by our College Data Analytics TeamIn 2024, College Factual analyzed 587 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 94,717 bachelor's degrees in visual & performing arts during the 2020-2021 academic year.
What's on this page: * Our Methodology
The visual & performing arts bachelor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:
The overall quality of a bachelor's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we include a school's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a combination of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.
To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their bachelor's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their bachelor's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.
The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.
Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for visual & performing arts students working on their bachelor's degree.
The visual & performing arts school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools.
In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.
Learn about start dates, transferring credits, availability of financial aid, and more by contacting the universities below.
The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in visual & performing arts. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
Any student pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in visual & performing arts has to check out Northwestern University. Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from Northwestern University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a good choice for students pursuing a bachelor's degree in visual & performing arts. Columbia is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of New York.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from Columbia University in the City of New York
University of Southern California is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in visual & performing arts. Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from University of Southern California
University of Notre Dame is a great option for individuals interested in a bachelor's degree in visual & performing arts. Notre Dame is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Notre Dame.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from University of Notre Dame
NYU is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of New York.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from New York University
Duke is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Durham.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from Duke University
Emory is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Atlanta.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from Emory University
Located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
WUSTL is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Saint Louis.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from Washington University in St Louis
Carnegie Mellon is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Pittsburgh.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from Carnegie Mellon University
UT Austin is a fairly large public university located in the city of Austin.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from The University of Texas at Austin
Yale is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of New Haven.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from Yale University
Located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from University of California - Berkeley
Juilliard is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of New York.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from The Juilliard School
UW Seattle is a very large public university located in the large city of Seattle.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from University of Washington - Seattle Campus
UPenn is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Philadelphia.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from University of Pennsylvania
UW - Madison is a very large public university located in the city of Madison.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from University of Wisconsin - Madison
Located in the city of Houston, Rice is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from Rice University
UCLA is a very large public university located in the large city of Los Angeles.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from University of California - Los Angeles
Located in the large city of Nashville, Vanderbilt is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from Vanderbilt University
Located in the town of Hanover, Dartmouth is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from Dartmouth College
Located in the midsize city of Orange, Chapman is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from Chapman University
Located in the city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from University of California - Irvine
Iowa State is a very large public university located in the small city of Ames.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from Iowa State University
FIT SUNY is a moderately-sized public school located in the large city of New York.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from Fashion Institute of Technology
This list shows the remainder of the schools awarded a Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools badge. Showing in this list means the college was ranked in the top 15% of the 587 different United States visual & performing arts schools we analyzed.
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools award.
View the Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Fine & Studio Arts | 24,602 |
| Design & Applied Arts | 19,770 |
| Music | 15,362 |
| Drama & Theater Arts | 13,117 |
| Film, Video & Photographic Arts | 11,759 |
| General Visual & Performing Arts | 3,794 |
| Arts & Media Management | 3,065 |
| Dance | 2,676 |
| Other Visual Art | 492 |
| Crafts, Folk Art & Artisanry | 71 |
