Find Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

Find Schools Near

2023 Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

82 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 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

#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 Great Lakes Region . Located in the large suburb of Notre Dame, Notre Dame is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Read More…

#2

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

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 city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at Northwestern University Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Wisconsin - Madison. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public college with a very large student population.

Read More…

The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best visual and performing arts schools in the Great Lakes Region . Located in the city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Visual & Performing Arts at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

#5

University of Evansville

Evansville, IN

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.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at University of Evansville Report

#6

Purdue University - Main Campus

West Lafayette, IN

Purdue University - Main Campus landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree visual and performing arts programs. Located in the city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Read More…

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 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. Located in the city of Champaign, UIUC is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Read More…

#8

Michigan State University

East Lansing, MI

Michigan State University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree visual and performing arts programs. Michigan State is a very large public school located in the city of East Lansing.

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

Illinois 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 #9 on the list. Illinois State is a very large public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Normal.

Read More…

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 moderately-sized public school located in the distant town of Menomonie.

Read More…

#11

DePauw University

Greencastle, IN

DePauw 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 #11 on the list. Located in the town of Greencastle, DePauw is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at DePauw University Report

#12

Wheaton College Illinois

Wheaton, IL

With a ranking of #12, Wheaton College Illinois did quite well on this year’s best schools for visual and performing arts students working on their bachelor’s degree. Wheaton College Illinois is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Wheaton.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at Wheaton College Illinois Report

Additional Noteworthy Schools

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

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.

Featured Schools

Find Schools Near You

Our free school finder matches students with accredited colleges across the U.S.