Columbus College of Art & Design

Private · Moderately Selective · OH

Photo: David Lucas (Public domain)

School data & stats

TypePrivate

LocationOH · Midwest

SettingUrban

Undergrads882

Student:faculty10:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate48%

6-yr grad rate55.6%

Drop-out rate19.7%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$41k

Out-of-state tuition$41k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity33.6%

Gender diversity73%

International0.4%

Identity—

Overview

Columbus College of Art & Design, known as CCAD, is a private art and design college in downtown Columbus, Ohio, and one of the older independent art schools in the country. It anchors the city's Discovery District alongside other cultural institutions and is built entirely around studio-based art and design education.

Academics

Illustration, industrial design, animation, and fashion are CCAD's strongest and best-known programs, with curriculum organized around sustained studio practice and portfolio development rather than a conventional liberal-arts core. The college's location gives students real proximity to Columbus's sizable consumer-brand and retail design industry, a genuine advantage for design majors specifically.

Campus & student life

Campus life is dense and studio-driven, with long working hours in dedicated studio space typical of art-college culture generally. The downtown Discovery District setting places students close to museums, galleries, and the rest of Columbus's arts scene.

Getting in

Admission centers on a portfolio and creative range rather than test scores or a formula-driven review, consistent with art-college practice generally.

After graduation

Design graduates find real local pipelines into Columbus's consumer-brand and retail design sector, while illustration, animation, and fashion graduates pursue both regional and national creative careers.

ccad.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate67.7%

Enrolled mid-50%—

Test policynot used

Rec letters0

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

AdmissionRolling

Applying