Best Set programs in California, ranked by enrollment
Design special exhibits and sets for film, video, television, and theater productions.
57 schools in California run programs that feed this job, graduating 1,225 people a year. The job pays a median of $105,030 in California across about 2,690 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in California that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
3 programs in California that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in California (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own California page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 50.0401In California → | 591 | 48.2% | 16 | $31,611 | $26,000 |
| 2 | CIP 50.0502In California → | 329 | 26.9% | 40 | $20,667 | $24,994 |
| 3 | CIP 50.0410In California → | 305 | 24.9% | 6 | $31,611 | $26,000 |
Top 25 schools in California
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 13 of the 57 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of California - Davis Davis, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 277 | Design and Visual Communications, General | $32,816 | 86% | — | 42% |
| 2 | Art Center College of Design Pasadena, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 141 | Illustration | $47,053 | 79% | $48,578 | 75% |
| 3 | Moorpark College Moorpark, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 87 | Technical Theatre/Theatre Design and Technology | — | 44% | — | — |
| 4 | San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 79 | Design and Visual Communications, General | $34,845 | 50% | — | 96% |
| 5 | Academy of Art University San Francisco, CA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 78 | Illustration | $20,829 | 34% | $40,294 | — |
| 6 | California College of the Arts San Francisco, CA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 59 | Design and Visual Communications, General | $28,673 | 61% | $40,041 | 91% |
| 7 | University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 50 | Design and Visual Communications, General | $64,846 | 92% | $26,873 | 10% |
| 8 | Fullerton College Fullerton, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 43 | Technical Theatre/Theatre Design and Technology | — | 34% | — | — |
| 9 | Laguna College of Art and Design Laguna Beach, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 42 | Illustration | $27,785 | 52% | $41,341 | 94% |
| 10 | University of California - San Diego La Jolla, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 42 | Design and Visual Communications, General | — | 86% | — | 27% |
| 11 | University of San Francisco San Francisco, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 37 | Design and Visual Communications, General | $32,070 | 70% | $37,121 | 62% |
| 12 | California Institute of the Arts Valencia, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 35 | Technical Theatre/Theatre Design and Technology | $22,673 | 67% | $42,045 | 32% |
| 13 | California State University - Monterey Bay Seaside, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 27 | Design and Visual Communications, General | $30,378 | 59% | — | 97% |
| 14 | California State University - Chico Chico, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 22 | Design and Visual Communications, General | $27,573 | 63% | — | 93% |
| 15 | Otis College of Art and Design Los Angeles, CA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 21 | Illustration | $31,172 | 66% | $44,867 | 82% |
| 16 | East Los Angeles College Monterey Park, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 20 | Technical Theatre/Theatre Design and Technology | — | 37% | — | — |
| 17 | Santa Monica College Santa Monica, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 15 | Technical Theatre/Theatre Design and Technology | — | 36% | — | — |
| 18 | Biola University La Mirada, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 11 | Design and Visual Communications, General | — | 68% | $26,727 | 74% |
| 19 | Azusa Pacific University Azusa, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 10 | Design and Visual Communications, General | — | 62% | $20,686 | 88% |
| 20 | Los Angeles Pierce College Woodland Hills, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 10 | Technical Theatre/Theatre Design and Technology | — | 46% | — | — |
| 21 | Diablo Valley College Pleasant Hill, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 9 | Technical Theatre/Theatre Design and Technology | — | 49% | — | — |
| 22 | Citrus College Glendora, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 8 | Technical Theatre/Theatre Design and Technology | — | 41% | — | — |
| 23 | Sierra College Rocklin, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 8 | Technical Theatre/Theatre Design and Technology | — | 42% | — | — |
| 24 | Platt College - Ontario Ontario, CA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 7 | Design and Visual Communications, General | — | 58% | $28,453 | — |
| 25 | Folsom Lake College Folsom, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Technical Theatre/Theatre Design and Technology | — | 44% | — | — |
All 57 schools in California
Every school in California with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of California - Davis | Davis | Public | 277 | 1 |
| Art Center College of Design | Pasadena | Private not-for-profit | 141 | 1 |
| Moorpark College | Moorpark | Public | 87 | 1 |
| San Francisco State University | San Francisco | Public | 79 | 1 |
| Academy of Art University | San Francisco | Private for-profit | 78 | 1 |
| California College of the Arts | San Francisco | Private not-for-profit | 59 | 2 |
| University of Southern California | Los Angeles | Private not-for-profit | 50 | 2 |
| Fullerton College | Fullerton | Public | 43 | 1 |
| Laguna College of Art and Design | Laguna Beach | Private not-for-profit | 42 | 1 |
| University of California - San Diego | La Jolla | Public | 42 | 2 |
| University of San Francisco | San Francisco | Private not-for-profit | 37 | 1 |
| California Institute of the Arts | Valencia | Private not-for-profit | 35 | 1 |
| California State University - Monterey Bay | Seaside | Public | 27 | 1 |
| California State University - Chico | Chico | Public | 22 | 1 |
| Otis College of Art and Design | Los Angeles | Private not-for-profit | 21 | 2 |
What set and exhibit designers earn in California
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $75,240. California pays above the national figure.
Concentrated here: California employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.
Metro areas in California
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Set and Exhibit Designers page.
How to become a Set
Job zone 5 of 5 · SVP 8.0 and above- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.
Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in California
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 3 majors mapped to Set and Exhibit Designers3 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 50.0401Design and Visual Communications, General
- 50.0410Illustration
- 50.0502Technical Theatre/Theatre Design and Technology
Common questions
Answers for people weighing set and exhibit designers programs in California.
What degree do you need to become a Set?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Design and Visual Communications, General, which awarded 591 degrees in California in 2024-25, 48.2% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Set?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 3 programs to this occupation. The largest are Design and Applied Arts, Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft. Together they graduate about 1,225 people a year in California.
How much do set and exhibit designers earn in California?+
The median is $105,030 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 39.6% above the U.S. median of $75,240. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for set and exhibit designers growing?+
BLS projects a +2.3% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 2,500 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in California?+
57 institutions in California reported graduates from at least one of the 3 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do set and exhibit designers work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Set Designer, Scenic Designer, Exhibit Designer, Display Coordinator among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 27-1027.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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