Fine Arts

Types of Degrees Fine Arts Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many fine & studio arts graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	23,952
Associate Degree	4,447
Undergraduate Certificate	3,924
Master’s Degree	3,058
Basic Certificate	669
Doctor’s Degree	188
Graduate Certificate	94

What Fine Arts Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, fine arts majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Fine Arts Majors

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

• 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.
• Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• 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.

Skills for Fine Arts Majors

When studying fine arts, 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:

• 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.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

Abilities for Fine Arts Majors

Fine Arts majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• 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.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

What Can You Do With a Fine Arts Major?

People with a fine arts degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Archivists	14.7%	$52,240
Art Directors	5.4%	$92,780
Art, Drama, and Music Professors	12.0%	$69,960
Artists and Related Workers	5.5%	$65,390
Craft Artists	4.8%	$34,240
Curators	13.7%	$53,780
Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators	6.8%	$49,380
Multimedia Artists and Animators	8.4%	$72,520
Museum Technicians and Conservators	12.7%	$43,020
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education	7.5%	$60,320

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts?

Fine & Studio Arts runs middle of the road when it comes to popularity, ranking #22 out of all the undergraduate majors we track. In 2021, about 24,602 graduates completed their bachelor’s degree in this field. The major attracts more women than men. About 74% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of fine arts majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	1,904
Black or African American	1,702
Hispanic or Latino	4,472
White	12,588
International Students	1,291
Other Races/Ethnicities	1,995

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Fine Arts, too. About 5.4% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Fine Arts

Some degrees associated with fine arts 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.

Find out what the typical degree level is for fine arts careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	5.4%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	13.1%
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)	8.0%
Some College Courses	8.6%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	3.8%
Bachelor’s Degree	23.7%
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.	2.8%
Master’s Degree	25.2%
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.	1.4%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	0.0%
Doctoral Degree	8.2%
Post-Doctoral Training	0.2%

Online Fine Arts Programs

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)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	72	7
Certificate (2-4 Years)	6	1
Associate’s Degree	487	15
Bachelor’s Degree	44	1
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	485	13
Post-Master’s	7	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	63	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	2	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Fine Arts

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to fine arts.

Major	Number of Grads
Design & Applied Arts	36,019
Music	26,167
Film, Video & Photographic Arts	18,531
Drama & Theater Arts	16,853
General Visual & Performing Arts	6,785
Arts & Media Management	4,722
Dance	3,233
Other Visual Art	1,026
Crafts, Folk Art & Artisanry	102
Community/Environmental/Socially-Engaged Art	6

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 Jorge Royan under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.