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Most Popular Fine & Studio Arts Schools in Illinois

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2023 Most Popular Fine & Studio Arts Schools in Illinois

72 Colleges
$26,018 Avg Salary
$26,776 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Fine & Studio Arts School for You

Fine & Studio Arts is the #25 most popular major in Illinois with 1,584 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Most Popular Fine & Studio Arts Schools in Illinois to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 72 schools in Illinois to see which programs were the most popular for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Fine & Studio Arts program at each school on the list.

The colleges and universities below are the most popular for Fine Arts majors pursuing a .

Our 2023 rankings named School of the Art Institute of Chicago the most popular school in Illinois for fine and studio arts students. School of the Art Institute of Chicago is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Chicago.

On average, Fine Arts graduates from School of the Art Institute of Chicago take out $27,000 in student loans while working on their degree. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $864.

Full Fine & Studio Arts at School of the Art Institute of Chicago Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Illinois State University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Most Popular Fine & Studio Arts Schools in Illinois list. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Normal, Illinois State is a public college with a very large student population.

After completing their degree, Fine Arts graduates from Illinois State carry an average student debt load of $20,750. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $303, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Fine & Studio Arts at Illinois State University Report

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Northern Illinois University is a great place for fine and studio arts students. Located in the small suburb of Dekalb, NIU is a public college with a fairly large student population.

After completing their degree, Fine Arts graduates from NIU carry an average student debt load of $26,781. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $336.

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#4

Eastern Illinois University

Charleston, IL

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Eastern Illinois University is a great place for fine and studio arts students. EIU is a moderately-sized public school located in the town of Charleston.

On average, Fine Arts graduates from EIU take out $23,200 in student loans while working on their degree.

Full Fine & Studio Arts at Eastern Illinois University Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Most Popular Fine & Studio Arts Schools in Illinois list. UIUC is a fairly large public school located in the city of Champaign.

Read full report on Fine & Studio Arts at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Southern Illinois University Carbondale did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for fine and studio arts students. It came in at #6 on the list. Located in the small city of Carbondale, SIUC is a public school with a fairly large student population.

After completing their degree, Fine Arts graduates from SIUC carry an average student debt load of $26,000.

Read full report on Fine & Studio Arts at Southern Illinois University Carbondale

University of Illinois at Chicago did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for fine and studio arts students. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the city of Chicago, UIC is a public school with a very large student population.

Fine Arts majors at UIC take out an average of $23,415 in student loans while working on their egree.

Full Fine & Studio Arts at University of Illinois at Chicago Report

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville ranked #8 on this year’s Most Popular Fine & Studio Arts Schools in Illinois list. Located in the large suburb of Edwardsville, SIUE is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average amount in student loans that Fine Arts majors at SIUE take out is $29,772.

Full Fine & Studio Arts at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Report

#9

University of Chicago

Chicago, IL

University of Chicago came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Fine & Studio Arts Schools in Illinois ranking. Located in the city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

Full Fine & Studio Arts at University of Chicago Report

Columbia College Chicago landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular fine and studio arts programs. Columbia is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Chicago.

While working on their degree, Fine Arts majors at Columbia accumulate an average of around $27,000 in student debt.

Full Fine & Studio Arts at Columbia College Chicago Report

Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional popular schools for Fine & Studio Arts students in the state of Illinois that almost earned our Most Popular Fine & Studio Arts Schools in Illinois award.

Rank College Location
11 Northwestern University Evanston, IL
12 Loyola University Chicago Chicago, IL
13 Olivet Nazarene University Bourbonnais, IL
13 DePaul University Chicago, IL

Best Fine & Studio Arts Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Most Popular Fine & Studio Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 729
Ohio 880
Indiana 645
Wisconsin 585

Fine & Studio Arts is one of 10 different types of programs to choose from.

Majors Similar to Fine Arts

Related Major Annual Graduates
Design & Applied Arts 36,301
Music 25,910
Drama & Theater Arts 17,341
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 16,778
General Visual & Performing Arts 6,355

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 27 schools only.

  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to Jorge Royan.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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