2023 Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools
Finding the Best Visual & Performing Arts School for You
In 2020-2021, 149,215 visual and performing arts students received their degrees and certificates, making the major the #10 most popular in the country.
It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 617 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best programs for students.
View our full ranking methodology.
2023 Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools in the United States
The colleges and universities below are the best for visual and performing arts majors pursuing a .
Top 25 Top Schools in Visual & Performing Arts
Our analysis found University of Notre Dame to be the best school for visual and performing arts students who want to pursue a degree in the United States. Notre Dame is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Notre Dame.
After completing their degree, visual and performing arts graduates from Notre Dame carry an average student debtload of $19,625.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Duke University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools list. Duke is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Durham.
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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Lafayette College is a great place for visual and performing arts students. Located in the large suburb of Easton, Lafayette is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend The Graduate Center, CUNY. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools list. The Graduate Center is a moderately-sized public school located in the city of New York.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Dartmouth College. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools list. Dartmouth is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the remote town of Hanover.
After completing their degree, visual and performing arts graduates from Dartmouth carry an average student debtload of $14,319.
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College of the Holy Cross came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools ranking. Located in the midsize city of Worcester, Holy Cross is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
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Emory University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools list. Emory is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Atlanta.
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Virginia Tech came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools ranking. Located in the small city of Blacksburg, Virginia Tech is a public school with a fairly large student population.
After completing their degree, visual and performing arts graduates from Virginia Tech carry an average student debtload of $27,133.
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Brandeis University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for visual and performing arts students. It came in at #9 on the list. Brandeis is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Waltham.
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Winona State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for visual and performing arts students. It came in at #10 on the list. Winona State is a moderately-sized public school located in the town of Winona.
After completing their degree, visual and performing arts graduates from Winona State carry an average student debtload of $27,500.
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John Tyler Community College landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best visual and performing arts programs. Located in the large suburb of Chester, John Tyler Community College is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
The average amount in student loans that visual and performing arts majors at John Tyler Community College take out is $5,418.
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Madison Area Technical College came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools ranking. Located in the city of Madison, Madison College is a public school with a fairly large student population.
After completing their degree, visual and performing arts graduates from Madison College carry an average student debtload of $14,374.
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Messiah University landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best visual and performing arts programs. Messiah is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Mechanicsburg.
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Northwestern University came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools ranking. Northwestern is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Evanston.
After completing their degree, visual and performing arts graduates from Northwestern carry an average student debtload of $17,079. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $431.
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University of Nebraska at Kearney did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for visual and performing arts students. It came in at #15 on the list. Located in the distant town of Kearney, UNK is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
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Sacred Heart University ranked #16 on this year’s Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools list. Sacred Heart is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Fairfield.
The average amount in student loans that visual and performing arts majors at Sacred Heart take out is $24,768.
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With a ranking of #17, Luther College did quite well on this year’s best schools for visual and performing arts students. Luther is a small private not-for-profit school located in the remote town of Decorah.
On average, visual and performing arts graduates from Luther take out $27,000 in student loans while working on their degree.
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North Dakota State University - Main Campus came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools ranking. Located in the midsize city of Fargo, North Dakota State University is a public college with a fairly large student population.
On average, visual and performing arts graduates from North Dakota State University take out $24,833 in student loans while working on their degree.
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The University of Texas at Austin came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools ranking. UT Austin is a very large public school located in the city of Austin.
On average, visual and performing arts graduates from UT Austin take out $22,725 in student loans while working on their degree. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $358.
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University of California - Berkeley landed the #20 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best visual and performing arts programs. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public school located in the city of Berkeley.
After completing their degree, visual and performing arts graduates from UC Berkeley carry an average student debtload of $16,924.
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James Madison University ranked #21 on this year’s Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools list. JMU is a fairly large public school located in the city of Harrisonburg.
After completing their degree, visual and performing arts graduates from JMU carry an average student debtload of $20,917. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $440.
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Drake University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for visual and performing arts students. It came in at #22 on the list. Located in the city of Des Moines, Drake is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
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Williams College landed the #23 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best visual and performing arts programs. Located in the fringe town of Williamstown, Williams is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
After completing their degree, visual and performing arts graduates from Williams carry an average student debtload of $10,803.
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The College of New Jersey ranked #24 on this year’s Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools list. TCNJ is a medium-sized public school located in the suburb of Ewing.
Visual & Performing Arts majors at TCNJ take out an average of $25,000 in student loans while working on their egree.
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St Mary’s College of Maryland landed the #25 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best visual and performing arts programs. SMCM is a small public school located in the suburb of St. Mary's City.
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Additional Award Winners
This section shows the remainder of the colleges awarded a Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools badge. Showing in this list means the school was ranked in the top 15% of the 617 different United States visual and performing arts schools we analyzed.
Honorable Mentions
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools award.
Visual & Performing Arts by Region
View the Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
More Visual & Performing Arts Rankings
Visual & Performing Arts Related Rankings by Major
Visual & Performing Arts Majors to Study
| 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 |
| General Visual & Performing Arts | 6,355 |
| Arts & Media Management | 4,788 |
| Dance | 3,288 |
| Other Visual Art | 912 |
| Crafts, Folk Art & Artisanry | 119 |
| Community/Environmental/Socially-Engaged Art | 10 |
Most Popular Related Majors
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities | 556,813 |
| English Language & Literature | 54,635 |
| Foreign Languages & Linguistics | 33,333 |
| Theology & Religious Vocations | 27,459 |
| Philosophy & Religious Studies | 19,993 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
- Read more about our ranking methodology.
- 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 Bonnielou2013.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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