Bachelor in Illustration (Bachelor's)

Applications for the Jan 2027 intake are due by Nov 1, 2026, while tuition is Tuition for the 2026-2027 academic year is $38,500 per year..

Students create visual stories using traditional and digital media in dedicated studio spaces. They produce work for children's books, editorial content, video games, and advertising. Projects include designing posters for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremonies. The programme emphasizes storytelling, technical skill, and personal artistic development through hands-on practice.

The programme includes coursework in traditional and digital illustration techniques, with required classes in drawing, composition, and narrative development. Students complete a capstone project in their final year.

Graduates work as illustrators in publishing, game design, advertising, and freelance art.

Applicants must submit a portfolio of original artwork. A high school diploma or equivalent is required. The application includes a personal statement and official transcripts.

The programme totals about 120 credit hours. On-campus, full-time, four-year programme. For international students, tuition is well above the median for US programmes. The institution admits about 56% of applicants.

Creative practice shapes the academic experience at Cleveland Institute of Art, where students can pursue fields including animation, craft and design, drawing, graphic design, industrial design, life sciences illustration, painting, photography, printmaking, and sculpture and expanded media. The curriculum also includes liberal arts, minors, real-world experience, and the CO/RE program. Students can build skills through dedicated facilities designed for both traditional making and digital experimentation.

The Interactive Media Lab provides 14,297 square feet for technology, innovation, and collaboration, with extended, augmented, and virtual reality resources and a 36-foot-wide LED wall in its XR studio. Other facilities support hot and cold glass, fusion processes, flameworking, metal fabrication, ceramics, woodworking, jewelry, wearable art, soft sculpture, fashion, and conceptual work. Digital forming equipment includes 3D printers and CNC cutters, while the ceramics studios include gas, electric, and wood kilns.

The institute is located at 11610 Euclid Avenue in Cleveland. Campus resources include housing, campus life, events, a career center, support services, and access to facilities and labs. Prospective students apply as first-time freshmen or transfer students and submit a personal statement, transcripts, and portfolio materials. International applicants can use the institute's international student resources, while all applicants may contact the Office of Admissions for application questions. Applications are open for spring and fall 2027.