California College of the Arts

California College of the Arts was founded in 1907 by Frederick Meyer as the School of the California Guild of Arts and Crafts. Meyer modeled the school on German arts-and-crafts workshop training. It later operated from Oakland and San Francisco; the Oakland campus has closed and the college is now based in San Francisco. It is a private art and design college rather than a general university.

Academic work is organized around architecture, design, fine arts, and humanities and sciences. Graduate students work toward MFA degrees in fine arts, design, writing and related studio fields, and toward a Master of Architecture. The Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts and campus galleries and workshops are part of graduate life.

The college enrolls about 1,500 students, with graduate students a substantial share. International students make up a large minority. Faculty are practicing artists, architects and designers. Alumni include designer Yves Béhar, filmmaker Wayne Wang and artist David Ireland.

Graduate study is studio- and critique-based master's work over two or three years, not a research doctorate. The calendar is a conventional semester year. Students work at the San Francisco campus in a city whose design, technology and arts employers shape internships and postgraduate work.

In the Grad School Navigator directory, California College of the Arts lists 1 master's program, in environmental design.