Ruth Asawa School of the Arts

The Ruth Asawa School of the Arts is a San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD), public high school for 9th - 12th grade students.  We offer a rigorous college preparatory curriculum in addition to visual and performing art classes daily. 

Students apply to one art department/strand and remain in that department for 4 years.  

Students are expected to perform and/or rehearse outside the regular school hours.

Asawa SOTA has 8 art departments with 10 strands.  Students select one art department or strand within a department.

• Architecture + Design

• Dance - Conservatory Dance or World Dance

• Media + Film

• Music - Classical Instrumental, Contemporary Instrumental, Vocal, or World Music

• Technical Theater -  Stagecraft or Costume + Fashion Design

• Theatre (Acting + Musical Theatre)

• Visual Arts (Drawing + Painting)

• Writing - Creative Writing or Spoken Arts

Applicants must complete this 3 part process to qualify for placement for the 2025-26 school year.

• SFUSD Online Enrollment Application (available Oct. 18, 2024) - Deadline December 13, 2024   Applicants submit an SFUSD Online Application selecting Asawa SOTA in preference order.
• Audition Assignment (by art department) Due December 13, 2024 if applying to: Architecture + Design, Media + Film, Tech: Stagecraft and Costume/Fashion Design, Visual Art, Writing - Creative and Spoken Arts.  All other departments prepare, rehearse and present their audition assignments on audition day, Feb. 8, 2025.  Assignments are found on the SFUSD Enrollment Application or at the Asawa SOTA website, asawa.sfusd.edu.  
• Audition (In-Person at Asawa SOTA) - Saturday, February 8, 2025, (Times TBD), Save the Date

Wednesday, October 23, 2024

Wednesday, November 20, 2024

School Tours begin in the Dan Kryston Memorial Theater (main theater) at 1:20pm with an auditorium presentation and end at 3:20pm after school/art department tour/presentation.  All are welcome!

If you are unable to attend a school tour, please view our virtual school tour HERE.

Prospective students connect with Asawa SOTA students

The SOTA Buddy Program is an initiative aimed at helping prospective or incoming SOTA students connect with current SOTA students via email to gain valuable insights into student life and the SOTA experience.

Sign Up HERE if you are interested in connecting with a current SOTA student.

There are no student shadow opportunities. We recommend you attend a School Tour.