estimates the return on investment 10 years after graduation with a bachelor's from CalArts is -$80,000; however, this metric appreciates to $630,000 40 years after graduation.
=== Graduation rates ===
According to College Scorecard, the graduation rate at Calarts is 65%.
== Reception and legacy ==
As of 2025, U.S. News & World Report's most recent rankings place CalArts as the fifth best overall graduate program for fine arts in the United States. This ranks CalArts as tied with the Rhode Island School of Design, and behind the UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Yale School of Art, and Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts. By specialty, CalArts is ranked third in Time-Based Media/New Media and ninth in Painting/Drawing, Photography, and Sculpture. These rankings were done in 2020.
In 2011, Newsweek/The Daily Beast listed CalArts as the top school for arts-minded students. The ranking was not aimed to assess the country's best school, but rather …
