Otis prepares diverse students of art and design to enrich our world through their creativity, their skill, and their vision.

In 1918, General Harrison Gray Otis, the founder and publisher of the Los Angeles Times, bequeathed his home to the city for "the advancement of the arts." For almost eighty years, Otis remained at this Wilshire Boulevard location. In 1997, the College moved to the Elaine and Bram Goldsmith Campus on the West side. From Spanish-Moorish mansion to seven-story cube, Otis has evolved. Designed by architect Eliot Noyes for IBM, the 115,000 square-foot West side Ahmanson Hall building was renovated in 1997 by Bobrow Thomas, using the concept of an artist's loft, or a working studio, rather than that of a traditional classroom. Ahmanson Hall's open plan encourages communication among the departments, as well as between students and faculty.