Otis College of Art & Design

Founded in 1918, Otis College of Art & Design was the first independent art school in Los Angeles. The college offers degrees in fine arts, fashion design, architecture, communications arts, toy design, interactive product design, writing and digital media. Otis embraces an interdisciplinary education that unites emerging technology with established strengths in fine arts, design and fashion. More than 1,100 students from 25 countries attend the college. In 1918, Gen. Harrison Gray Otis, the founder and publisher of the Los Angeles Times, bequeathed his home to the city of Los Angeles for the advancement of the arts. This Spanish mansion on Wilshire Boulevard housed the school for nearly 80 years until the college moved to its west side campus.