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2023 Best Visual & Performing Arts Doctor's Degree Schools

103 Colleges
$37,940 Avg Salary

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

#1

Duke University

Durham, NC

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 large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Durham.

Read full report on Visual & Performing Arts at Duke University

The excellent doctor’s degree programs at The Graduate Center, CUNY helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best visual and performing arts schools in the United States. 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 Illinois Institute of Technology. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Visual & Performing Arts Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Illinois Tech is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Chicago.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at Illinois Institute of Technology Report

#4

Emory University

Atlanta, GA

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Emory University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Visual & Performing Arts Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Emory is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Atlanta.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at Emory University Report

#5

Michigan State University

East Lansing, MI

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Michigan State University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Visual & Performing Arts Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public college with a fairly large student population.

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

#6

Brandeis University

Waltham, MA

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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Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Visual & Performing Arts Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the city of Troy, RPI is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Report

#8

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

Northwestern University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Visual & Performing Arts Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. 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

University of California - Berkeley came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Visual & Performing Arts Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. UC Berkeley is a very large public school located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley.

Read full report on Visual & Performing Arts at University of California - Berkeley

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 large city of Austin.

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North Dakota State University - Main Campus ranked #11 on this year’s Best Visual & Performing Arts Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the midsize city of Fargo, North Dakota State University is a public college with a fairly large student population.

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#12

University of Virginia - Main Campus

Charlottesville, VA

University of Virginia - Main Campus 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 #12 on the list. Located in the suburb of Charlottesville, University of Virginia is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at University of Virginia - Main Campus Report

Columbia University in the City of New York landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree visual and performing arts programs. Located in the large city of New York, Columbia is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at Columbia University in the City of New York Report

#14

James Madison University

Harrisonburg, VA

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 city of Harrisonburg.

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#15

Rice University

Houston, TX

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 large city of Houston.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at Rice University Report

Honorable 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

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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