Match #1
Pennsylvania College of Art and Design
Lancaster, PA
Profile closeness70/100
Admit rate99%
- 400 students
- Private nonprofit
- City: Small
- Graduation rate 69%, close to 68%
- Same Carnegie classification
The colleges most similar to The University of the Arts are Pennsylvania College of Art and Design, Moore College of Art and Design, and Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. The University of the Arts admits 85% of applicants; 1 admit a larger share of applicants, in the CollegesRef 2026–27 edition.
Profile closeness (0–100) compares graduation rate, size, admit rate, net price, Carnegie class, and control with The University of the Arts. The order also uses CollegesRef matching tiers, so a later match can score higher. Admit-rate bars use a 0–100% scale.
Top 10 alternatives to The University of the Arts
Row-wise results ranked by similarity. No curated AI list exists for this school.
Match #2
Moore College of Art and Design
Philadelphia, PA
Profile closeness60/100
Admit rate56%
- 535 students
- Private nonprofit
- City: Large
- Same Carnegie classification
- Same control type (private nonprofit)
Match #3
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Philadelphia, PA
Profile closeness38/100
Admit rate84%
- 23 students
- Private nonprofit
- City: Large
- Acceptance rate 84%, close to 85%
- Same Carnegie classification
Match #4
Curtis Institute of Music
Philadelphia, PA
Profile closeness26/100
Admit rate5%
- 109 students
- Private nonprofit
- City: Large
- Same Carnegie classification
- Same control type (private nonprofit)
Match #5
Maryland Institute College of Art MICA
Baltimore, MD
Profile closeness83/100
Admit rate77%
- 1,189 students
- Private nonprofit
- City: Large
- Graduation rate 71%, close to 68%
- Enrollment 1,189 students, close to 1,397
Match #6
Columbus College of Art and Design
Columbus, OH
Profile closeness74/100
Admit rate68%
- 882 students
- Private nonprofit
- City: Large
- Graduation rate 61%, close to 68%
- Same Carnegie classification
Match #7
American Musical and Dramatic Academy
New York, NY
Profile closeness69/100
Admit rate24%
- 1,438 students
- Private nonprofit
- City: Large
- Graduation rate 61%, close to 68%
- Enrollment 1,438 students, close to 1,397
Match #8
Pratt Institute-Main
Brooklyn, NY
Profile closeness69/100
Admit rate73%
- 3,910 students
- Private nonprofit
- City: Large
- Graduation rate 74%, close to 68%
- Same Carnegie classification
Match #9
New York School of Interior Design
New York, NY
Profile closeness68/100
Admit rate63%
- 427 students
- Private nonprofit
- City: Large
- Graduation rate 67%, close to 68%
- Same Carnegie classification
Match #10
Cleveland Institute of Art
Cleveland, OH
Profile closeness66/100
Admit rate61%
- 539 students
- Private nonprofit
- City: Large
- Graduation rate 62%, close to 68%
- Same Carnegie classification
Questions about The University of the Arts alternatives
What colleges are similar to The University of the Arts?
The closest matches to The University of the Arts are Pennsylvania College of Art and Design, Moore College of Art and Design, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Curtis Institute of Music, and Maryland Institute College of Art MICA. CollegesRef ranks them on admissions, cost, graduation rate, size, and campus profile using IPEDS and College Scorecard data.
Is The University of the Arts hard to get into?
The University of the Arts admitted 85% of its 1,293 applicants in the CollegesRef 2026–27 edition, so it is not very selective: it admits most applicants. 1 of its 10 closest alternatives admit a larger share of applicants.
