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

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

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

82 Colleges
$17,429 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$26,022 Avg Salary

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.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Our analysis looked at 82 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which bachelor's degree programs offered the best value experiences for visual and performing arts students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

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

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

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

#1

Youngstown State University

Youngstown, OH

Our analysis found Youngstown State University to be the best value school for visual and performing arts students who want to pursue a bachelor’s degree in the Great Lakes Region . Located in the small city of Youngstown, Youngstown State University is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Youngstown State University undergraduate students pay an average of $9,732 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at Youngstown State University Report

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is a great value for visual and performing arts students working on their bachelor’s degree. SIUE is a large public school located in the suburb of Edwardsville.

SIUE undergraduate students pay an average of $11,496 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Report

Out of the 82 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Wisconsin - Whitewater landed the # 3 spot on the list. UW - Whitewater is a fairly large public school located in the distant town of Whitewater.

UW - Whitewater undergraduate students pay an average of $16,602 in tuition and fees each year.

In addition to its great value ranking, UW - Whitewater is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.

Read More…

The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Western Illinois University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best value visual and performing arts schools in the Great Lakes Region . Located in the remote town of Macomb, WIU is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at WIU are $13,297 per year.

Read full report on Visual & Performing Arts at Western Illinois University

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means University of Wisconsin - Stout is a great value for visual and performing arts students working on their bachelor’s degree. UW - Stout is a medium-sized public school located in the distant town of Menomonie.

UW - Stout undergraduate students pay an average of $17,820 in tuition and fees each year.

In addition to its great value ranking, UW - Stout is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.

Read full report on Visual & Performing Arts at University of Wisconsin - Stout

University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point 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 #6 on the list. UW - Stevens Point is a moderately-sized public school located in the town of Stevens Point.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at UW - Stevens Point are $17,035 a year.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point Report

With a ranking of #7, Northern Illinois University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for visual and performing arts students working on their bachelor’s degree. NIU is a large public school located in the small suburb of Dekalb.

NIU undergraduate students pay an average of $14,738 in tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

#8

Central Michigan University

Mount Pleasant, MI

Central Michigan University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree visual and performing arts programs. Central Michigan is a large public school located in the town of Mount Pleasant.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Central Michigan are $13,094 per year.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at Central Michigan University Report

With a ranking of #9, University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh did quite well on this year’s best value schools for visual and performing arts students working on their bachelor’s degree. UW Oshkosh is a fairly large public school located in the city of Oshkosh.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at UW Oshkosh are $15,306 a year.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh Report

#10

Ferris State University

Big Rapids, MI

Ferris State University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Ferris is a large public school located in the town of Big Rapids.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Ferris are $13,188 a year.

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

University of Akron Main Campus ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the medium-sized city of Akron, University of Akron Main Campus is a public school with a large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at University of Akron Main Campus are $11,880 per year.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at University of Akron Main Campus Report

University of Wisconsin - Green Bay came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. UW - Green Bay is a moderately-sized public school located in the midsize city of Green Bay.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UW - Green Bay are $16,091 per year.

Read More…

Additional Noteworthy Schools

Here are some additional great value schools for Visual & Performing Arts students in the Great Lakes Region seeking value that almost earned our Best Value Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region award.

Rank College Location
13 Grand Valley State University Allendale, MI
14 Eastern Michigan University Ypsilanti, MI
15 Southern Illinois University Carbondale Carbondale, IL
16 Illinois State University Normal, IL

Best Visual & Performing Arts Colleges by State

Explore the best visual and performing arts schools 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.

  • 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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