Visual & Performing Arts at Southern Methodist University

Every visual and performing arts school has its own distinct culture and strengths. We've pulled together some statistics and other details to help you see how the visual and performing arts program at Southern Methodist University stacks up to those at other schools.

SMU is located in Dallas, Texas and approximately 12,373 students attend the school each year. Of the 2,105 students who graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Southern Methodist University in 2021, 124 of them were visual and performing arts majors.

Want to know more about the career opportunities in this field? Check out the Careers in Visual & Performing Arts section at the bottom of this page.

SMU Visual & Performing Arts Degrees Available

• Bachelor’s Degree in Visual & Performing Arts
• Master’s Degree in Visual & Performing Arts

SMU Visual & Performing Arts Rankings

Each year, College Factual ranks visual and performing arts programs across the country. The following shows how SMU performed in these rankings.

Note: Rankings don't always give a complete picture of a school's strengths and weaknesses, so it's a good idea to extend your research and also look at other factors when trying to decide if the school is right for you.

Bachelor’s Degree Overall Quality & Other Notable Rankings

The visual and performing arts major at SMU is not ranked on College Factual’s Best Colleges and Universities for Visual & Performing Arts. This could be for a number of reasons, such as not having enough data on the major or school to make an accurate assessment of its quality.

Ranking Type	Rank
Most Focused Visual & Performing Arts Graduate Certificate Schools	28
	50
Most Focused Visual & Performing Arts Doctor’s Degree Schools	113

In 2021, 61 students received their master’s degree in visual and performing arts from SMU. This makes it the #64 most popular school for visual and performing arts master’s degree candidates in the country.

There were 0 student who received their doctoral degrees in visual and performing arts, making the school the #114 most popular school in the United States for this category of students.

Visual & Performing Arts Student Demographics at SMU

Take a look at the following statistics related to the make-up of the visual and performing arts majors at Southern Methodist University.

SMU Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor’s Program

During the 2020-2021 academic year, 124 students graduated with a bachelor's degree in visual and performing arts from SMU. About 42% were men and 58% were women. The typical visual and performing arts bachelor's degree program is made up of only 38% men. So male students are more repesented at SMU since its program graduates 4% more men than average.

About 60% of those who receive a bachelor's degree in visual and performing arts at SMU are white. This is above average for this degree on the nationwide level.

The following table and chart show the race/ethnicity for students who recently graduated from Southern Methodist University with a bachelor's in visual and performing arts.

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Students
Asian	14
Black or African American	7
Hispanic or Latino	17
White	74
International Students	6
Other Races/Ethnicities	6

SMU Visual & Performing Arts Master’s Program

Of the 61 students who graduated with a master’s in visual and performing arts from SMU in 2021, 41% were men and 59% were women. Nationwide, master's degree programs only see 38% men graduate in visual and performing arts each year. SMU does a better job at serving the male population as it supports 3% more men than average.

The following table and chart show the race/ethnicity for students who recently graduated from Southern Methodist University with a master's in visual and performing arts.

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Students
Asian	3
Black or African American	3
Hispanic or Latino	5
White	28
International Students	16
Other Races/Ethnicities	6

SMU also has a doctoral program available in visual and performing arts. In 2021, 0 student graduated with a doctor's degree in this field.

Concentrations Within Visual & Performing Arts

The following visual and performing arts concentations are available at Southern Methodist University. The completion numbers here include all graduates who receive any type of degree in this field from Southern Methodist University. Some of these focus areas may not be available for your degree level.

Concentration	Annual Degrees Awarded
Music	80
Fine & Studio Arts	30
Film, Video & Photographic Arts	27
Arts & Media Management	21
Drama & Theater Arts	21
Dance	14
Design & Applied Arts	10

Related Majors

• English Language & Literature
• Philosophy & Religious Studies
• Foreign Languages & Linguistics
• Theology & Religious Vocations
• Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities

Careers That Visual & Performing Arts Grads May Go Into

A degree in visual and performing arts can lead to the following careers. Since job numbers and average salaries can vary by geographic location, we have only included the numbers for TX, the home state for Southern Methodist University.

Occupation	Jobs in TX	Average Salary in TX
High School Teachers	110,420	$58,190
Managers	20,710	$122,130
Graphic Designers	13,480	$50,700
Art, Drama, and Music Professors	6,240	$71,520
Producers and Directors	5,300	$69,280

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• Image Credit: By Jeffrey Beall under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.