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Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools

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2023 Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools

570 Colleges
$26,022 Avg Salary
$26,083 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree 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.

The Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 570 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best bachelor's degree programs for students. Factors related to overall quality of the school, post-graduation earnings, average student debt, and more accumulated were considered when coming up with this list.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the United States

The colleges and universities below are the best for visual and performing arts majors pursuing a bachelor's degree.

Top 25 Top Schools for a Bachelor's in Visual & Performing Arts

#1

University of Notre Dame

Notre Dame, IN

Our analysis found University of Notre Dame to be the best school for visual and performing arts students who want to pursue a bachelor’s degree in the United States. Notre Dame is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Notre Dame.

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#2

Duke University

Durham, NC

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Duke University is a great place for visual and performing arts students working on their bachelor’s degree. Duke is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Durham.

Read full report on Visual & Performing Arts at Duke University

#3

Lafayette College

Easton, PA

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Lafayette College is a great place for visual and performing arts students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the suburb of Easton, Lafayette is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

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#4

Dartmouth College

Hanover, NH

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Dartmouth College. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Dartmouth is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the town of Hanover.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at Dartmouth College Report

The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best visual and performing arts schools in the United States. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a very large public school located in the suburb of San Luis Obispo.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo Report

#6

College of the Holy Cross

Worcester, MA

College of the Holy Cross came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the midsize city of Worcester, Holy Cross is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Read full report on Visual & Performing Arts at College of the Holy Cross

#7

Emory University

Atlanta, GA

Emory University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for visual and performing arts students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #7 on the list. Emory is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Atlanta.

Read full report on Visual & Performing Arts at Emory University

#8

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

Northwestern University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for visual and performing arts students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #8 on the list. Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Evanston.

Read full report on Visual & Performing Arts at Northwestern University

#9

Brandeis University

Waltham, MA

Brandeis University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for visual and performing arts students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list. Brandeis is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Waltham.

Read full report on Visual & Performing Arts at Brandeis University

#10

Virginia Tech

Blacksburg, VA

Virginia Tech did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for visual and performing arts students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the city of Blacksburg, Virginia Tech is a public school with a very large student population.

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#11

Winona State University

Winona, MN

Winona State University landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree visual and performing arts programs. Winona State is a moderately-sized public school located in the town of Winona.

Read full report on Visual & Performing Arts at Winona State University

#12

Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, PA

Carnegie Mellon University ranked #12 on this year’s Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

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The University of Texas at Austin landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree visual and performing arts programs. UT Austin is a fairly large public school located in the city of Austin.

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Columbia University in the City of New York did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for visual and performing arts students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #14 on the list. Located in the large city of New York, Columbia is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

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#15

Luther College

Decorah, IA

With a ranking of #15, Luther College did quite well on this year’s best schools for visual and performing arts students working on their bachelor’s degree. Luther is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Decorah.

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North Dakota State University - Main Campus did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for visual and performing arts students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #16 on the list. Located in the medium-sized city of Fargo, North Dakota State University is a public college with a large student population.

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#17

Sacred Heart University

Fairfield, CT

Sacred Heart University landed the #17 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree visual and performing arts programs. Sacred Heart is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Fairfield.

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University of Wisconsin - Madison ranked #18 on this year’s Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. UW - Madison is a very large public school located in the city of Madison.

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#19

James Madison University

Harrisonburg, VA

James Madison University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for visual and performing arts students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #19 on the list. JMU is a very large public school located in the city of Harrisonburg.

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University of California - Berkeley did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for visual and performing arts students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #20 on the list. UC Berkeley is a very large public school located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at University of California - Berkeley Report

#21

Williams College

Williamstown, MA

Williams College landed the #21 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree visual and performing arts programs. Located in the town of Williamstown, Williams is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at Williams College Report

#22

Drake University

Des Moines, IA

Drake University ranked #22 on this year’s Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the medium-sized city of Des Moines, Drake is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

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With a ranking of #23, The College of New Jersey did quite well on this year’s best schools for visual and performing arts students working on their bachelor’s degree. TCNJ is a moderately-sized public school located in the suburb of Ewing.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at The College of New Jersey Report

#24

St Mary's College of Maryland

St. Mary's City, MD

St Mary’s College of Maryland landed the #24 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree visual and performing arts programs. SMCM is a small public school located in the suburb of St. Mary's City.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at St Mary’s College of Maryland Report

Concordia College at Moorhead came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. Concordia College Moorhead is a small private not-for-profit school located in the midsize suburb of Moorhead.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at Concordia College at Moorhead Report

Rest of the Top 50 Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools

#26

Skidmore College

Saratoga Springs, NY
#27

University of Georgia

Athens, GA
#31

University of Virginia - Main Campus

Charlottesville, VA
#32

Boston College

Chestnut Hill, MA
#34

University of Evansville

Evansville, IN
#35

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA
#37

Purdue University - Main Campus

West Lafayette, IN
#39

Belmont University

Nashville, TN
#41

Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN
#44

University of Iowa

Iowa City, IA
#46

Truman State University

Kirksville, MO
#48

Wellesley College

Wellesley, MA
#49

Michigan State University

East Lansing, MI
#50

Texas Tech University

Lubbock, TX

Additional Award Winners

This section represents the rest of the colleges awarded a Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools badge. Showing in this list means the college was ranked in the top 15% of the 570 different United States visual and performing arts schools we analyzed.

Rank College Location
51 Hamline University Saint Paul, MN
52 University of Tulsa Tulsa, OK
53 University of North Carolina School of the Arts Winston-Salem, NC
54 Messiah University Mechanicsburg, PA
55 University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire Eau Claire, WI
56 Illinois State University Normal, IL
57 University of Wisconsin - Stout Menomonie, WI
58 Texas Christian University Fort Worth, TX
59 New Jersey Institute of Technology Newark, NJ
60 Rice University Houston, TX
61 New York University New York, NY
62 Towson University Towson, MD
63 Nebraska Wesleyan University Lincoln, NE
64 DePauw University Greencastle, IN
65 Harding University Searcy, AR
66 Wheaton College Illinois Wheaton, IL
67 Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA
68 University of Nebraska at Omaha Omaha, NE
69 University of Florida Gainesville, FL
70 Clemson University Clemson, SC
71 Mount Saint Mary’s University Los Angeles, CA
72 San Jose State University San Jose, CA
73 University of Wisconsin - La Crosse La Crosse, WI
74 Goucher College Baltimore, MD
75 Iowa State University Ames, IA
76 University of Missouri - St Louis Saint Louis, MO
77 University of Wisconsin - Whitewater Whitewater, WI
78 Boston University Boston, MA
79 College for Creative Studies Detroit, MI
80 American University Washington, DC
81 University of California - Irvine Irvine, CA
82 Chapman University Orange, CA
83 Muhlenberg College Allentown, PA
84 St Olaf College Northfield, MN
85 Emerson College Boston, MA

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 Bachelor's Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
86 University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point Stevens Point, WI
87 University of Puget Sound Tacoma, WA
88 University of Dayton Dayton, OH
89 University of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls, IA
90 University of California - Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA
91 University of Alaska Anchorage Anchorage, AK
92 University of California - Davis Davis, CA
93 University of Cincinnati - Main Campus Cincinnati, OH
94 Huntington University Huntington, IN
95 University of Nebraska - Lincoln Lincoln, NE
96 University of Minnesota - Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN
97 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC
98 Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY
99 Taylor University Upland, IN
100 University of South Dakota Vermillion, SD
101 Kansas State University Manhattan, KS
102 University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus Pittsburgh, PA
103 West Texas A&M University Canyon, TX
104 Lebanon Valley College Annville, PA
105 Colorado State University - Fort Collins Fort Collins, CO
106 Tufts University Medford, MA
107 Texas State University San Marcos, TX
108 Otis College of Art and Design Los Angeles, CA
109 Eastern Illinois University Charleston, IL
110 Miami University - Oxford Oxford, OH
111 Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania Slippery Rock, PA
112 The Juilliard School New York, NY
113 University of Arkansas Fayetteville, AR
114 Minnesota State University - Mankato Mankato, MN

Visual & Performing Arts by Region

View the Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Great Lakes

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

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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