Private nonprofit

Ringling College of Art and Design

Sarasota, Florida·Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above·Southeast·ringling.edu
6-yr Graduation
72%
+1.0pp vs peer
Total enrollment
1,666
peer median 1,677
Avg net price
$55,390
+$9.1k vs peer
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About

Ringling College of Art and Design is a private art and design school in Sarasota, Florida. It was founded by Ludd M. Spivey as an art school in 1931 as a remote branch of Southern College before their separation in 1933.

Admissions & acceptance rate

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

Applied
2,244
2,244 candidates competed
Admitted
1,563
69.7% acceptance rate
Enrolled
367
23.5% yield

Graduation rate & outcomes

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

Overall completion
72%+1.0pp vs peer
4-year graduation
58%
6-year graduation (bachelor’s)
72%
Full-time retention
86%

Pell equity

4.0pp gap
Pell recipients
71%
Non-Pell
75%

Non-Pell students graduate at a 4.0-point higher rate than Pell recipients.

Program outcomes

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

Of 8 Title IV programs, 4 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 4 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
8
Passing
4
50.0% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

8programs
  • Passing4 · 50.0%
  • No Data4 · 50.0%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
1
Watch
1
Safe
2
No data
4

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.

4
Fine and Studio Arts
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
+4.4%
$36,346 vs $34,808
Film/Video and Photographic Arts
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
+17.9%
$41,024 vs $34,808
Design and Applied Arts
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
+37.7%
$47,937 vs $34,808
Graphic Communications
Bachelor Degree · Communications Technologies/Technicians And Support Services
+116.1%
$75,213 vs $34,808

Near the line (±5%)

Programs within five points of the pass line, one cohort year from flipping.

1
Fine and Studio Arts
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
+4.4%
+$1,538

Debt vs earnings

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

4
Fine and Studio Arts
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
74%
$27,000 debt · $36,346 earn
Film/Video and Photographic Arts
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
66%
$27,000 debt · $41,024 earn
Design and Applied Arts
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
56%
$27,000 debt · $47,937 earn
Graphic Communications
Bachelor Degree · Communications Technologies/Technicians And Support Services
36%
$27,000 debt · $75,213 earn

Accreditation status & history

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

AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

National Association of Schools of Art and Design, Commission on Accreditation

Accredited since 1984Next review Jun 2026
AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges

Accredited since 1979Next review Jun 2026

Programmatic accreditations · 1

Action history · 6

  1. Jun 2022Heightened Monitoring or Focused Review
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  2. Jun 2022Heightened Monitoring or Focused Review
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  3. Dec 2021Heightened Monitoring or Focused Review
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
  4. Oct 2019Renewal of Accreditation
    National Association of Schools of Art and Design, Commission on Accreditation
  5. Dec 2016Renewal of Accreditation
    Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on 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$50,332
$30–48k$50,588
$48–75k$55,349
$75–110k$57,165
$110k+$60,033

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

Avg net price (private)
$55,390
+$9,137vs peer median $46,253
Federal loans
38.4%
In-state tuition
$55,480
Out-of-state
$55,480

Federal aid volume & trends

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

In AY 2024–25, 464 students received $2.8M in Pell grants, alongside $21.3M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
464
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$2.8M
$2,808,421 total
Direct Loans
$21.3M
1,555 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$2.6M
559 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$2.0M
613 loan awards
Parent PLUS$16.7M
383 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 250 borrowers who entered repayment, 2 (0.8%) defaulted within three years below the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
0.8%
-1.5pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
250
Defaulted
2
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
2.7%
2017
5.1%
2018
1.4%
2019
0.8%
2020*
0.0%
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 Ringling

Top program areas ranked by completions.

Distinct CIP programs10
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

387 total completions
01Visual/Performing Arts
24262.5%
02Comm. Technologies
13935.9%
03English Language
61.6%

Enrollment trends & demographics

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

Fall total
1,666
12-mo unduplicated
1,742
Undergraduate
1,742
Graduate
0

Gender split

Men
26%451
Women
74%1,291

Race / ethnicity composition

White
44.3%
Non-resident
20.6%
Hispanic
15.1%
Asian
9.5%
Two or more
4.7%
Black
3.0%
Unknown
2.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native
0.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
0.2%

Campus safety & crime statistics

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

Criminal offenses · per 1,000 students
1.76
3 offenses · 1,705 students

3-year trend

3.082 yrs ago4.811 yr ago1.76Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
16
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
2
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
0
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
2

Criminal offenses by type

Motor vehicle theft
2
Fondling
1

By location

3total
  • On campus3

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
Drugs04
Liquor03

Residence-hall fires

  • Bridge Apartments1 fire
    OtherDamage $0-$99

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student-faculty ratio

Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.

Student-to-faculty
11.0:1
Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
132

Ringling vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions Ringling 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
SubjectRingling College of Art and Design
72%1,666$55,390
Art Center College of Design
79%74.5%2,308$50,209Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
California Institute of the Arts
67%32.3%1,277$47,183Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
College for Creative Studies
71%91.9%1,433$33,342
Columbus College of Art & Design
56%67.7%916$30,139
Maryland Institute College of Art
72%76.8%1,687$38,429
Otis College of Art and Design
66%81.8%1,267$45,864
Pratt Institute-Main
74%73.3%5,356$50,647
Rhode Island School of Design
89%18.7%2,520$46,253Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
67%77.5%3,394$49,822
University of the Arts
69%78.2%$44,154
Peer group median71%75.7%1,677$46,253

Reports & documents (1)

Dashboards, factbooks, data dictionaries, and other reference material published by the IR office.

Grants & funding (9)

Federal grant awards and open funding opportunities awarded to this institution.

Notable alumni of Ringling (22)

A curated list of alumni recognized for notable achievements across industries.

  • Mark Bagley
    Art
  • Aaron Blaise
    Animation
  • David Bromstad
    Design
  • CodeMiko
    Entertainment
  • Jeff Fowler
    Film
  • Bret Iwan
    Voice Acting
  • Andrew Jones (artist)
    Digital Art
  • Michelle Phan
    Entrepreneurship
  • Mike Zeck
    Art
  • Brad Booker
  • Tim Jaeger
  • Nilah Magruder
Showing 112 of 22
1 / 2

Frequently asked questions about Ringling College of Art and Design

Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Ringling.

What is the graduation rate at Ringling College of Art and Design?

Ringling College of Art and Design reports a 6-year graduation rate of 72% per the latest IPEDS.

How many students attend Ringling College of Art and Design?

Ringling College of Art and Design reports a total enrollment of 1,666 students per the latest IPEDS.

What is the average net price at Ringling College of Art and Design?

The average net price at Ringling College of Art and Design is $55,390 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

What is the yield rate at Ringling College of Art and Design?

Ringling College of Art and Design's yield rate is 23.5%, the share of admitted students who enrolled, per the latest IPEDS.

Where is Ringling College of Art and Design located?

Ringling College of Art and Design is located in Sarasota, Florida 34234-5895.

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