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Best Visual & Performing Arts Master's Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region

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2023 Best Visual & Performing Arts Master's Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region

84 Colleges
$32,741 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Visual & Performing Arts Master's Degree School for You

With 149,215 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, visual and performing arts is the #10 most popular major in the United States.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Visual & Performing Arts Master's Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 84 schools in the Middle Atlantic Region to see which master's degree programs offered the best educational experiences for students. To come up with a school's ranking, we analyzed numerous factors related to post-graduation wages, the quality of education offered by the school, average accumulated student debt, and more.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Visual & Performing Arts Master’s Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region

The colleges and universities below are the best for visual and performing arts majors pursuing a master's degree.

Top 15% Best Visual & Performing Arts Master's Degree Schools

Our analysis found The Graduate Center, CUNY to be the best school for visual and performing arts students who want to pursue a master’s degree in the Middle Atlantic Region . The Graduate Center is a medium-sized public school located in the large city of New York.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at The Graduate Center, CUNY Report

#2

Messiah University

Mechanicsburg, PA

The excellent master’s degree programs at Messiah University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best visual and performing arts schools in the Middle Atlantic Region . Messiah is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Mechanicsburg.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at Messiah University Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Sotheby’s Institute of Art - NY. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Visual & Performing Arts Master’s Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region list. Sotheby's Institute of Art - NY is a fairly small private for-profit school located in the large city of New York.

Read full report on Visual & Performing Arts at Sotheby’s Institute of Art - NY

Out of the 84 schools in the Middle Atlantic Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Teachers College at Columbia University landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the city of New York, Teachers College is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Read full report on Visual & Performing Arts at Teachers College at Columbia University

#5

American University

Washington, DC

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means American University is a great place for visual and performing arts students working on their master’s degree. The American University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Washington.

Read full report on Visual & Performing Arts at American University

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Visual & Performing Arts Master’s Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking. Located in the city of Troy, RPI is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Report

#7

Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, PA

Carnegie Mellon University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Visual & Performing Arts Master’s Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region list. Located in the city of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at Carnegie Mellon University Report

#8

New York University

New York, NY

New York University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Visual & Performing Arts Master’s Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region list. NYU is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of New York.

Read full report on Visual & Performing Arts at New York University

West Chester University of Pennsylvania ranked #9 on this year’s Best Visual & Performing Arts Master’s Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region list. Located in the large suburb of West Chester, WCUPA is a public school with a large student population.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at West Chester University of Pennsylvania Report

#10

Wagner College

Staten Island, NY

Wagner College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for visual and performing arts students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the large city of Staten Island, Wagner is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Read full report on Visual & Performing Arts at Wagner College

#11

Goucher College

Baltimore, MD

With a ranking of #11, Goucher College did quite well on this year’s best schools for visual and performing arts students working on their master’s degree. Goucher is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Baltimore.

Read full report on Visual & Performing Arts at Goucher College

With a ranking of #12, University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus did quite well on this year’s best schools for visual and performing arts students working on their master’s degree. Pitt is a very large public school located in the large city of Pittsburgh.

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

Honorable Mentions

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 Master's Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region award.

Rank College Location
13 Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY
14 Towson University Towson, MD
15 Syracuse University Syracuse, NY
16 University of Delaware Newark, DE

Best Visual & Performing Arts Colleges by State

Explore the best visual and performing arts colleges for a specific state in the Middle Atlantic region.

State Degrees Awarded
New Jersey 2,574
Pennsylvania 5,464
New York 16,536
Maryland 2,055
Delaware 182
District of Columbia 586

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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