Private nonprofit · Institute

Cleveland Institute of Art

Cleveland, Ohio · Large city

61.4%
Admit rate
$29,208
Avg net price
58%
Graduation rate
$42,509
Median earnings

Cleveland Institute of Art is a private nonprofit bachelor's-granting institution in Cleveland, Ohio (large city setting), enrolling 539 undergraduates.

Private nonprofitSmall · 539 undergradsLarge cityAccessible · 61% admitCold wintersSnowy

Will you get in?

See where your numbers land against Cleveland Institute of Art's admitted students.

Admit rate
61.4%
SAT (mid 50%)
980–1280
Avg GPA (est.)
3.46

Enter a test score to see where you land against Cleveland Institute of Art's admitted students.

A guide, not a prediction. It compares your numbers with the middle 50% of admitted students and Cleveland Institute of Art's overall admit rate — it can't see essays, recommendations, activities, or your intended major, which all move real decisions.

About Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Cleveland was established on July 22, 1796, by surveyors of the Connecticut Land Company when they laid out Connecticut's Western Reserve into townships and a capital city. Cleveland's Playhouse Square is the second largest performing arts center in the U.S. behind New York City's Lincoln Center. It includes the State, Palace, Allen, Hanna, and Ohio theaters. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Large city
Highest degree offered
Bachelor's
Nearest big city
5 miles to Cleveland, OH
To Great Lakes shore
3 miles
Nearest airport
15 miles to Cleveland Hopkins (CLE) · major hub

How Cleveland Institute of Art compares

Selectivity61.4%

More selective than 75% · #17 most selective of 65 in Ohio

SAT average1193

Higher than 57%

Graduation rate58%

Higher than 57% · #31 of 73 in Ohio

First-year retention88%

Higher than 82%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$42,509

Higher than 18% · #61 of 74 in Ohio

Average net price$29,208

Cheaper than 17% · #62 cheapest of 73 in Ohio

Median debt at graduation$27,000

Lower than 11%

Student–faculty ratio9 : 1

Lower than 83%

Undergraduate enrollment539

Larger than 23%

Percentiles compare Cleveland Institute of Art with the nation's 2,196 four-year colleges, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count four-year colleges in Ohio.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

539undergrads
  • Women35365%
  • Men18635%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White62%
  • Black16%
  • Hispanic11%
  • Asian3.7%
  • Other or multiracial7.2%

Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
539
Student–faculty ratio
9 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
42%
First-generation students
27%
Students over 25
5%
Median family income
$53,314
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$64,206
Endowment
$37,610,248

Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.

Where students come from

Home state of the 122 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

  • From Ohio69%
  • Other U.S. states31%

A regional draw: about 69% of first-years come from Ohio, the rest from elsewhere.

Out-of-state students usually pay a higher tuition rate at public schools — check the cost card above for your bracket. Source: IPEDS residence & migration, fall 2023 entering class.

Admissions

Admission rate
61.4%
Test scores
Considered but not required
SAT range (25th–75th %)
980–1280
SAT average
1193
SAT reading
500–660
SAT math
480–620
ACT composite
23–29
Average GPA (estimated)
3.46

Cost

In-state tuition
$49,400
Room & board
$12,850
Books & supplies
$1,700
Total cost of attendance
$64,587
Average net price
$29,208

Net price is the total cost minus grants and scholarships — what students actually pay. It varies sharply by family income; see the breakdown below.

Outcomes

Graduated (within 6 years)
58%
Graduated on time (4 years)
49%
First-year retention
88%
Transferred to another college
3%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$33,148
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$42,509
Median debt at graduation
$27,000
Students with federal loans
79%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
54%

About 9% of students who finish here need more than four years — each extra year adds roughly another year of tuition and living costs.

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
49%
Low-income (Pell)
52%
First-generation
50%

When these bars run close together, students from every background tend to finish at similar rates — a sign the school supports the ~30% who are first-gen or low-income.

Campus life & athletics

On-campus housing
Yes
Dorm capacity
319
Dorm capacity vs undergrads
59%
Housing charge (year)
$9,870
Meal plan (year)
$7,070
Application fee
Free

Housing and fees: IPEDS 2023–24. Athletics rosters: Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25. Dorm capacity can include graduate and family housing, so the share of undergrads can top 100%.

Campus safety

Safety grade
C
Reported offenses per 1,000 students
2.5 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024)
2
Property offenses (2022–2024)
2

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 1 campus (545 students). Counts reflect reports, not convictions — schools with strong reporting cultures often show more, so a higher count doesn't simply mean a more dangerous campus.

Reported offenses in an average year

The same 2022–2024 Clery Act reports, divided down to one year.

1.3reported offenses a year
0.7 violent a year0.7 property a year

By offense type, per year

Motor vehicle theft
0.7
Rape
0.3
Fondling
0.3

Averages, not a forecast — a single year can run well above or below this. Bars are scaled against this campus's most-reported offense, so they compare types here rather than against other schools.

What you'll actually pay, by family income

Average net price (total cost minus grants and scholarships) paid by aided students in each family-income band.

< $30k
$23,423
$30–48k
$24,992
$48–75k
$26,654
$75–110k
$30,518
$110k+
$37,436

College Scorecard / IPEDS, most recent year. Family income is total household income; net price covers tuition, fees, room, board and supplies after grant aid, for students receiving federal aid.

Four-year (or more) true cost

Net price for your family's income, projected across the time it actually takes students here to graduate.

Est. total to a degree
$112,553

$26,654/year × about 4.2 years — most students here don't finish in exactly four, and each extra term adds cost. A planning estimate from net-price and graduation-timing data, not a bill.

Does the school pay you to attend?

Grant aid from the school's own funds — the discount off sticker, on top of any federal or state help.

100%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$26,580
average award, among those who get one

Cleveland Institute of Art discounts heavily: 100% of freshmen are awarded a grant straight from the school, averaging $26,580. For many families the real price lands well below sticker.

Blends need-based and merit aid — IPEDS doesn't split the two, so a high number can mean generous merit scholarships, deep need-based aid, or both. Figures cover 154 full-time first-year undergraduates, 2022–23. Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid.

Is it worth it?

A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.

Median earnings (10 years)
$42,509
Typical debt at graduation
$27,000
Debt vs. one year's pay
64%
Out-earn a HS grad
51%

Typical debt would take roughly 6.4 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.

Weigh it value

The payoff is less clear-cut here — weigh the debt against the earnings and your intended field before borrowing heavily.

Earnings are the College Scorecard median for former students (working, not enrolled) 10 years after entry — not a guarantee, and they vary a lot by major. Debt is the median federal loan balance at graduation.

The pay gap here

Median earnings 10 years after entry, split by gender.

Women
$43,022
Men
$41,920

Women out-earn men by $1,102 (3%) a decade out.

Federal figures for former students working and not enrolled, 10 years after they first entered. A gap this wide usually reflects which majors men and women here tend to choose — not different pay for the same job.

Campus climate

Summer high
81°F
Winter low
24°F
Annual rain
33.3″
Annual snow
63.8″

Average temperature

HighLow
10°50°90°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.01.93.7JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Cleveland Burke AP, OH US station (4.2 mi from campus).

Median earnings of this school's own graduates 1 and 5 years after finishing each program, and median federal-loan debt at completion (College Scorecard). Small programs are privacy-suppressed (—). Click a major to compare colleges nationally.

Colleges similar to Cleveland Institute of Art

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Cleveland Institute of Art side by side →

Colleges near Cleveland Institute of Art

Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts), IPEDS institutional characteristics, Equity in Athletics (EADA) data, Clery Act Campus Safety and Security data, and NOAA US Climate Normals. Distances are straight-line from campus coordinates. Percentiles compare schools of the same level (four-year vs. two-year) that report each statistic.