Visual Arts

Types of Degrees Visual Arts Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many general visual & performing arts graduations there were in 2021-2022 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	4,118
Associate Degree	1,798
Basic Certificate	373
Master’s Degree	365
Undergraduate Certificate	83
Graduate Certificate	21
Doctor’s Degree	18

What Visual Arts Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to visual arts 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 Visual Arts Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

• Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• 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 Visual Arts Majors

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to visual arts:

• 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.
• Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.

Abilities for Visual Arts Majors

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

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

What Can You Do With a Visual Arts Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with visual arts:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
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
Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators	6.8%	$49,380
Graphic Designers	4.2%	$50,370
Multimedia Artists and Animators	8.4%	$72,520

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

This is a less frequently chosen undergraduate major. Only 3,794 students graduated with a bachelor’s degree in general visual & performing arts in 2021, making it rank #94 in popularity. This major is dominated by women with about 57% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	348
Black or African American	435
Hispanic or Latino	748
White	2,038
International Students	166
Other Races/Ethnicities	383

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Visual Arts. About 4.0% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• China
• South Korea
• Taiwan
• India
• Canada

How Much Do Visual Arts Majors Make?

Bachelor’s Degree Starting Salary

Salaries According to BLS

Visual Arts majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $42,770 to $78,230 (25th to 75th percentile). This range includes all degree levels, so you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.

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 Visual Arts

Some degrees associated with visual 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 visual arts careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	5.1%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	9.9%
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)	3.4%
Some College Courses	13.1%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	7.7%
Bachelor’s Degree	34.8%
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.	0.2%
Master’s Degree	16.9%
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.	0.4%
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	8.7%

Online Visual 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)	22	1
Certificate (2-4 Years)	6	0
Associate’s Degree	195	11
Bachelor’s Degree	8	1
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	47	2
Post-Master’s	2	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	8	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Visual Arts Worth It?

The median salary for a visual arts grad is $58,370 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 46% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $369,400 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Visual Arts

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

Major	Number of Grads
Fine & Studio Arts	37,604
Design & Applied Arts	36,323
Music	25,860
Film, Video & Photographic Arts	17,626
Drama & Theater Arts	17,039
Arts & Media Management	4,667
Dance	3,301
Other Visual Art	999
Crafts, Folk Art & Artisanry	73
Community/Environmental/Socially-Engaged Art	5

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 Sven Mandel / CC-BY-SA-4.0 under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.