Skip to content
Best College Rankings

Private nonprofit · Urban campus · verified rankings · federal data

Cleveland Institute of Art

Students comparing Cleveland Institute of Art on federal cost, completion, and earnings data who will layer in fit, location, and program strength separately.

CompareOfficial site
Cleveland, Ohio539 undergraduatesMean consensus percentile 72Private nonprofitSmall enrollmentUrban campus

The short answer

Cleveland Institute of Art: Washington Monthly ranks it #1372 on Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars (2026); Niche ranks it #1397 on Best Colleges (Overall) (2026); Money lists it on Best Value Colleges (2026) — 3 stars. It enrolls 539 undergraduates, admits 61.4% of applicants, and posts a 57.7% six-year graduation rate. Out-of-state tuition is $49,400; aid recipients pay $29,208 on average. Median earnings ten years after entry: $42,509.

The six numbers that matter most

Acceptance rate
61.4%

Below the dataset median of 76%

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent reported entering class, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Average net price
$29,208

53% below the $62,250 published price

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardAverage for full-time first-time aid recipients, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Median earnings, 10 yrs
$42,509

Below the dataset median of $54,053

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMedian earnings 10 years after entry, working and not enrolled, College Scorecard June 2026 release

6-year graduation rate
57.7%

About the dataset median

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent six-year cohort, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Median debt at graduation
$27,000

Below the dataset median of $23,250

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMedian federal loan debt of completers, College Scorecard June 2026 release

SAT middle 50%
980–1280

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardSum of reported reading and math section percentiles for the most recent entering class, College Scorecard June 2026 release. Section percentiles added together approximate, but do not exactly equal, the composite score range.

Where Cleveland Institute ranks, and why the answers differ

Each publisher's position, the list it belongs to, and how many institutions it was drawn from.

SourceListRank
US News2026National universities, liberal arts, regional and specialty listsNot ranked by this source
Forbes2026America's Top CollegesNot ranked by this source
Washington Monthly2026Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars#1372of 1,504Tuition & tax value (WM)
WSJ2026Best Colleges in the U.S.Not ranked by this source
Niche2026Best Colleges (Overall)#1397of 2,605Overall (Niche)
Money2026Best Value Colleges3 starsListedBest value (Money)
Princeton Review2026Best Colleges (Overall)Not ranked by this source
QS2026World University RankingsNot ranked by this source

Methodology sensitivity: Cleveland Institute's position moves 38 percentile points depending on which published list you read. That is a wide spread, so which list you consult substantially changes the impression you get. How we compute this

Ranking positions are the editorial property of their publishers and are reproduced here with attribution for comparison and commentary. Follow each source link for its full list and methodology.

About Cleveland Institute

Cleveland Institute of Art is a private nonprofit institution in Cleveland, Ohio. Federal data show 87.8% first-year retention and a 9:1 student-faculty ratio. Figures on this page come from College Scorecard and IPEDS; publisher rankings shown here are transcribed from named sources and checked in our dataset.

Strengths and honest considerations

Strengths

  • Cost and outcome metrics on this profile come directly from federal collections, not self-reported marketing sheets.
  • Net price $29,208 reflects what aid recipients actually paid in the most recent federal reporting year.

Considerations

  • This school may not appear on every publisher list we track; an empty rankings table means no tracked publisher ranked it, not missing federal data.
  • Compare $62,250 sticker cost against $29,208 net price before ruling a school in or out on price alone.
  • Publishers we have not loaded yet, or lists that omit this school, show as “not ranked by this source” — that is expected.

Who this school genuinely fits

Students comparing Cleveland Institute of Art on federal cost, completion, and earnings data who will layer in fit, location, and program strength separately.

What it costs

Published price, then what families actually pay after grants and scholarships.

Tuition & fees
$49,400

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent reported academic year, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Undergraduates on Pell grants
42.2%

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardShare of undergraduates, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Room & board
$12,850

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent reported academic year, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Published cost of attendance comes to roughly $62,250 a year, but the average family pays $29,208 — a 53% difference. 42.2% of undergraduates receive Pell grants, the federal marker of low family income.

Net price varies enormously by income band, so run Cleveland Institute's net price calculator for your own household before drawing conclusions. Why net price is the only cost number that matters.

Programs and academics

Most popular majors

  1. 1Business
  2. 2Biology
  3. 3Psychology
  4. 4Computer Science
  5. 5Economics

Standout programs

    Student-faculty ratio
    9:1

    IPEDS / National Center for Education StatisticsIPEDS 2023 fall enrollment

    First-year retention
    87.8%

    U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent first-year cohort, College Scorecard June 2026 release

    Undergraduate enrollment
    539

    U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent reported year, College Scorecard June 2026 release

    Cleveland Institute: questions families ask

    Out-of-state tuition is $49,400 and on-campus room and board is $12,850, for a published total of $62,250 before aid. The average net price for first-time full-time students receiving aid is $29,208.

    The most recent federal admissions rate reported to the Department of Education is 61.4%. Test policy as reported in IPEDS: see the admissions section on this page for the institution's own category.

    Similar colleges

    Matched on institutional character, overlapping majors and comparable cross-source standing.

    College for Creative Studies

    Detroit, MIPrivate nonprofit

    Verified publisher rankings · federal data

    College for Creative Studies: Washington Monthly ranks it #1381 on Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars (2026); Niche ranks it #1236 on Best Colleges (Overall) (2026); Money lists it on Best Value Colleges (2026) — 2.5 stars. It enrolls 1,230 undergraduates, admits 91.9% of applicants, and posts a 70.6% six-year graduation rate. Out-of-state tuition is $53,350; aid recipients pay $34,617 on average. Median earnings ten years after entry: $44,860.

    Acceptance rate
    91.9%
    Average net price
    $34,617
    Median earnings (10 yr)
    $44,860
    6-yr graduation rate
    70.6%
    Washington Monthly · Tuition & tax value (WM)#1381 of 1,504Niche · Overall (Niche)#1236 of 2,605Money · Best value (Money)Listed · 2.5 stars

    1,230 undergraduates · mean consensus percentile 70 (across ranked lists; lower is better)

    School of the Art Institute of Chicago

    Chicago, ILPrivate nonprofit

    Verified publisher rankings · federal data

    School of the Art Institute of Chicago: Washington Monthly ranks it #1492 on Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars (2026); Niche ranks it #1364 on Best Colleges (Overall) (2026); Money lists it on Best Value Colleges (2026) — 2 stars. It enrolls 2,805 undergraduates, admits 77.5% of applicants, and posts a 67.0% six-year graduation rate. Out-of-state tuition is $56,420; aid recipients pay $49,790 on average. Median earnings ten years after entry: $40,151.

    Acceptance rate
    77.5%
    Average net price
    $49,790
    Median earnings (10 yr)
    $40,151
    6-yr graduation rate
    67.0%
    Washington Monthly · Tuition & tax value (WM)#1492 of 1,504Niche · Overall (Niche)#1364 of 2,605Money · Best value (Money)Listed · 2 stars

    2,805 undergraduates · mean consensus percentile 76 (across ranked lists; lower is better)

    Clark Atlanta University

    Atlanta, GAPrivate nonprofit

    Verified publisher rankings · federal data

    Clark Atlanta University: U.S. News ranks it #329 on National Universities (2026); Washington Monthly ranks it #992 on Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars (2026); WSJ ranks it #489 on Best Colleges in the U.S. (2026); Niche ranks it #1353 on Best Colleges (Overall) (2026); Money lists it on Best Value Colleges (2026) — 2 stars. It enrolls 3,603 undergraduates, admits 64.2% of applicants, and posts a 49.0% six-year graduation rate. Out-of-state tuition is $28,310; aid recipients pay $37,702 on average. Median earnings ten years after entry: $42,712.

    Acceptance rate
    64.2%
    Average net price
    $37,702
    Median earnings (10 yr)
    $42,712
    6-yr graduation rate
    49.0%
    US News · National universities#329 of 436Washington Monthly · Tuition & tax value (WM)#992 of 1,504WSJ · U.S. colleges (WSJ)#489 of 500+2 more on profile

    3,603 undergraduates · mean consensus percentile 73 (across ranked lists; lower is better)

    Compare Cleveland Institute against these