts California Institute of the Arts vs University of North Carolina School of the Arts University of North Carolina School of the Arts
California Institute of the Arts California Institute of the Arts vs Columbus College of Art and Design Columbus College of Art and Design
California Institute of the Arts California Institute of the Arts vs Brown University Brown University
California Institute of the Arts California Institute of the Arts vs Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University
California Institute of the Arts California Institute of the Arts vs Rice University Rice University
California Institute of the Arts California Institute of the Arts vs Stanford University Stanford University
California Institute of the Arts California Institute of the Arts vs Gnomon Gnomon
Harvard University Harvard vs California Institute of Technology California Institute of Technology
Harvard University Harvard vs University of California-Berkeley University of California-Berkeley
Harvard University Harvard vs University of California-Davis University of California-Davis
Harvard University Harvard vs University of Southern California University of Southern California
Harvard University Harvard vs Yale University Yale University
Harvard University Harvard vs University of Chicago University of Chicago
Harvard University Harvard vs Northwestern University Northwestern University
Harvard University Harvard vs University of Notre Dame University of Notre Dame
Harvard University Harvard vs Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University
Harvard University Harvard vs United States Naval Academy United States Naval Academy
Harvard University Harvard vs Brandeis University Brandeis University
Harvard University Harvard vs Wellesley College Wellesley College
Harvard University Harvard vs Barnard College Barnard College
Harvard University Harvard vs Jewish Theological Seminary of America Jewish Theological Seminary of America
Harvard University Harvard vs New York University New York University
Harvard University Harvard vs University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill