2026 Best Painting Schools in California
Painting degree programs prepare students for a range of careers in the field. While the number of schools offering the program varies, there are still top-quality ones to be found.
To produce this 2026 ranking, College Factual evaluated 1 schools to find the best for painting students.
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Best Schools for Painting in California
If you are not interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the painting degrees they offer, see the list below.
Top Schools in Painting
Leading the list is California College Of The Arts, our #1 school for painting. Located in the city of San Francisco, California College Of The Arts is a small private not-for-profit university. The six-year graduation rate is 61%. About 15 painting degrees were awarded at California College Of The Arts in the most recent year. Students who receive their painting degree from California College Of The Arts earn around $21,093 in the first couple years of their career. Typical student debt for the program is $29,250.
More information about a degree in painting from California College Of The Arts
Notes and References
This list is compiled by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. Schools are scored on a blend of student outcomes (graduation rate, post-graduation earnings), affordability, and program focus, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Top Ranked · 1 school evaluated.
- 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 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.
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