2025 Best Illustration Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

Illustration is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #153 most popular bachelor's degree program in the country. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 4 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Illustration Bachelor's Degree Schools in California ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 294 bachelor's degrees in illustration to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Bachelor’s Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great Illustration School for Your Bachelor's Degree

The illustration bachelor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality illustration program can vary widely even among the top schools. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.

A Great Overall School

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

• Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to illustration students as compared to other majors.
• Major Demand - The number of illustration students who choose to seek a bachelor's degree at the school.
• Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized illustration related body.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for illustration students working on their bachelor's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Illustration Bachelor's Degree Schools in California ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Illustration in California

Learn about the top ranked colleges and universities for illustration students seeking a a bachelor's degree.

Top California Schools for a Bachelor's in Illustration

1

Art Center College of Design
Pasadena, CA

187 Annual Graduates

Art Center College of Design is a great decision for individuals pursuing a bachelor's degree in illustration. Located in the medium-sized city of Pasadena, Art Center College of Design is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.More information about a bachelor’s in illustration from Art Center College of Design

2

California College of the Arts
San Francisco, CA

32 Annual Graduates

California College of the Arts is a good choice for students interested in a bachelor's degree in illustration. California College of the Arts is a small private not-for-profit college located in the large city of San Francisco.More information about a bachelor’s in illustration from California College of the Arts

3

Academy of Art University
San Francisco, CA

Master's Degree Highest Degree Type

32 Annual Graduates

Academy of Art University is a great decision for individuals pursuing a bachelor's degree in illustration. Located in the city of San Francisco, Academy of Art University is a private for-profit university with a medium-sized student population.More information about a bachelor’s in illustration from Academy of Art University

4

Laguna College of Art and Design
Laguna Beach, CA

40 Annual Graduates

It is hard to beat Laguna College of Art and Design if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in illustration. Located in the rural area of Laguna Beach, LCAD is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.More information about a bachelor’s in illustration from Laguna College of Art and Design

Best Illustration Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Illustration Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Washington	521	0
Oregon	343	31

View All Rankings >

Illustration Related Rankings by Major

One of 9 majors within the Design & Applied Arts area of study, Illustration has other similar majors worth exploring.

Majors Similar to Illustration

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Visual Communications	575
Graphic Design	485
Other Design & Applied Arts	362
Game & Interactive Media Design	297
Interior Design	176
Industrial Design	169
Fashion Design	81
Commercial & Advertising Art	17

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
• Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard). More about our data sources and methodologies.