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Best Value Visual & Performing Arts Graduate Certificate Schools in California

2023 Best Value Visual & Performing Arts Graduate Certificate Schools in California

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

7 Colleges
$36,039 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$42,822 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Visual & Performing Arts Graduate Certificate School for You

Visual & Performing Arts is one of the most popular subjects to study in California. With 22,397 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, it ranked 10th out of all the majors we track in the state.

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.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Value Visual & Performing Arts Graduate Certificate Schools in California to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 7 schools in California to see which graduate certificate 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.

Best California Schools for Affordable Quality for a Postbaccalaureate Certificates in Visual & Performing Arts

Our 2023 rankings named California State University - Long Beach the best value school in California for visual and performing arts students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the large city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public college with a fairly large student population.

CSULB graduate students pay an average of $8,280 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at California State University - Long Beach Report

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The excellent graduate certificate programs at California State University - Monterey Bay helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value visual and performing arts schools in California. CSUMB is a medium-sized public school located in the suburb of Seaside.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at CSUMB are $8,652 a year.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at California State University - Monterey Bay Report

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#3

University of Redlands

Redlands, CA

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Redlands. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Visual & Performing Arts Graduate Certificate Schools in California list. Located in the small city of Redlands, University of Redlands is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at University of Redlands are $23,532 per year.

Read full report on Visual & Performing Arts at University of Redlands

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Out of the 7 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, American Film Institute Conservatory landed the # 4 spot on the list. American Film Institute is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

American Film Institute graduate students pay an average of $63,575 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Visual & Performing Arts at American Film Institute Conservatory

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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Southern California. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Visual & Performing Arts Graduate Certificate Schools in California list. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at USC are $61,396 a year.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at University of Southern California Report

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With a ranking of #6, Laguna College of Art and Design did quite well on this year’s best value schools for visual and performing arts students working on their graduate certificate. LCAD is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the rural area of Laguna Beach.

LCAD graduate students pay an average of $38,850 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Visual & Performing Arts at Laguna College of Art and Design

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With a ranking of #7, San Francisco Conservatory of Music did quite well on this year’s best value schools for visual and performing arts students working on their graduate certificate. SFCM is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of San Francisco.

SFCM graduate students pay an average of $50,800 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Visual & Performing Arts at San Francisco Conservatory of Music

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Best Value Visual & Performing Arts Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Value Visual & Performing Arts Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
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

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 7 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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