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Best Value General Visual & Performing Arts Schools in Massachusetts

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2023 Best Value General Visual & Performing Arts Schools in Massachusetts

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

7 Colleges
$38,694 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$27,557 Avg Salary

Finding the Best General Visual & Performing Arts School for You

In 2020-2021, 171 degrees and certificates were awarded to general visual and performing arts students who went to a Massachusetts college or university. This makes it the #123 most popular major in the state.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. 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 Best Value General Visual & Performing Arts Schools in Massachusetts to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 7 schools in Massachusetts to see which programs offered the best value experiences for visual arts students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value General Visual & Performing Arts Schools in Massachusetts

The following schools top our list of the Best Value General Visual & Performing Arts Colleges.

Best Massachusetts Schools for Affordable Quality in General Visual & Performing Arts

$11,306 Average Tuition & Fees

Our analysis found Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts to be the best value school for general visual and performing arts students who want to pursue a degree in Massachusetts. Located in the fringe town of North Adams, MCLA is a public college with a fairly small student population.

MCLA undergraduate students pay an average of $11,306 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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#2

College of the Holy Cross

Worcester, MA
$56,540 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at College of the Holy Cross helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best general visual and performing arts schools in Massachusetts. Holy Cross is a small private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Worcester.

Holy Cross undergraduate students pay an average of $56,540 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Holy Cross is ranked #5 for overall quality for visual arts in Massachusetts.

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$14,408 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best general visual and performing arts schools in Massachusetts. Located in the midsize suburb of North Dartmouth, UMass Dartmouth is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UMass Dartmouth are $14,408 per year. After completing their degree, visual arts graduates from UMass Dartmouth carry an average student debtload of $27,000.

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#4

Lesley University

Cambridge, MA
$29,550 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Lesley University is a great value for general visual and performing arts students. Located in the medium-sized city of Cambridge, Lesley is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Lesley are $29,550 per year. After completing their degree, visual arts graduates from Lesley carry an average student debtload of $25,312.

Read full report on General Visual & Performing Arts at Lesley University

#5

Boston University

Boston, MA
$59,816 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Boston University is a great value for general visual and performing arts students. Located in the city of Boston, Boston U is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Boston U are $59,816 a year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Boston U also is in the top 20% of our Best General Visual & Performing Arts Schools in Massachusetts ranking.

Read full report on General Visual & Performing Arts at Boston University

$57,592 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #6, Northeastern University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for general visual and performing arts students. Northeastern is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Boston.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Northeastern are $57,592 per year.

In addition to its great value ranking, Northeastern is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best General Visual & Performing Arts Schools in Massachusetts list.

Read full report on General Visual & Performing Arts at Northeastern University

#7

Suffolk University

Boston, MA
$41,648 Average Tuition & Fees

Suffolk University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value General Visual & Performing Arts Schools in Massachusetts list. Located in the large city of Boston, Suffolk is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.

Suffolk undergraduate students pay an average of $41,648 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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Best Value General Visual & Performing Arts Colleges in the New England Region

Explore all the Best Value General Visual & Performing Arts Schools in the New England Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Connecticut 5
New Hampshire 10
Maine 3
Vermont 81

General Visual & Performing Arts is one of 10 different types of programs to choose from.

Majors Similar to Visual Arts

Related Major Annual Graduates
Fine & Studio Arts 37,413
Design & Applied Arts 36,301
Music 25,910
Drama & Theater Arts 17,341
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 16,778

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 7 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 Sven Mandel / CC-BY-SA-4.0.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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