2023 Best Visual & Performing Arts Doctor's Degree Schools
Finding the Best Visual & Performing Arts Doctor'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 Doctor's Degree Schools ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 103 schools in the United States to see which doctor's degree programs offered the best educational experiences 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 Doctor’s Degree Schools in the United States
The following schools top our list of the Best Visual & Performing Arts Doctor's Degree Colleges.
Top 15% Best Visual & Performing Arts Doctor's Degree Schools
Our analysis found Duke University to be the best school for visual and performing arts students who want to pursue a doctor’s degree in the United States. Duke is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Durham.
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Out of the 103 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, The Graduate Center, CUNY landed the # 2 spot on the list. The Graduate Center is a medium-sized public school located in the city of New York.
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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Illinois Institute of Technology is a great place for visual and performing arts students working on their doctor’s degree. Illinois Tech is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Chicago.
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Out of the 103 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Emory University landed the # 4 spot on the list. Emory is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Atlanta.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Michigan State University. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Visual & Performing Arts Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public school with a fairly large student population.
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Brandeis University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree visual and performing arts programs. Brandeis is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Waltham.
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With a ranking of #7, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute did quite well on this year’s best schools for visual and performing arts students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the small city of Troy, RPI is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.
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With a ranking of #8, Northwestern University did quite well on this year’s best schools for visual and performing arts students working on their doctor’s degree. Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Evanston.
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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 doctor’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley.
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With a ranking of #10, The University of Texas at Austin did quite well on this year’s best schools for visual and performing arts students working on their doctor’s degree. UT Austin is a very large public school located in the city of Austin.
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North Dakota State University - Main Campus landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree visual and performing arts programs. Located in the city of Fargo, North Dakota State University is a public school with a large student population.
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University of Virginia - Main Campus ranked #12 on this year’s Best Visual & Performing Arts Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the suburb of Charlottesville, University of Virginia is a public college with a very large student population.
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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 doctor’s degree. It came in at #13 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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With a ranking of #14, James Madison University did quite well on this year’s best schools for visual and performing arts students working on their doctor’s degree. JMU is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Harrisonburg.
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Rice University landed the #15 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree visual and performing arts programs. Rice is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Houston.
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Request InformationHonorable Mentions
Here are some additional great schools for Visual & Performing Arts students that almost earned our Best Visual & Performing Arts Doctor's Degree Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 16 | University of California - Los Angeles | Los Angeles, CA |
| 17 | University of Pennsylvania | Philadelphia, PA |
| 18 | University of Wisconsin - Madison | Madison, WI |
| 19 | Tufts University | Medford, MA |
| 20 | University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus | Pittsburgh, PA |
Visual & Performing Arts by Region
View the Best Visual & Performing Arts Doctor'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 |
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.