9 Best Mfa Programs In Riverside, CA (2022 Updated)

I think financial aid is run by Dr.Seuss. It’s a literal circus. They barely answer the phone and Stacy is brutal. I think she wrestled in the WWE. I simply and politely asked about my financial aid app and she punch me in throat so hard I started singing Ave Maria. I didn’t even know I knew the song. Oh and Brenda in records punched me in my chest so hard my shoulders clapped. She was pretty adamant about me not transferring. Do not step on campus without your PPO being updated.Donovan Bradshawe

This is a great university with students from all around the world, very beautiful buildings, gardens and sport facilities. It was a fantastic experience to study there for an year and enjoy such a nice atmosphere. Just be aware that you need a car to travel in weekends, for Riverside itself does not have many attractions, though it's a cozy city.Michael Rachid

Beautiful campus. So green. I love the Eucalyptus trees. It’s quiet in certain areas and social in others when students are around. A little something for everyone. Nice pathways for both walking and cycling. There are benches all around the campus to provide ample sitting areas to either just rest or to study with solar powered charging stations.Sajleen

CBU is pretty rad, and I want to respond to what I've seen in a couple reviews here. The first of which is people saying the location in Riverside sucks. I'll admit Riverside is not super tight, but there is the mission inn and a drive in movie theater and a few other things which are pretty cool within a few minutes of campus. The best part of Riverside is it's less than an hour from the beach, an hour from the mountains, and hour from LA and 45 minutes from a few theme parks. So if you have a car and aren't super lazy, your weekends should be fun. And there's always fun stuff going on campus too, (dive in movie nights at the pool, intramural and NCAA sports games, concerts, carnivals etc.) so if you have a good attitude you can have fun hanging out on campus. People are saying CBU wants your money. Of course they do, so does every other university that is in business. However CBU will really work with you to help you afford the school. Get good grades, maybe go out for a sports team or the music department and you'll get even more money. You have to work for it though, they don't give out serious amounts of money to anyone. If your parents are in ministry (pastor/missionary/work full time at a church) you're in luck too cuz they have scholarships for that too. It's a Christian school… Yep. I wouldn't say intolerant though. You will be taught what they believe to be Christian values and you can only expect that. There's like 7,000 students too so I'm sure there are rude intolerant ones there too. I think you will find rude/intolerant people no matter where you go but it most definitely is not the essence of the student body. CBU has a uniquely welcoming and loving community, and that's something I've heard from Christians and non-Christians alike at the school. Both are welcome to come but both also are required to go to chapel and follow the rules. I don't agree with all the rules but most of them are a pretty reasonable balance of trying to give freedom to students and adhere to Christian principles (coming from a non-conservative Christian background). That's part of making the decision to go to a Christian university, and realistically it's probably what's best for you anyways. If anyone has anything bad to say about the food I don't know what world famous chef you had cooking for you your entire life before here. The caf has killer variety, Chik-fil-a is freaking Chik-fil-a, Wandas has great breakfast and the best steak quesadillas, and El-Monte is as good as Chipotle. CBU does give real world experience. I know as a business major there are some awesome professors that are all about real world experience. Dr. Weniger and Alderson are a couple that come to mind. You get out what you put into your classes and almost every single professor at the school is very open to spending time with you helping you out with homework or just life. Academics are pretty top tier, but professors do come and go and though most are great, some are much better than others, so do a little time looking round rate my professor if you want the best ones. CBU is great. Sure there are other universities that are great too (not to many that compare that are in Southern California though) but CBU is a well rounded school academically, socially and spiritually. No school/student body is perfect, that's just life, but CBU is a solid choice to spend 4 years growing academically and spiritually into who you are going to be the rest of your life.Jake Roque

Okay, so I went to this school originally considering a nursing degree. It's hard to have many nice things to say about this school.. The school looks nice, but the neighborhood area is crap. You have to drive kinda far to see or do anything nice. It's hardly in Riverside, CA. Feel more like Norco, armpit of California. They put most of their students in cheap housing. Much of it was temporary when I was there. Other housing was old folks homes. Weird cheap, and kinda gross. The major feature of this school is this: They want your money. That's all. It's nothing spectacular in any way, and based on the price, it's a really bad deal. They "award" small scholarships to practically any student for any reason. They try to bring in a bunch of students through their music school. A music degree is NOT WORTH 100k- 150k of debt. And please remember folks, if everybody gets a scholarship, it's not actually a scholarship. THINK about it.. They just want your attention and your money. ALSO, Please be aware they will be raising the tuition on you every year, by lots of money! If you start at 30-35k, You will probably end at 40-45k annually. It's probably costing something around or over 40 or more thousand per year now. And YOU WILL pay more than you think by the end of the year. It's a Christian school, which is fine if you're a Christian. They are relatively intolerant conservatives though. Very serious/ oppressive Christian all over the place. Many of the students are sheltered, and having moved on to a regular university, I can tell you it doesn't represent the real world experience, or normal people, for the most part. Regarding this: Don't bother going here unless you're a rich serious sheltered Christian. If that's what you value, then maybe you'll like this place. Some of the people are fairly friendly, and the food in the cafeteria was good WHEN I was there. That more than a year ago. Some of the teachers were alright as well. I mostly took science classes, for reference. In summary, if you're not a young Christian who has no desire for real-world experience,then don't go here. The price is so not worth it! It's an institution for profit! Go to your local community college and earn entrance to a great University! Even Ivy league schools are looking to replace young dropouts with students that did well in their community colleges! It's just not worth it. If you're a thinking person, you'll start hating this school not long after you get there. NOT WORTH ITMichael D. Bear

I loved all 4 years at this school! As a freshman, I lived in the dorms and met my group of closest friends that I still hang out with to this day. I loved the food and had to be careful with dessert in the cafeteria otherwise I would have packed on the calories. The school does a great job of setting up events that target every student and gives great deals for other off-campus events like cheap Lakers tickets, cheap tickets to theme parks, and other giveaways. I am Mexican and I have never once felt like I was discriminated against at this school, if anything there are plenty of people at this school who make an effort to talk about racial injustices among students. As far as the incident in Ontario, I just want to say that you can find that level of ingorance at any university and even more so outside of that setting. Two girls made a stupid decision to throw a drink on a guy and they happened to be CBU students. If I’m being real here, CBU does not turn many people away when it comes to the application process, so any person who has higher than a 2.5 GPA will most likely get in. CBU does not necessarily focus on whether you are a Christian or not because they’d rather have you here at this school than at a school where the chance of hearing the gospel is much lower. Now back to the point, CBU is honestly such a great school and if you’ve ever visited, you notice right away that the atmosphere is one that you can’t find in many other places. People treat you with love, respect, understanding, and kindness. CBU is a school that truly looks to serve the students in any way possible and that’s the truth. Don’t let others who are are upset about what happened in Ontario tear down the idea of coming to this school because you will definitely see that the number of students who will treat you with love and respect far outweighs the ones who would pour a drink on you for sitting during the national anthem. Christian or not, CBU will welcome you with open arms regardless of ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, gender, etc..Gabriel Lara

First time to come check this amazing place out the staff is super friendly. They are all polite and welcoming one of the volunteers gave us a history lesson on the building which was awesome who new it was a girls young womans Christian center. Pretty cool to know that where one of the exhibits is laid out use to be a indoor swimming pool. So that being said nice art work from various artist paintings, drawings, and photography they even have art for children posted on the wall. They accept donations. Small exhibits but worth checking it out. Did I mention there are sculptures too fantastic to look at and intricateO.k Tomahawk

Our family absolutely loves this place. They are helpful, kind and care about sharing the love of art with future generations. I wouldn't mind seeing them change the placement of some of the artwork which lines the walls near the classrooms, for the sake of children. Other than that, we have nothing but appreciation for this place. Please support the museum financially when you go. They don't require people to pay, but places like this need our support to continue offering community education and culture.Kelly Vargas

Location:Good, Parking: Good, Service: Good, Military Discount: Yes, Overall: This was a first time try and I appreciate the respect they give Military members buy offering discounts. The young lady at the counter was very helpful and gave me any info I requested. I feel the city of Riverside is worth the trip to see the museums and have some lunch or dinner…Rich Gill (Rich AMeN Gill)

nice small museum with lots of rotating exhibits and pieces usually from art students from UCR. good to visit for a date though not with family sometimes the art is a bit obscure or frightening (mostly photography and some abstract art). it's free to UCR students and the public i believe. Visited on
Weekend

Wait time
No wait

Reservation recommended
No

Price for adult entry
FreeBryan Vadhin

went today and it was empty which made the experience a little more fun since you don’t have to wait your turn to see the art, it was great!! they have air conditioning too which i enjoyed. there isn’t much to see but what was there was nice to see, more photography than art but still a good amount of things to see i would definitely come again when they bring in new art exhibitselvi

This is a wonderful resource for my college photography students. We take a field trip here every semester. The show's are always challenging and inspiring and the staff is extremely knowledgeable and engaging. The students especially love the camera obscure upstairs.Ray Ewing

I was at the shopping center near UCR Riverside with the Chase Bank, Del Taco, Sprint Etc… After wrapping up my business at Chase I decided to go upstairs to the sitting area to wait for my friend who was had gone to one of the other stores. At first there was no problem, and as long as I was up there by myself, I wasn't bothered. I sat at the table, ate some leftovers, used the drinking fountain and waited. When I saw my friend go to Chase I called him upstairs. Now, I have to mention race in this because it is a clear factor in what transpired next. I am white and my friend is black. Not more than 2 minutes after he got up there this guy dressed in police blue, wearing a bullet proof vest with all manners of gadgets hanging off of it approached us. He had a big bushy beard, tattoos, and a curly mustache with black and gray hair intermingled, and was wearing a bracelet that said "Blue lives matter" which I find ignorant in and of itself, because of the social and historical issues regarding the movement of #blacklivesmatter. Anyway, I had gotten out of the seat and was at the drinking fountain so he reached me and conveyed in a very rude tone that we needed to leave the area. At this I calmly asked "Is it posted anywhere that we cannot be up here?" To this he turned back to me, with the look that cops get right before they start beating someone, you know, the "are you questioning my authority and shaky manhood" look. He told me it didn't matter if it was posted anywhere and that I had to leave because he said so. I let him know that it was fine and I'd be leaving but for the sake of talking to the business owners I wanted to know if it was posted anywhere that we couldn't be up there. No one else was up there and no one was being bothered. He told me to take that up with the business owners. So I walked over to my friend and let him know what was up and he started walking down. I went back to ask for this guy's badge number so I could file a complaint. When I asked him he said "I don't have a badge number, I work for UCR Extension." So let me get this right, this bully wasn't even a cop? SMH. Anyway, as I went downstairs after being told very spitefully to "HAVE A GREAT DAY." When I made it downstairs my friend said to me that I should never let myself be alone with a cop where no one can see, a very understandable sentiment after seeing all the police brutality cases exposing that corrupt system. I agreed, but then the UCR Extension security employee shouted down "WHAT DID YOU SAY?" in an aggressive tone. My friend yelled back up word for word what he said. The dialogue went back and forth a bit, with my friend calling this guy santa claus (because of the beard) and the security guard calling him DAWG sarcastically. This further exposed the racism. It started out that the guard came up only after the black person showed up. Then he called him dawg. One thing led to another and again after a conversation down in the parking lot in which this bully tried to tell my friend where he could and couldn't stand (something he has no authority to do), this guy called my friend Homie. Come on, you know you wouldn't call a white guy homie. You know you wouldn't call a white guy dawg. This guy who looked like he just jumped off his Harley after committing a hate crime displayed his ignorance and racism in multiple ways. He also came across as antagonistic, rude and intimidating. I am very disappointed that UCR Extension has allowed their idea of safety to be represented and enforced by such a sensless, ignorant, biased and racist individual. I sincerely hope action is taken against him and that you take steps to ensure that the areas you are protecting and serving are safe for everyone and not just white people. Let me know what you plan to do to take care of this. Please, whichever of your staff firsts becomes aware of this review, forward the information to the appropriate supervisor of this representative of your company. Please demonstrate that you do not support this kind of behavior. Liam XNathan Hammer

Warming: Do not apply for UCR!!! Crimes violence everyday in Riverside!!! The campus is unsafe and dangerous!!! Apply for other schools!!! The international Student Center (ISRC) is dark and insidious! People recently working here are a bunch of racists and nazists! Before you apply to UCR, they will pretend like welcoming you, but once you get admitted, you will see the truth!!! Every time when you make an appoint with advisors, they answer you "appointments are not allowed." Then you will hear everyone working in ISRC laughing at you. If you ask them questions, they always answer"you don't need to think about it now…" You can always hear "go back to your country" by the end just because you are one of international students!!! 警告：千万不要申请UCR，Riverside很危险，都出都是犯罪记录！！！ 如果你不是白人的话，路上开车的人会有意撞你们！！！ 国际学生部门的态度很不好，他们都是些种族主义和纳粹主义的人！！！ 警告：千萬不要申請UCR，Riverside很危險，都出都是犯罪記錄！ ！ ！ 如果你不是白人的話，路上開車的人會有意撞你們！ ！ ！ 國際學生部門的態度很不好，他們都是些種族主義和納粹主義的人！ ！ ！ Advertencia: No se aplican para la UCR, Riverside es muy peligroso, ambos son antecedentes penales! ! ! Si no es blanco, a continuación, conduciendo por la carretera se haría intencionalmente le golpeó! ! ! Actitud del sector de los estudiantes internacionales es muy malo, que son más racismo y el nazismo personas! ! ! 警告：UCRには適用しないでください、リバーサイドは両方とも犯罪歴あり、非常に危険です！ ！ ！ あなたは白でない場合は、1があなたを故意に当たる道を運転！ ！ ！ 留学生部門の態度が非常に悪いです、彼らはより多くの人種差別とナチズムの人々です！ ！ ！ Advertencia: No se aplican para la UCR, Riverside es muy peligroso, ambos son antecedentes penales! ! ! Si no es blanco, a continuación, conduciendo por la carretera se haría intencionalmente le golpeó! ! ! Actitud del sector de los estudiantes internacionales es muy malo, que son más racismo y el nazismo personas! ! ! Attention: Ne pas appliquer pour DUC, Riverside est très dangereux, les deux sont un casier judiciaire! ! ! Si vous n'êtes pas blanc, puis conduire sur la route on le ferait intentionnellement vous frapper! ! ! Attitude du secteur des étudiants internationaux est très mauvais, ils sont plus de gens de racisme et le nazisme! ! ! Achtung: Nicht bei für UCR, Am Fluss ist sehr gefährlich, beide sind vorbestraft! ! ! Wenn Sie nicht weiß sind, dann die Straße würde man fahren auf absichtlich treffen Sie! ! ! Haltung der internationalen Studenten-Sektor ist sehr schlecht, sie sind mehr Rassismus und Nazismus Menschen! ! !Alex Nguyen

I'v been studying ESL for a year. The teachers are mix. Some are super professional and helpful, and some are totally crab. The staff was good and friendly, but not anymore. They are being treating foreign students in an awful way.Ya MoHaMmEd yA aLi

Gathering under the Stars events at the California Indians Nation College 2022 was a great event. We took the Torres-Martinez Youth Council up to sell some sodas and drink to raise money for there Youth events. They had bird singing , art's and crafts, and information booth.TC RES