Visual and Performing Arts colleges in California, ranked by graduates
51 colleges in California awarded at least 10 bachelor's degrees in visual and performing arts in 2023: 10,362 degrees, 5.6% of all bachelor's degrees at those colleges (4.3% across every college CollegeCalcAI tracks). Cal State Long Beach graduated the most (950, 10.8% of its class). 27 of the 51 are public universities. The median acceptance rate among them is 76%; the most selective is Stanford University at 4%.
Visual and Performing Arts colleges in California
Every California college awarding at least 10 bachelor's degrees in visual and performing arts, ranked by 2023 graduates. Click a college for its visual and performing arts page.
| # | College | Type | Degrees (2023) | Share of grads | Acceptance rate | SAT 75th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cal State Long Beach | Public | 950 | 10.8% | 46% | 1280 |
| 2 | University of Southern California | Private | 681 | 11.8% | 10% | 1530 |
| 3 | Cal State Fullerton | Public | 590 | 6.3% | 91% | 1230 |
| 4 | San Francisco State University | Public | 522 | 10.3% | 96% | 1180 |
| 5 | San Jose State University | Public | 473 | 7.5% | 85% | 1220 |
| 6 | Cal State Northridge | Public | 471 | 5.7% | 93% | 1150 |
| 7 | UC Santa Cruz | Public | 469 | 10.1% | 66% | 1180 |
| 8 | UC Davis | Public | 407 | 5% | 42% | 1380 |
| 9 | San Diego State University | Public | 396 | 4.6% | 36% | 1340 |
| 10 | Chapman University | Private | 394 | 21.6% | 65% | 1380 |
| 11 | UCLA | Public | 374 | 3.9% | 9% | 1510 |
| 12 | UC Santa Barbara | Public | 372 | 5.8% | 33% | 1430 |
| 13 | UC Irvine | Public | 362 | 4.4% | 29% | 1420 |
| 14 | Loyola Marymount University | Private | 316 | 18.7% | 45% | 1370 |
| 15 | Sacramento State University | Public | 305 | 4% | 94% | 1170 |
| 16 | University of California, Berkeley | Public | 287 | 3.1% | 11% | 1530 |
| 17 | UC Riverside | Public | 270 | 5% | 76% | 1300 |
| 18 | UC San Diego | Public | 228 | 2.6% | 27% | 1490 |
| 19 | Cal State Los Angeles | Public | 226 | 4.3% | 91% | 1150 |
| 20 | Fresno State University | Public | 193 | 3.7% | 95% | 1160 |
| 21 | Cal Poly Pomona | Public | 193 | 3.3% | 75% | 1300 |
| 22 | Cal State Chico | Public | 188 | 5.8% | 93% | 1170 |
| 23 | Cal State East Bay | Public | 170 | 5.3% | 97% | 1080 |
| 24 | Cal State San Bernardino | Public | 149 | 3.4% | 94% | 1090 |
| 25 | Cal State Dominguez Hills | Public | 128 | 4.1% | 93% | 1020 |
| 26 | Biola University | Private | 111 | 14.4% | 74% | 1260 |
| 27 | California Baptist University | Private | 109 | 5.8% | 85% | 1170 |
| 28 | Cal State San Marcos | Public | 95 | 2.9% | 95% | 1190 |
| 29 | Azusa Pacific University | Private | 91 | 7.6% | 88% | 1200 |
| 30 | Cal Poly Humboldt | Public | 82 | 6.2% | 98% | 1150 |
| 31 | Cal Poly San Luis Obispo | Public | 79 | 1.6% | 31% | 1420 |
| 32 | California Lutheran University | Private | 65 | 10.2% | 76% | 1230 |
| 33 | Cal State Monterey Bay | Public | 61 | 3.4% | 97% | 1130 |
| 34 | Saint Mary's College of California | Private | 60 | 8.9% | 87% | 1290 |
| 35 | Occidental College | Private | 60 | 15% | 44% | 1420 |
| 36 | Pepperdine University | Private | 53 | 6.4% | 63% | 1400 |
| 37 | Cal State Stanislaus | Public | 44 | 1.8% | 98% | 1080 |
| 38 | University of San Francisco | Private | 42 | 3.2% | 62% | 1340 |
| 39 | Stanford University | Private | 35 | 1.9% | 4% | 1570 |
| 40 | University of the Pacific | Private | 32 | 4.1% | 71% | 1300 |
| 41 | Point Loma Nazarene University | Private | 32 | 4% | 84% | 1290 |
| 42 | Concordia University Irvine | Private | 30 | 7.2% | 66% | 1150 |
| 43 | Jessup University | Private | 26 | 13.8% | 68% | 1150 |
| 44 | William Jessup University | Private | 26 | 13.8% | 93% | 1120 |
| 45 | Vanguard University | Private | 24 | 4.8% | 62% | 1150 |
| 46 | University of San Diego | Private | 21 | 1.6% | 52% | 1360 |
| 47 | Santa Clara University | Private | 17 | 1.3% | 48% | 1430 |
| 48 | Dominican University (CA) | Private | 14 | 4.7% | 84% | 1150 |
| 49 | La Sierra University | Private | 14 | 6.4% | 92% | 1120 |
| 50 | Masters University | Private | 14 | 4.3% | 84% | 1120 |
| 51 | Westmont College | Private | 11 | 3.4% | 77% | 1150 |
Questions about visual and performing arts colleges in California
What is the best college for visual and performing arts in California?
By bachelor's degrees awarded in 2023, the largest visual and performing arts programs in California are Cal State Long Beach (950), University of Southern California (681), Cal State Fullerton (590). "Best" depends on your profile: this page ranks every California college in the field by output and shows each one's acceptance rate and admitted SAT so you can match it to your own numbers.
How many colleges in California offer visual and performing arts?
51 four-year colleges in California awarded 10 or more bachelor's degrees in visual and performing arts in 2023, 27 public and 24 private, for 10,362 graduates in total.
Is in-state status an advantage for visual and performing arts in California?
At the 27 public universities on this list, California residents are usually admitted at a higher rate than out-of-state applicants and pay in-state tuition. CollegeCalcAI applies the residency effect when you set your home state, and the per-major adjustment when you set the major.
Visual and Performing Arts elsewhere
The same field in other states, and the national ranking.
Source: U.S. Department of Education, IPEDS 2023 Completions (bachelor's degrees, first majors, CIP 2-digit series), joined to CollegeCalcAI's admissions dataset. Built 2026-09-19. Estimates from CollegeCalcAI are not predictions or guarantees.