Visual & Performing Arts

Program Description

Laguna College of Art & Design

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Laguna College of Art & Design (LCAD) leads the way in merging the future with the fundamentals. Imagine a student-teacher ratio of no more than ten-to-one in the nation’s first totally wireless campus. Then imagine all of that in a pristine wooded canyon nestled against a 70,000-acre nature preserve just minutes from the most beautiful beaches in the world. Students at LCAD learn in the most technologically advanced yet natural environment from the best in their fields.

The College offers Bachelor of Fine Arts programs in drawing and painting, sculpture, illustration, graphic design, and feature animation as well as a number of hybrid programs, which allow students to take classes from two majors to further broaden their area of study.

Laguna College of Art & Design is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD) and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). NASAD establishes national standards for visual arts education and accredits only those colleges that meet those standards. WASC sets rigorous academic standards for all universities and colleges in the state of California. As one of only six art and design colleges in California accredited by both NASAD and WASC, Laguna College of Art & Design is committed to maintaining the highest educational standards.

Campus and Surroundings

Laguna Beach could not have been designed better than as nature designed it herself. It has hillsides, canyons, sandy beaches with cliffs and dramatic rock formations, the Pacific Ocean, a mild climate, and its world-famous light. These characteristics all make Laguna Beach the idyllic setting for the world’s most dynamic artists.

In the early 1900's, artists, intellectuals, and entertainers began making a thriving cultural community of scenic Laguna Beach. Plein air painters like Edgar Payne and Anna Hills founded the Laguna Beach Art Association. The once sleepy little town fast gained a reputation as a vibrant hub of visual arts. Laguna Beach still offers the beauty and tranquility that has inspired artists for over a century. Today, artists of all media gravitate to the city of Laguna Beach to advance in the presence of some of the visual arts’ leading players. An hour south of  Los Angeles and an hour north of San Diego, Laguna Beach is in a perfect, centralized location to access the major metropolitan art scenes of Southern California.

Faculty, Resident Artists, and Alumni

LCAD’s faculty of working artists, illustrators, designers, and animators bring experience, reputation, and success to the table. There is no question that these instructors encourage both an individual aesthetic and an uncompromised brand of forward-thinking, market-driven leadership.

Student Exhibit Opportunities

Laguna College of Art & Design is an active and energetic environment where there is always something exciting happening. The Laguna College of Art & Design Gallery is open six days a week. Students, faculty members, and visiting artists display their work in this on-campus gallery.

Special Programs

From the onset of their education at LCAD, students learn the rules before they are encouraged to break them. The Foundation Program has been ahead of its time for years in how it encourages a forward thinking that is soundly rooted in the mastery of traditional skills. LCAD stays ahead of the curve by consistently acknowledging a future that never forgets its past.

The Foundation Program is the cornerstone of each LCAD student’s education. For their first two semesters, students are exposed to painting, drawing, illustration, and graphic design in a unique interdisciplinary curriculum. This program is designed to develop an in-depth understanding of art and life. It draws relevant connections between the social and physical worlds in which the student, the visual artist, will communicate.

LCAD offers a campuswide wireless laptop program, G5 computers in every lab, and over 250 computers on campus. LCAD's entire campus is blanketed by wireless technology. LCAD created the Laptop Program to promote cutting-edge innovation, creative freedom, and unparalleled communication. Requiring all students to own an Apple laptop provides the LCAD community with many advantages, including wireless connectivity on campus and in the greater Laguna Beach community; portability to work on projects at home, campus, or virtually anywhere else; reduced prices through LCAD’s partnership with Apple; unprecedented support, including a three-year Apple Care warranty and an on-site, full-time Apple employee; standardized laptop specifications consistent across all curricula; and special workshops free to all students.

Application Procedures

Required: high school transcript, college transcript(s) for transfer students, minimum 3.0 high school GPA, letter of recommendation, interview, SAT or ACT test scores, 2-page essay, 12-30 piece portfolio. Auditions held 1 time.

Undergraduate Contact

Admissions, Laguna College of Art & Design, 2222 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach, California 92651; 800-255-0762.