Otis College of Art and Design is a private nonprofit institution offering graduate degrees based in Los Angeles, California. It enrolls 1,223 students (a small, tight-knit student body), according to IPEDS 2023-24 data. Every figure on this page is reported by the federal government, not supplied by the college, so it can be compared like for like against anywhere else you are looking.
AccreditorWestern Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission
Academic CalendarSemester
How It Measures Up
These four scores answer one question: compared with similar colleges, is this one worth the money? Each runs 0 to 100 and is judged only against its peer group (4-Year Selective), so a community college is never marked down for not being Harvard. Everything is computed from federal data. Nobody can pay to move a score, and a pillar with missing data is left unscored rather than guessed.
Fair
53/100
UCD Score · 4-Year Selective
Outcomes53
Value2
Affordability27
Selectivity55
Admissions & Acceptance Rate
Otis College of Art and Design admits 81.8% of applicants, which makes it open to most qualified applicants, so admission is unlikely to be the hurdle.
Acceptance Rate
81.8%
Easy
SAT Range (25th–75th)
1265 – 1395
Reading + Math combined
ACT Range (25th–75th)
—
Not reported
Test PolicyNot ConsideredStandardized test scores are not used in admissions decisions.
5-Year Admission Trend
Acceptance rate over the last five admission cycles. The trend tells you whether Otis College of Art and Design is getting harder, easier, or staying about the same.
Becoming less selective ↑
5.8 pts
since 2019
Cost & Financial Aid
Ignore the sticker price. What matters is the net price, which is what a typical family pays here after grants and scholarships come off. At $51,248 a year on average, it sits above what private nonprofit colleges charge nationally. That is a serious number, so the earnings further down matter more here than usual. Figures are College Scorecard 2023-24.
Published cost of attendance, the sticker price before grants and scholarships. Most students underestimate room & board and other expenses.
Tuition & Fees
$56,488
Room & Board (on-campus)
$20,784
Room & Board (off-campus)
$22,086
Books & Supplies
$1,062
Other Expenses (on-campus)
$3,213
Other Expenses (off-campus)
$4,968
Total Cost of Attendance
$75,861
Application fee: $50 (one-time, due at submission)
Net Price by Family Income
Aid is need-based, so net price varies by family income. Here's what each bracket typically pays after grants and scholarships.
Under $30,000
$44,731
$30,001 – $48,000
$44,821
$48,001 – $75,000
$28,167
$75,001 – $110,000
$52,495
Over $110,000
$60,718
Debt at Graduation
Cumulative federal-loan debt across the full borrowing distribution. The 10th and 90th percentiles bracket the typical range; the median sits in the middle.
$5,50010%percentile
$12,11625%percentile
$27,000Medianpercentile
$31,00075%percentile
$40,00090%percentile
Median Debt by Student Type
Median federal-loan debt at graduation broken down by demographic. Each slice's size is proportional to the dollar amount that group typically borrows.
GroupDebtvs Median
Pell recipients $22,900
↓ $4,100
No Pell $13,000
↓ $14,000
Dependent students $19,500
↓ $7,500
Independent students $25,000
↓ $2,000
Female students $20,000
↓ $7,000
Male students $19,750
↓ $7,250
Worth knowing:
Students who don't finish leave with a median debt of $8,250, less than completers ($27,000), but still a meaningful obligation without a degree in hand.
Graduation Rate & Retention
69% of students who start here finish within six years, and 74% come back after first year. Roughly half finish on that timeline, so budget for the possibility of a longer run. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.
Completion and earnings carry the most weight in this college's score, and how the UCD Score weighs each measure sets out exactly how they are combined.
6-Year Graduation Rate
69%
Of students who graduate within six years
First-Year Retention
74%
Returning for their second year
After Graduation: Earnings & Outcomes
Ten years after starting here, the median student earns $58,152 a year, above the national median. That is a healthy return for most cost levels. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.
Median Earnings (10 yrs)
$58,152
Earning > $25K
69%
10 yrs after entry
Earnings Growth After Graduation
Median annual earnings 6, 8, and 10 years after students first enrolled.
Earnings by Demographic
Mean annual earnings 10 years after entry, segmented by demographic. Reveals gaps the headline median can't show.
By Gender
Female graduates
$48,800
Median earnings for female grads ten years after first enrolling here.
Male graduates
$58,500
Median earnings for male grads ten years after first enrolling here.
By Family Income at Entry
Family income (lowest third)
$51,100
Earnings of grads from the bottom-third of family incomes at entry.
Family income (middle third)
$57,700
Earnings of grads from the middle-third of family incomes at entry.
Family income (highest third)
$48,900
Earnings of grads from the top-third of family incomes at entry.
The gender gap:
Male graduates earn $9,700, about 17% more than female graduates ten years out. The gap reflects industry mix, role choice, and structural pay differences that exist across most US colleges.
Loan Repayment Progression
Share of completer-cohort borrowers paying down at least $1 of principal at the 1-, 3-, 5-, and 7-year mark. Climbing rates show graduates settling into careers and managing debt; flat or declining rates are a warning.
Climbing: graduates increasingly paying down debt ↑
10.7 pts
across 6 years
What this signals:
Strong. 81% of graduates are actively reducing their debt seven years out.
Who Studies Here
Who you would actually be sitting next to: 1,223 students, a small, close-knit community.
Total Enrolled
1,223
Part-Time
2%
First-Generation
24%
Race & Ethnicity Breakdown
Undergraduate student body composition reported to the US Department of Education.
GroupShareStudents
White 24.9%305
Hispanic 23.4%286
Asian 18.7%229
International 18.6%228
Other 7.1%87
Black 6.1%74
Student Life & Campus Culture
Where students live, learn, and connect at Otis College of Art and Design. The campus setting, housing profile, and signals that shape day-to-day life here.
Otis College of Art and Design offers
a focused set of programs:
6 distinct programs across
2 majors.
Below are its strongest majors, each with flagship programs and typical earnings.
Open a major to explore it in depth, or browse the full program catalog.
There are 8 students for every instructor here: small classes, and staff who are likely to know your name.
Student : Faculty
8:1
Students per instructional faculty member
Endowment
$73M
Modest endowment
Avg Faculty Salary
$82,309
9-month equivalent across all ranks
Faculty by Rank
53 instructional faculty across 3 ranks.
The rank mix shows how many senior faculty are teaching versus contingent or junior staff, with average salary equated to a 9-month contract.
Rank
Faculty Count
Share
Avg Salary
Full Professors
16
30%
$89,029
Associate Professors
19
36%
$82,543
Assistant Professors
18
34%
$76,089
Pros & Cons of Otis College of Art and Design
No college is right for everyone. Here is where Otis College of Art and Design is likely to suit you and where it may not, based on the same figures shown above.
Very high published cost of attendance (full-pay families pay much more than the net-price average)
Narrow program catalog compared to mid-sized peers
Best for:
Based on the data, Otis College of Art and Design is a fit for
students who want a clear path to start college without a competitive admissions barrier; students who thrive in small, close-knit environments.
Frequently Asked Questions about Otis College of Art and Design
The questions families ask most about Otis College of Art and Design, answered straight from the federal data rather than from the college's own marketing.
Is Otis College of Art and Design hard to get into?
Not especially. Otis College of Art and Design admits most qualified applicants, with an acceptance rate of 81.8%. Plan around cost and whether students finish, not your odds of getting in.
What is the acceptance rate at Otis College of Art and Design?
81.8% of applicants are admitted. Most applicants who meet the basic requirements are admitted. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.
What SAT score do you need for Otis College of Art and Design?
Aim for 1395 or better. Half of admitted students scored between 1265 and 1395 (Reading plus Math), so anything above the top of that range makes you competitive and anything below the bottom means the rest of your application has to carry more weight. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.
How much does Otis College of Art and Design cost?
Budget around $51,248 a year. That is the net price, what families typically pay once grants and scholarships come off, not the sticker price. Your own figure depends on household income, so treat this as a midpoint rather than a quote. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.
Is Otis College of Art and Design worth it?
On the numbers, yes: moderate return on investment. Ten years in, the median graduate earns $58,152 a year against a net price of $51,248, about 1.1 dollars of earnings for every dollar of annual cost. That ratio ignores whether you finish and what you study, which matter just as much. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.
What is Otis College of Art and Design known for?
Mostly Visual & Performing Arts, Design, Fine Arts. Those are the fields where it awards the most degrees, which is a better guide to where the teaching strength sits than any reputation ranking. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.
What do Otis College of Art and Design graduates earn?
About $58,152 a year, measured ten years after students first enrolled. Half earn more and half earn less, and what you study moves that figure far more than where you study. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.
Is Otis College of Art and Design accredited?
Yes. Otis College of Art and Design is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission.
How many students attend Otis College of Art and Design?
1,223 students. Small enough that you will recognize faces across campus, and small enough that course choice can be limited. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.
What is the graduation rate at Otis College of Art and Design?
69% finish within six years. That leaves a meaningful share who do not finish on that timeline, so budget for the possibility of a longer run. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.
Is Otis College of Art and Design a public or private college?
It is Private Nonprofit. Private nonprofit, so the sticker price is higher but institutional aid is often larger too.
Where is Otis College of Art and Design located?
Otis College of Art and Design is located in Los Angeles, California.
What programs does Otis College of Art and Design offer?
6 different programs, most commonly Visual & Performing Arts, Design, Fine Arts. If the subject you want is not among them, check the full list before applying rather than assuming it is offered.
What is the student-to-faculty ratio at Otis College of Art and Design?
8 students per instructor. Low enough that staff are likely to know who you are. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.
Related Colleges in California
Other colleges in California share the same applicant pool, regional economy, and academic landscape. Comparing nearby options puts admissions, costs, and outcomes in context, useful when weighing your fit against local alternatives.
Free, data-backed guides to help you decide, built on the same federal data as this profile.
H
How to Build Your College List Pillar
The full process of narrowing from 3,811 US colleges to a shortlist of ~10. Cost, location, size, selectivity, and fit factors that actually predict whether you'll thrive.
What actually makes a college work for first-generation students, the support and aid signals that predict success, and how to find the schools that deliver them using federal data.
How to find the colleges that deliver the strongest return on a STEM degree by weighing earnings outcomes against net cost, rather than chasing the most selective name.
Original data analyses built on the same federal data as this profile. Rankings, outliers, and patterns, no opinions.
American Colleges by the Numbers
One federal dataset, 3,811 colleges. The median school costs $16,296 a year, admits 78% of applicants, and enrolls 1,280 students. The shape of US higher ed.
Higher education data
Net price
College enrollment
Acceptance rate
College ownership
Do Selective Schools Actually Graduate More Students?
Across 1,645 four-year colleges, graduation rates climb steadily with selectivity, from 54% at open-admission schools to 93% at the most exclusive. The gap is real.
Graduation rate
Acceptance rate
Selectivity
Completion
College outcomes
For-Profit Colleges Charge the Most and Pay the Least
For-profit colleges post the highest median net price of any sector and the lowest graduate earnings. They cost more than private nonprofits and pay less than publics.
For-profit colleges
Net price
Earnings
College ROI
College ownership
Continue Exploring
Browse our full directory: every college, major, program, and career we track, all built from verified government data.
