About California Institute of Art (CalArts)

CalArts has a multidisciplinary approach to its studies of the arts through six schools: Art, Critical Studies, Dance, Film/Video, Music and Theater. CalArts encourages students to explore and recognize the complexity of the many aspects of the arts. It is supported by a distinguished faculty of practicing artists and provides its Bachelor and Master of Fine Arts students with the hands-on training and exposure necessary for an artist’s growth. CalArts was founded in 1961 and opened in 1969 as the first institution of higher learning in the United States specifically for students interested in the pursuit of degrees in all areas of the visual and performing arts. CalArts is an accredited college of the arts.

CalArts is one of the nation’s premier colleges for studying the art of the moving image, and the School of Film/Video hosts a faculty of actively working film artists. The Program in Character Animation is renowned for fostering technically and artistically superior animation artists and is generally acknowledged as one of the leading animation programs in the world.

Character Animation at CalArts is recognized as one of the foremost college educational centers for character animation in the United States, and has graduated such noted alums as John Lasseter, Brad Bird, Pete Docter and Tim Burton. It is one of five programs in the Film/Video School, each with its own specialized curriculum and shared ethos for combining rigorous practical training with theoretical inquiry, hands-on production and aesthetic reflection.


CalArts is proud of its diverse student body and deeply committed to supporting the cultural and artistic aspirations of all its students. A commitment to increasing opportunities for low-income students and currently disenfranchised groups is necessary, as is the desire to work to support institutional goals of equity and diversity in an ongoing way. CalArts is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE).