Crafts, Folk Art & Artisanry

Types of Degrees Crafts, Folk Art & Artisanry Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many crafts, folk art and artisanry graduations there were in 2018-2019 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	96
Associate’s Degree	15
Undergraduate Certificate	10
Master’s Degree	2
Basic Certificate	1

What Crafts, Folk Art & Artisanry Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to folk art and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Folk Art Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in folk art should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

Skills for Folk Art Majors

When studying folk art, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Abilities for Folk Art Majors

A major in folk art will prepare for your careers in which the following abilities are important:

• Originality - The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).

What Can You Do With a Crafts, Folk Art & Artisanry Major?

People with a folk art degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Art, Drama, and Music Professors	12.0%	$69,960
Artists and Related Workers	5.5%	$65,390
Craft Artists	4.8%	$34,240

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Crafts, Folk Art & Artisanry?

This is a less frequently chosen undergraduate major. Only 96 students graduated with a bachelor’s degree in crafts, folk art and artisanry in 2019, making it rank #283 in popularity. This major is dominated by women with about 78% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of folk art majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	4
Black or African American	2
Hispanic or Latino	2
White	69
International Students	9
Other Races/Ethnicities	10

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Folk Art. About 9.4% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• China
• South Korea
• Venezuela
• Turkey
• Netherlands

How Much Do Crafts, Folk Art & Artisanry Majors Make?

Bachelor’s Degree Starting Salary

The U.S. Department of Education found that students who graduated in 2015-2017 with a bachelor’s degree in crafts, folk art and artisanry made a median starting salary of $20,100 per year. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $19,200 (25th percentile) and $22,000 (75th percentile).

It is possible that some of these people may have taken positions that were not related to folk art.

Salaries According to BLS

Average salaries range from $40,490 to $82,560 (25th to 75th percentile) for careers related to folk art. This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Crafts, Folk Art & Artisanry

Some degrees associated with folk art may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to folk art have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	6.8%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	5.4%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	4.1%
Some College Courses	5.4%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	3.7%
Bachelor’s Degree	17.4%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	0.5%
Master’s Degree	35.0%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	1.1%
Doctoral Degree	21.0%

Online Crafts, Folk Art & Artisanry Programs

In the 2018-2019 academic year, 27 schools offered some type of crafts, folk art and artisanry program. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	6	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	4	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	6	0
Bachelor’s Degree	2	0
Post-Baccalaureate	6	0
Master’s Degree	1	0
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Crafts, Folk Art & Artisanry Worth It?

The median salary for a folk art grad is $67,700 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 70% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $556,000 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Crafts, Folk Art & Artisanry

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to folk art.

Major	Number of Grads
Fine & Studio Arts	40,751
Design & Applied Arts	36,179
Music	26,968
Drama & Theater Arts	17,726
Film, Video & Photographic Arts	16,756
General Visual & Performing Arts	5,720
Arts & Media Management	4,766
Dance	3,234
Other Visual Art	1,071

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
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By User:Gengiskanhg under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.