ArtCenter College of Design was founded in 1930 in downtown Los Angeles as the Art Center School. In 1935, Fred R. Archer founded the photography department, and Ansel Adams was a guest instructor in the late 1930s. During and after World War II, ArtCenter ran a technical illustration program in conjunction with the California Institute of Technology. In 1947, the post-war boom in students caused the school to expand to a larger location in the building of the former Cumnock School for Girls in the Hancock Park neighborhood, while still maintaining a presence at its original downtown location. The school began granting Bachelor's and Master's degrees in arts in 1949, and was fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges in 1955. In 1965, the school changed its name to Art Center College of Design. The school expanded its programs, including a film program in 1973. The school moved to the Hillside Campus in Pasadena in 1976. The school operated Art Center Europe in La Tour-de-Peilz, Switzerland from 1986 to 1996. In 2003, ArtCenter was granted Non-Governmental Organization status by the UN Department of Public Information. ArtCenter opened the South Campus in Pasadena in 2004.

Mission

Learn to create. Influence change.

This is our mission statement—and our answer to how art and design impact our global society. Part call-to-action. Part promise. All opportunity.