Kansas City Art Institute vs California Institute of the Arts

Kansas City Art Institute (KCAI) and California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) stand out as two prominent art schools in the United States, each offering a unique educational experience. KCAI, located in the heart of Kansas City, Missouri, boasts a long history of excellence in art education, while CalArts, situated in Valencia, California, has gained recognition for its innovative approach to the arts. While both institutions share a commitment to nurturing artistic talent, they differ in several key aspects, including acceptance rates, popular majors, student body demographics, and graduation rates. Explore our comprehensive comparison table to discover which institution aligns best with your artistic aspirations and academic goals.

	California Institute of the Arts	Kansas City Art Institute
Overview
Location	Valencia, California	Kansas City, Missouri
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	City: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	94.0%	74.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	29.0%	60.0%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $70
SAT range	N/A	N/A
ACT range	N/A	N/A
Students submitting SAT score
Students submitting ACT score
Total number of applicants	2,364	897
Total number of admissions given out	685	538
Admitted students who chose to enroll	203	206
Yield rate	29.6%	38.3%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Not required	Required
Recommendation letters	Required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$79,792	$52,075
Average net price	$53,916	$27,274
Tuition	$52,850	$39,975
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,040 Meal plan: $5,095	Room/dormitory: $8,700 Meal plan: $3,425
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	99.0% Average amount $18,119	99.0% Average amount $26,787
Students receiving federal student loan	26.0% Average amount $5,615	76.0% Average amount $4,963
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $12,000	14.0% Average amount $16,562

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	965 Men 41.6% Women 58.4%	726 Men 25.9% Women 74.1%
Graduate students	479 Men 37.2% Women 62.8%	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	N/A
International students	29.0%	0.8%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	441	229
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Visual & Performing Arts Communications Technology English Language and Literature Computer and Information Science Multidisciplinary Studies	Visual & Performing Arts Communications Technology English Language and Literature
Students to faculty ratio	7:1	9:1
Institutional accreditation	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	71.9%	62.1%
Dropout rate	28.1%	17.2%
Transferred out	N/A	20.7%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $24,469 Year 2: $32,563 Year 3: $36,735 Fine and Studio Arts (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $14,239 Year 2: $23,456 Year 3: $29,527 Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: N/A Year 3: $29,030 Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $24,555 Year 2: $22,420 Year 3: $28,984 Music (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $17,629 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $28,791 Film/Video and Photographic Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $22,992 Year 2: $20,140 Year 3: $22,579 Music (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $15,918 Year 2: $20,140 Year 3: $21,662 Film/Video and Photographic Arts (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $26,425 Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: $21,635 Dance (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $22,773 Year 2: $15,182 Year 3: N/A Design and Applied Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $49,840 Year 3: N/A	Design and Applied Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $21,327 Year 2: $27,947 Year 3: $39,160 Film/Video and Photographic Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $15,126 Year 2: $27,476 Year 3: $28,754 Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $19,245 Year 2: $22,715 Year 3: $28,248 Graphic Communications (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $15,235 Year 2: $20,140 Year 3: $23,530 Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $25,580 Year 3: N/A

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