Private nonprofit · College

Pennsylvania College of Art and Design

Lancaster, Pennsylvania · Small city

99.2%
Admit rate
$30,083
Avg net price
69%
Graduation rate
$33,301
Median earnings

Pennsylvania College of Art and Design is a private nonprofit bachelor's-granting institution in Lancaster, Pennsylvania (small city setting), enrolling 400 undergraduates.

Private nonprofitSmall · 400 undergradsSmall cityAccessible · 99% admitCold winters

About Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Lancaster is a city in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. Originally called Hickory Town, Lancaster was renamed after the English city of Lancaster by native John Wright. Its symbol, the red rose, is from the House of Lancaster. Since 2005, Lancaster's downtown has increased the number of specialty shops, boutiques, bars, clubs, and galleries. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Small city
Highest degree offered
Bachelor's
Nearest big city
Lancaster, PA
To the ocean
35 miles
Nearest airport
6 miles to Lancaster (LNS)

How Pennsylvania College of Art and Design compares

Selectivity99.2%

More selective than 5% · #110 most selective of 111 in Pennsylvania

Graduation rate69%

Higher than 75% · #39 of 116 in Pennsylvania

First-year retention85%

Higher than 76%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$33,301

Higher than 5% · #115 of 116 in Pennsylvania

Average net price$30,083

Cheaper than 16% · #91 cheapest of 112 in Pennsylvania

Median debt at graduation$27,000

Lower than 11%

Student–faculty ratio10 : 1

Lower than 76%

Undergraduate enrollment400

Larger than 19%

Percentiles compare Pennsylvania College of Art and Design with the nation's 2,196 four-year colleges, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count four-year colleges in Pennsylvania.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

400undergrads
  • Women27469%
  • Men12632%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White62%
  • Black15%
  • Hispanic3.0%
  • Asian4.8%
  • Other or multiracial16%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
400
Student–faculty ratio
10 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
47%
First-generation students
Students over 25
7%
Median family income
$56,988
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$41,166
Endowment
$3,393,269

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 95 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

  • From Pennsylvania71%
  • Other U.S. states30%

Most first-years stay in state — Pennsylvania College of Art and Design draws overwhelmingly from Pennsylvania.

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
99.2%
Test scores
Not considered
SAT range (25th–75th %)
SAT average
SAT reading
SAT math
ACT composite

Cost

In-state tuition
$32,150
Room & board
$17,230
Books & supplies
$1,650
Total cost of attendance
$43,815
Average net price
$30,083

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)
69%
Graduated on time (4 years)
67%
First-year retention
85%
Transferred to another college
0%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$23,638
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$33,301
Median debt at graduation
$27,000
Students with federal loans
69%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
58%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
67%
Low-income (Pell)
62%
First-generation
63%

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
183
Dorm capacity vs undergrads
46%
Housing charge (year)
$9,870
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
3.2 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024)
4
Property offenses (2022–2024)
0

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 1 campus (414 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
1.3 violent a year0 property a year

By offense type, per year

Aggravated assault
1.0
Rape
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
$24,547
$30–48k
$24,115
$48–75k
$26,576
$75–110k
$30,876
$110k+
$37,851

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
$107,380

$26,576/year × about 4.0 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
$6,771
average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 100% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $6,771. Most of what lowers the price here is federal or state money, not the school's own funds.

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 64 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)
$33,301
Typical debt at graduation
$27,000
Debt vs. one year's pay
81%
Out-earn a HS grad
33%

Typical debt would take roughly 8.1 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
$31,281
Men
$35,840

Men out-earn women by $4,559 (15%) 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
87°F
Winter low
22°F
Annual rain
44.1″
Annual snow
21.4″

Average temperature

HighLow
10°60°100°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.02.44.8JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Lancaster 2NE Fltr Plt, PA US station (1.9 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 Pennsylvania College of Art and Design

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

Colleges near Pennsylvania College of Art and Design

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.