Southern California Institute of Architecture
About
The Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) is a private Architecture school in the in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1972, SCI-Arc was initially regarded as both institutionally and artistically avant-garde. It currently enrolls approximately 600 students and employs 80 faculty members, some of whom are professional architects. The school is located in the quarter-mile long (0.40 km) former Santa Fe Freight Depot in the Arts District of downtown Los Angeles. SCI-Arc also offers community events, such as outreach programs, free exhibitions, and public lectures.
Admissions & acceptance rate
First-time freshman admissions: how selective the college is, and how many admitted students choose to enroll.
Graduation rate & outcomes
Completion, retention, and the equity gap between Pell and non-Pell students.
Pell equity
Non-Pell students graduate at a 75.0-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 9 Title IV programs, 1 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 8 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.
Pass / fail distribution
- Passing1 · 11.1%
- No Data8 · 88.9%
- Failing0 · 0.0%
Severity spectrum
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.
Debt vs earnings
Median completer debt against median graduate earnings, highest burden first.
Accreditation status & history
Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.
WASC Senior College and University Commission
WASC Senior College and University Commission
Action history · 3
- Jun 2024Renewal of AccreditationWASC Senior College and University Commission
- Jan 2024Grant Substantive Change: ProgramWASC Senior College and University Commission
- Jun 2016Renewal of AccreditationWASC Senior College and University Commission
Tuition & cost
What families actually pay, broken down by family income.
Net price by family income
Negative values mean aid exceeds the published cost of attendance for that income band.
Federal aid volume & trends
Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.
In AY 2024–25, 57 students received $365K in Pell grants, alongside $4.7M in federal Direct Loans.
Pell recipients · 5-year trend
Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25
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.
Student loan default rate
The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.
Of 45 borrowers who entered repayment, 0 (0.0%) defaulted within three years — below the 2.3% national rate.
Default rate vs national, by cohort
* 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.
Academic programs at Sciarc
Top program areas ranked by completions.
Top program families by completions
Enrollment trends & demographics
Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.
Gender split
Race / ethnicity composition
Campus safety & crime statistics
Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.
3-year trend
Criminal offenses by type
By location
VAWA offenses
Hate crimes by bias
No hate crimes reported.
Arrests vs disciplinary referrals
Residence-hall fires
Student-faculty ratio
Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.
Sciarc vs Peer comparison
The peer institutions Sciarc selected for federal comparison reporting.
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 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SubjectSouthern California Institute of Architecture | 71% | — | 418 | $37,535 | — |
| 55% | 44.4% | 155 | $26,389 | — | |
| — | — | 8,378 | — | — | |
| — | — | 486 | — | — | |
| — | — | 719 | — | — | |
| — | — | 494 | $19,116 | — | |
| — | — | 17 | — | — | |
| 0% | 78.6% | 98 | — | — | |
| — | — | 48 | — | — | |
| — | — | 610 | — | — | |
| — | — | 99 | — | — | |
| — | — | 173 | — | — | |
| 72% | 87.2% | 878 | $20,483 | — | |
| — | — | 35 | — | — | |
| — | — | 1,324 | — | — | |
| — | — | 1,145 | — | — | |
| — | — | 20 | — | — | |
| — | — | 8 | — | — | |
| 0% | — | 368 | $15,245 | — | |
| 67% | 89.5% | 323 | $17,094 | — | |
| Peer group median | 61% | 82.9% | 346 | $19,800 |
Institutions like Sciarc
Explore the federal data for institutions in Sciarc's comparison group.
- South Carolina
American College of the Building Arts
Grad rate55%Admit rate44.4%Enrollment155Net price$26,389View data - Florida
Ana G. Mendez University
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment8,378Net price—View data - Ohio
Antioch University
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment486Net price—View data - New York
Bank Street College of Education
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment719Net price—View data - Rhode Island
College Unbound
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment494Net price$19,116View data - Massachusetts
Conway School of Landscape Design
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment17Net price—View data - California
Epic Bible College & Graduate School
Grad rate0%Admit rate78.6%Enrollment98Net price—View data - West Virginia
Future Generations University
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment48Net price—View data - New Jersey
Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment610Net price—View data - California
High Tech High Graduate School of Education
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment99Net price—View data - District of Columbia
Institute of World Politics
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment173Net price—View data - Minnesota
Martin Luther College
Grad rate72%Admit rate87.2%Enrollment878Net price$20,483View data - California
Reiss-Davis Graduate School
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment35Net price—View data - New York
Relay Graduate School of Education
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment1,324Net price—View data - California
Sofia University
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment1,145Net price—View data - Louisiana
The Chicago School at Xavier University of Louisiana
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment20Net price—View data - Arizona
The School of Architecture
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment8Net price—View data - Florida
University of Fort Lauderdale
Grad rate0%Admit rate—Enrollment368Net price$15,245View data - Illinois
VanderCook College of Music
Grad rate67%Admit rate89.5%Enrollment323Net price$17,094View data
Sciarc Institutional Research office
The IR team responsible for the institution's federal reporting.
- Steven OrizagaInstitutional Research Analyst
Reports & documents (1)
Dashboards, factbooks, data dictionaries, and other reference material published by the IR office.
Notable alumni of Sciarc (17)
A curated list of alumni recognized for notable achievements across industries.
- Barbara BestorArchitecture
- Sue CourtenayArchitecture
- Wanda Dalla CostaArchitecture
- Jon DreznerArchitecture
- Jeffrey EysterArchitecture
- Todd FisherArchitecture
- Moses HacmonArchitecture
- Shelly KappeArchitecture
- Gordon KippingArchitecture
- Ola-dele KukuArchitecture
- Cara LeeArchitecture
- Karen M'CloskeyArchitecture
Frequently asked questions about Southern California Institute of Architecture
Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Sciarc.
What is the graduation rate at Southern California Institute of Architecture?
How many students attend Southern California Institute of Architecture?
What is the average net price at Southern California Institute of Architecture?
What is the yield rate at Southern California Institute of Architecture?
Where is Southern California Institute of Architecture located?
Have a question this page can’t answer?
Ask Clema anything about Southern California Institute of Architecture and its peers — plain language in, cited answers out, in minutes instead of days.
Free for teams up to 3 · No credit card