Private (for-profit)

Northwest College of Art & Design

Tacoma, Washington·Private for-profit, 4-year or above·Far West·ncad.edu
6-yr Graduation
58%
-11.0pp vs peer
Total enrollment
139
peer median 98
Avg net price
$16,418
-$22k vs peer
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Admissions & acceptance rate

First-time freshman admissions: how selective the college is, and how many admitted students choose to enroll.

Applied
97
97 candidates competed
Admitted
64
66.0% acceptance rate
Enrolled
26
40.6% yield

Graduation rate & outcomes

Completion, retention, and the equity gap between Pell and non-Pell students.

Overall completion
58%-11.0pp vs peer
4-year graduation
46%
6-year graduation (bachelor’s)
58%
Full-time retention
77%

Pell equity

38.9pp gap
Pell recipients
38%5 of 13
Non-Pell (all)
77%10 of 13
Subsidized loan, no Pell
83%5 of 6
No Federal Aid
71%5 of 7

Non-Pell students graduate at a 38.9-point higher rate than Pell recipients.

Source: IPEDS Graduation Rates (GR) — Pell/SSL cohort, 2024 cohort.

Program outcomes

Federal Program Performance Data: how each program's graduate earnings and debt measure up under Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment.

Of 1 Title IV programs, 0 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 1 fails.

Total programs
1
Passing
0
0.0% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
1
100.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
100.0%
+99.4pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

1programs
  • Passing0 · 0.0%
  • No Data0 · 0.0%
  • Failing1 · 100.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
1
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
0
Safe
0
No data
0

Tiers band programs by how far graduate earnings sit above or below the benchmark, from Critical (below −15%) through Safe (above +25%). No data means earnings were privacy-suppressed.

Earnings premium gap

Graduate earnings versus the federal benchmark, worst gaps first.

1
Design and Applied Arts
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
-8.2%
$35,885 vs $39,073

Debt vs earnings

Median completer debt against median graduate earnings, highest burden first.

1
Design and Applied Arts
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
86%
$30,750 debt · $35,885 earn

Accreditation status & history

Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.

AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges

Accredited since 1989Next review Nov 2029

Action history · 2

  1. Jun 2025Renewal of Accreditation
    Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges
  2. Apr 2020Renewal of Accreditation
    Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Tuition & cost

What families actually pay, broken down by family income.

Net price by family income

Aid exceeds costFamily pays
$0–30k$12,977
$30–48k$11,857
$48–75k$17,146
$75–110k$24,031
$110k+$29,101

Negative values mean aid exceeds the published cost of attendance for that income band.

Avg net price (private)
$16,418
-$22,358vs peer median $38,777
Federal loans
48.0%
In-state tuition
$18,100
Out-of-state
$18,100

Federal aid volume & trends

Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.

In AY 2024–25, 100 students received $852K in Pell grants, alongside $634K in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
100
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$852K
$851,973 total
Direct Loans
$634K
102 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

0k
20
0k
21
0k
22
0k
23
0k
24

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Subsidized$294K
50 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$248K
46 loan awards
Parent PLUS$92K
6 loan awards

Loan awards count each loan type a student holds, not unique borrowers; one student may carry several (e.g. subsidized and unsubsidized), so the per-type figures are the reliable detail.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student loan default rate

The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.

Of 30 borrowers who entered repayment, 0 (0.0%) defaulted within three years below the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
0.0%
-2.3pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
30
Defaulted
0
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
15.1%
2017
2.5%
2018
7.9%
2019
0.0%
2020*
2.3%
This institutionNational rate

* Cohorts 2020 and later read near 0% because the federal COVID-19 payment pause (CARES Act) suspended defaults nationwide. These years reflect a national policy, not institutional performance; the 2019 cohort is the last measured under normal repayment.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Academic programs at NCAD

Top program areas ranked by completions.

Distinct CIP programs1
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

26 total completions
01Visual/Performing Arts
26100.0%

Enrollment trends & demographics

Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.

Fall total
139
12-mo unduplicated
172
Undergraduate
172
Graduate
0

Gender split

Men
30%51
Women
70%121

Race / ethnicity composition

White
57.6%
Hispanic
19.4%
Black
10.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native
6.5%
Asian
4.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
1.4%
Unknown
0.7%

Campus safety & crime statistics

Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.

Criminal offenses · per 1,000 students
6.67
1 offenses · 150 students

3-year trend

0.002 yrs ago0.001 yr ago6.67Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
1
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
0
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
0
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
0

Criminal offenses by type

Burglary
1

By location

1total
  • On campus1

VAWA offenses

0
Domestic violence
0
Dating violence
0
Stalking
0 total under the Violence Against Women Act.

Hate crimes by bias

No hate crimes reported.

Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

CategoryArrestsReferrals
Weapons00
Drugs00
Liquor00

Residence-hall fires

No residence-hall fires reported.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student-faculty ratio

Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.

Student-to-faculty
34.0:1

NCAD vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions NCAD selected for federal comparison reporting.

GraduationRetentionSelectivityEnrollmentAffordabilityYield
This institutionPeer median

A larger shape on any axis means this institution outperforms its peers on that dimension. For acceptance rate and net price, lower raw values are inverted so "more selective" and "more affordable" appear larger.

Carnegie
SubjectNorthwest College of Art & Design
58%139$16,418
85$41,595
100%102$35,958
80%100.0%94$44,010
80$19,157Community College
28%87.7%261$43,590
Peer group median69%93.9%98$38,777

Institutions like NCAD

Explore the federal data for institutions in NCAD's comparison group.

Frequently asked questions about Northwest College of Art & Design

Quick answers to the questions most often asked about NCAD.

What is the graduation rate at Northwest College of Art & Design?

Northwest College of Art & Design reports a 6-year graduation rate of 58% per the latest IPEDS.

How many students attend Northwest College of Art & Design?

Northwest College of Art & Design reports a total enrollment of 139 students per the latest IPEDS.

What is the average net price at Northwest College of Art & Design?

The average net price at Northwest College of Art & Design is $16,418 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

What is the yield rate at Northwest College of Art & Design?

Northwest College of Art & Design's yield rate is 40.6%, the share of admitted students who enrolled, per the latest IPEDS.

Where is Northwest College of Art & Design located?

Northwest College of Art & Design is located in Tacoma, Washington 98402.

About the data on this page

Every figure comes from an official federal or public source. Here is each one and the release it is currently on.

IPEDS2025 provisional data (Fall 2025–26 release, July 28, 2026)
Enrollment, completions, graduation rates, tuition, financial aid, staffing, and finance for every U.S. institution in federal student aid programs.
College ScorecardJune 10, 2026 release (merged 2025–26 files)
Institution and field-of-study costs, graduate earnings, debt, completion, and admissions outcomes compiled from federal aid records, tax data, and IPEDS.
FVT/GE program performanceProvisional preview, May 18, 2026 release
Program-level debt-to-earnings and earnings-premium measures behind the FVT/GE and STATS accountability frameworks.
DAPIP accreditationContinuously refreshed
Accreditation status for institutions and programs, reported by recognized accrediting agencies.
Federal Pell Grant volumeAY 2025–26 (through Q3), through March 31, 2026
Pell Grant recipient counts, award amounts, and disbursements by institution and award year.
Federal student loan volumeAY 2025–26 (through Q3), through March 31, 2026
Federal Direct Loan recipient counts and disbursement volume by institution and award year.
Cohort Default RatesFY 2022 official rates
Institution-level federal student loan default rates, measuring borrowers who default within three years of entering repayment.
Equity in Athletics (EADA)Academic year 2024–25
Athletics participation, coaching, revenues, and expenses by sport and gender for Title IV institutions.
Campus Safety & SecurityData through reporting year 2024
Criminal offenses, arrests, disciplinary actions, VAWA offenses, and fire statistics reported by campus under the Clery Act.

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