2023 Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region
Finding the Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree School for You
In 2020-2021, 149,215 visual and performing arts students received a degree or certificate, making the major the #10 most popular in the country.
With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best 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 Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 82 schools in the Great Lakes Region 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 Great Lakes Region
The colleges and universities below are the best for visual and performing arts majors pursuing a bachelor's degree.
Top 15% Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools
Our 2023 rankings named University of Notre Dame the best school in the Great Lakes Region for visual and performing arts students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the large suburb of Notre Dame, Notre Dame is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Northwestern University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.
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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means University of Wisconsin - Madison is a great place for visual and performing arts students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the large city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public school with a very large student population.
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Out of the 82 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public college with a very large student population.
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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means University of Evansville is a great place for visual and performing arts students working on their bachelor’s degree. UE is a small private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Evansville.
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Purdue 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 #6 on the list. Located in the city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Full Visual & Performing Arts at Purdue University - Main Campus Report
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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public school with a very large student population.
Full Visual & Performing Arts at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Report
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Michigan State 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. Michigan State is a very large public school located in the city of East Lansing.
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Illinois State University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree visual and performing arts programs. Illinois State is a very large public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Normal.
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University of Wisconsin - Stout landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree visual and performing arts programs. UW - Stout is a medium-sized public school located in the distant town of Menomonie.
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With a ranking of #11, DePauw University did quite well on this year’s best schools for visual and performing arts students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the distant town of Greencastle, DePauw is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
Full Visual & Performing Arts at DePauw University Report
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Wheaton College Illinois landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree visual and performing arts programs. Wheaton College Illinois is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Wheaton.
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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 in the Great Lakes Region award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 13 | University of Wisconsin - Whitewater | Whitewater, WI |
| 14 | College for Creative Studies | Detroit, MI |
| 15 | University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point | Stevens Point, WI |
| 16 | University of Dayton | Dayton, OH |
Best Visual & Performing Arts Colleges by State
Explore the best visual and performing arts colleges for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Indiana | 2,306 |
| Michigan | 3,433 |
| Ohio | 4,641 |
| Illinois | 5,502 |
| Wisconsin | 2,248 |
More Visual & Performing Arts Rankings in the Great Lakes Region
Rankings in Majors Related to Visual & Performing Arts
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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