California Institute of the Arts
California Institute of the Arts is an independent art school in Valencia, California offering undergraduate and postgraduate programmes across art, film, music, dance and theatre. Applicants submit a portfolio through the CalArts Application and non-native speakers meet IELTS or TOEFL requirements.
Valencia, California, United StatesIndependent art schoolcalarts.edu
Schools and subjects
- School of Art
- School of Film/Video
- Herb Alpert School of Music
- Sharon Disney Lund School of Dance
- School of Theater
- School of Critical Studies
Listed under: film schools.
Undergraduate requirements
BFA / Certificate
Portfolio must be submitted directly through the CalArts Application (SlideRoom, third-party platforms, PDF or external links are not accepted). Example BFA Art: about 20 individual images or videos (recent three years preferred), total video length no more than 7 minutes; a 30-90 second self-introduction video is required.
International students (non-native English speakers who have not completed three years at an English-taught school) must submit: IELTS 6.5; TOEFL iBT (before 21 January 2026, 80+; on or after, 4+); PTE 53+; Duolingo 105+. Scores must arrive by the regular deadline.
USD62,954 per year (2026-27 academic year, full-time BFA/Certificate USD31,477 per semester).
Fall 2027: 1 December 2026 priority deadline (reduced fee); 5 January 2027 regular deadline; rolling admission thereafter.
Some programmes may require a virtual interview (e.g. BFA Creative Computing).
Postgraduate requirements
MFA / MA / DMA / MDes
Varies by programme, all submitted through the CalArts Application. Example MFA Art and Technology: about 20 examples of current work, accepting JPEG/PNG/GIF/MP4/MOV and Vimeo/YouTube/personal website links; MFA Art: about 20 individual slides. Most programmes require an artist statement.
IELTS 7.0; TOEFL iBT (before 21 January 2026, 100+; on or after, 5+); PTE 63+; Duolingo 120+.
USD62,954 per year (2026-27 academic year, full-time graduate MFA/DMA etc. USD31,477 per semester); MA Aesthetics and Politics year one USD50,407 per year.
Fall 2027: 1 December 2026 priority deadline; 5 January 2027 regular deadline.
Some programmes may require an interview or audition.
Other notes
International students are automatically considered for merit-based achievement scholarships without a separate application; international students are not eligible for federal or state aid and may receive only CalArts scholarships and possible work-study, which are limited and do not cover full tuition.
If AI is used in application materials (writing beyond basic grammar and spell-check, or AI use in the creative process), the tools used, how and why must be disclosed, stated at the end of texts, in portfolio descriptions and supplementary materials; AI use must be transparent, and heavy use may trigger additional review. Human creativity and artistic vision are emphasised as central.
Sources for this page
- https://calarts.edu
- https://calarts.edu/apply/bfa-art
- https://calarts.edu/admissions-aid/admissions/international-applicants
- https://calarts.edu/admissions-aid/admissions/application-process/application-deadlines-and-fees
- https://calarts.edu/admissions-aid/tuition/tuition-and-fees
- https://calarts.edu/apply/mfa-art-tech
Taken from the school’s website and checked on 2026-10-27. Schools change their requirements every year; open the official pages above to confirm the current version before you apply.