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Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools in the Far Western US Region

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2023 Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools in the Far Western US Region

79 Colleges
$27,203 Avg Salary
$24,726 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Visual & Performing Arts 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.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. 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.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools in the Far Western US Region to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 79 schools in the Far Western US Region to see which ones offered the best programs for students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools in the Far Western US Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Visual & Performing Arts Colleges.

Top 15% Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools

Our analysis found University of California - Berkeley to be the best school for visual and performing arts students who want to pursue a degree in the Far Western US Region . Located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public college with a fairly large student population.

After completing their degree, visual and performing arts graduates from UC Berkeley carry an average student debtload of $16,924.

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#2

National University

La Jolla, CA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend National University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools in the Far Western US Region list. National University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of La Jolla.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at National University Report

The excellent programs at University of Washington - Seattle Campus helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best visual and performing arts schools in the Far Western US Region . UW Seattle is a very large public school located in the city of Seattle.

The average amount in student loans that visual and performing arts majors at UW Seattle take out is $15,288.

Read full report on Visual & Performing Arts at University of Washington - Seattle Campus

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means San Jose State University is a great place for visual and performing arts students. Located in the large city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public college with a very large student population.

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#5

Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, CA

Out of the 79 schools in the Far Western US Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Mount Saint Mary’s University landed the # 5 spot on the list. MSMU is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.

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#6

Loyola Marymount University

Los Angeles, CA

With a ranking of #6, Loyola Marymount University did quite well on this year’s best schools for visual and performing arts students. Loyola Marymount is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.

On average, visual and performing arts graduates from Loyola Marymount take out $22,932 in student loans while working on their degree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $983, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read full report on Visual & Performing Arts at Loyola Marymount University

University of Southern California came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.

On average, visual and performing arts graduates from USC take out $20,385 in student loans while working on their degree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $562.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at University of Southern California Report

With a ranking of #8, University of California - Irvine did quite well on this year’s best schools for visual and performing arts students. Located in the large city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public school with a very large student population.

While working on their degree, visual and performing arts majors at UC Irvine accumulate an average of around $17,754 in student debt. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $250.

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

University of Puget Sound came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. Located in the city of Tacoma, Puget Sound is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Visual & Performing Arts majors at Puget Sound take out an average of $26,507 in student loans while working on their egree.

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University of California - Davis came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. Located in the small suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public school with a fairly large student population.

On average, visual and performing arts graduates from UC Davis take out $15,158 in student loans while working on their degree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $319.

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

University of California - Santa Barbara came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public college with a fairly large student population.

On average, visual and performing arts graduates from UCSB take out $17,632 in student loans while working on their degree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $259.

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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 Schools in the Far Western US Region award.

Rank College Location
12 Chapman University Orange, CA
13 University of California - Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA
14 Otis College of Art and Design Los Angeles, CA
15 University of San Francisco San Francisco, CA

Best Visual & Performing Arts Colleges by State

Explore the best visual and performing arts colleges for a specific state in the Far Western US region.

State Degrees Awarded
California 22,397
Washington 1,718
Oregon 1,672
Hawaii 196
Nevada 554
Alaska 60

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

Majors Similar to Visual & Performing Arts

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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