The graduate admissions committee selects outstanding students for the prestigious graduate merit scholarships. These renewable scholarships, which range up to $42,000, are open to all prospective graduate students.

Eligibility

Recipients must be enrolled full time. These merit scholarships are awarded in combination with need-based scholarships for students who qualify.

Application

Applicants should complete all admission application requirements. No separate scholarship application is required.

Mission Statement:

"California College of the Arts awards the Visionary Practice Scholarship to students who have a perspective, a point of view, and are making a significant impact through their art work and life experiences. [This may include how you or your work has engaged with issues of identity, community, equity, social justice, …]. At CCA we strive to acknowledge their voices and advance creative excellence by giving aspiring artists the space and resources they need to thrive. CCA is cognizant of the structural inequality in our society and hopes to provide support and empower its students to shape culture and society with the objective of promoting equity among all."

Eligibility & Criteria

*Graduate students who are U.S. citizens, permanent residents or refugees/asylees and meet the deadlines are automatically considered for a Visionary Practice Scholarship.

Awards are based on a thorough review of the student's application, essay (including additional essay topics), and portfolio.

Application

• Prospective graduate students must complete all application requirements.
• Priority will be given to applicants who submit their admissions application by the January 15 deadline.
• Complete a FAFSA by the March 2 deadline.

• Awarded to graduate students with demonstrated financial need based on the information provided on FAFSA.
• Recipients must be U.S. citizens or eligible non-citizens.
• Institutional need-based scholarships such as CCA Scholarship, Petition funds, and CCA Supplemental Scholarships are applied directly towards tuition, fees, and all direct institutional charges.

*Students enrolled less than the standard unit requirement per program curriculum may receive prorated scholarships. Please see your program curriculum to check the standard unit requirement for each semester.

Merit and need-based scholarships are awarded to graduate students based on scholarship-specific eligibility criteria. Recipients must be enrolled full time and in good academic standing.

Scholarships listed here are available to all full-time graduate students who are either US citizens or eligible noncitizens and who demonstrate financial need.

Some of the scholarships are for students working in particular disciplines.

Carmen M. Christensen Graduate Scholarship
Discipline(s): Open

Dean's Scholarship in Honor of Lawrence Rinder
Discipline(s): Varies, Recruitment

The Terry Dougall and Robert Hill Rainbow Endowed Scholarship
Discipline(s): Interior Design

Gensler Family Foundation Scholarship
Discipline(s): Architecture

Heritage Scholarship
Discipline(s): Open

Yozo Hamaguchi Printmaking Scholarship
Discipline(s): Printmaking

The Mikae Hara Scholarship
Discipline(s): Printmaking, Painting

Fletcher Jones Foundation Endowed Scholarship
Discipline(s): Open, Diversity

Kaiser Permanente Scholarship
Discipline(s): Open, Diversity

Toby Devan Lewis Fellowship
Discipline(s): On Graduation, Sculpture, Painting, Media Arts, Mixed Media, Performance Art

Dennis Leon and Christin Nelson Scholarship
Discipline(s): On Graduation, Merit

Toni A. Lowenthal Memorial Scholarship
Discipline(s): Textiles

Byron Meyer Scholarship in Graduate Fine Arts
Discipline(s): Fine Arts

OgilvyOne Endowed Scholarship
Discipline(s): Graphic Design, Writing

Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation Scholarship
Discipline(s): Swedish Students, MFA Fine Arts, Design

Richard K. Price Scholarship
Discipline(s): Painting

George B. Saxe Scholarship
Discipline(s): Glass, Ceramics

Ellamae Simmons, MD Endowed Scholarship
Discipline(s): Open, African American Students

Barclay Simpson Scholarship
Discipline(s): Open, on Graduation, Merit

Ronald and Anita Wornick Scholarship
Discipline(s): Sculpture, Works in Wood

All-College Honors

Each spring CCA sponsors the All-College Honors Awards competition, which are then granted during the fall semester. Scholarship awards are given to students in the MA, MBA, MFA, and MArch graduate programs.

Merit prizes are awarded based on a juried portfolio review.

Eligibility Criteria

• Entrant must be a full-time student enrolled in a degree-seeking program during the spring semester and must plan to enroll as a full-time student in the fall. Students expecting to graduate in spring or summer semesters are ineligible. (Note: Continuing Comics students are eligible as long as they are enrolled in 6 units during the fall semester.)
• Entrant must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher and in good academic standing.
• Recipients of the Hamaguchi Award are ineligible to compete in the visual works category.

Award recipients must be enrolled full-time at the college in the fall semester; otherwise, the award is relinquished and granted to the next honorable mention recipient in the category.

Graduate Means of Entry

Merit prizes are awarded based on a juried portfolio review. Enrolled graduate students are eligible to submit portfolios for this one-year prize. Recipients must be in good academic standing and enrolled full time for the fall semester following the competition.

Graduate students will be notified by email when the application process opens in March of each spring semester. Visual and written submissions will be reviewed by an external jury for each graduate award(s).

For more information, please contact your program manager in the Graduate Office on the San Francisco campus.

Architecture

Graduate Architecture majors are eligible for the Architecture Award(s), which will be juried during the MArch mid-review. All students who participate in the review will be considered for the award.

In addition to scholarships, we offer work-study and loans.