Northwest College of Art & Design

Tacoma, WA
1126 Pacific Avenue, Suite 101, Tacoma, WA 98402
253-272-1126

Northwest College of Art & Design (NCAD) is a small, private, accredited college located in the heart of downtown Tacoma, Washington. The college specializes in the visual arts, offering Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees in Animation, Fine Arts, Graphic Design, and Illustration, as well as Associate of Fine Arts degrees in Animation, Fine Arts, and Graphic Design. NCAD is also home to the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding, which offers a two-year professional certificate in boatbuilding.

NCAD was founded in 1934 as the Tacoma School of Arts, a community art school offering classes to both children and adults. In the 1950s, the school began offering college-level courses, and in the 1960s, the school was renamed the Tacoma School of the Arts and began offering two-year Associate of Fine Arts degrees. In the 1970s, the school was renamed again, this time to the Northwest College of Art, and began offering four-year Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees. In the 1980s, the college added a graphic design program and in the 1990s, an animation program. In 2006, the college was renamed to its current name, the Northwest College of Art & Design.

NCAD is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD) and is a member of the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges (NWACC). The college is also home to the NCAD Gallery, which features rotating exhibitions of contemporary art by regional, national, and international artists.



Quick Facts

Enrollment: 101

Acceptance Rate: 84.27%

Type: Private for-profit, 4-year or above

Main Website: https://ncad.edu/

Financial Aid: https://ncad.edu/admissions/tuition-financial-aid/