California College of the Arts 

The California College of the Arts draws talented students from around the globe who want to attend one of the finest schools of art and design in the United States. With creative solutions to advance culture and community, they train young, innovative students to become flexible creators.

 

The private non-profit college, led by President Stephen Beal, offers a rich curriculum of 22 undergraduate and 11 graduate programs, and is noted for its interdisciplinary curriculum, variety of programs, and dedication to social responsibility. Students experience immersive, interdisciplinary exposure that emphasizes theory and practice, spread across two different campuses in the Bay Area, allowing them to develop the creative confidence and entrepreneurial skills required for contemporary creative practice.

 

Companies such as Pixar/Disney, Apple, Intel, Facebook, Gensler, Google, IDEO, Autodesk, Mattel, and Nike are greatly sought after by graduates. Many alumni have founded their own popular companies, and alumni work is included in major collections such as the Museum of Art in Los Angeles County, MoMA New York, Guggenheim Museum, Whitney Museum, SFMOMA, Washington D.C. National Gallery of Art, Library of Congress, and London Tate Modern.

 

Established in 1907 by Frederick Meyer, CCA is currently expanding its San Francisco campus through the award-winning design firm Studio Gang with new student housing and a new building.

 

Mission

CCA is a place of ingenuity and originality.

 

Values

As an educational and cultural institution, CCA believes in fostering the artistic and academic excellence of our students and faculty.

• We cultivate intellectual curiosity and risk-taking, collaboration and innovation, compassion and integrity

• As a global citizen and good neighbor, CCA believes in its role as a proponent of social justice and community engagement

• We promote diversity on our campuses by improving access and opportunities for underrepresented groups, and we see this endeavor as vitally enriching for everyone

• We value sustainability and believe that as a school of the arts we have a unique ability and an ethical responsibility to shape a culture that is more environmentally responsible

• We understand the importance of creative economies and the role of artists, designers, architects, and writers in solving social, cultural, environmental, and economic problems

 

Sustainability goals

CCA has an ethical duty as a college of art and design to shape a community that is environmentally friendly. The people who will create the objects, places, and experiences of the future are their students. In architecture, building, processes, and education, they continually work towards sustainability.

 

CCA will broaden and enrich its sustainability curriculum to include all academic programs to catalyze the learning opportunities inherent in their new San Francisco campus, and the campus itself will serve as a laboratory for sustainable practice, where producers can experiment and innovate. Everywhere, learning will happen and will be clear to everyone.

 

The college has outlined ambitious sustainability objectives, including strategies for the following:

• Water and energy generation, usage, and conservation

• Healthy air quality

• Environmentally safe artmaking materials and practices

 

CCA's San Francisco campus has been a sustainability model since its opening in 1999, and it earned a COTE Top Ten Green Building award in 2001. Their goal is for the new, reconfigured campus of CCA to operate at an even higher level of sustainability by serving as a learning center with noticeable and understandable sustainability success for the students, faculty, staff, and others who will use it. To help achieve these goals, Studio Gang and the college are collaborating with environmental experts from the Rocky Mountain Institute and Atelier Ten.