Find Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Best Value Visual & Performing Arts Graduate Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania

Find Schools Near

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

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

9 Colleges
$26,269 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$42,822 Avg Salary

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

In 2020-2021, visual and performing arts students earned 5,464 degrees and certificates from a Pennsylvania school, making the subject the 9th in the state.

With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best 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.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Value Visual & Performing Arts Graduate Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania ranking. This report analyzed 9 schools in Pennsylvania to see which ones offered the best value graduate certificate programs for visual and performing arts students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

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 Graduate Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania

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

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

#1

Messiah University

Mechanicsburg, PA

Our 2023 rankings named Messiah University the best value school in Pennsylvania for visual and performing arts students working on their graduate certificate. Located in the large suburb of Mechanicsburg, Messiah is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Messiah graduate students pay an average of $13,050 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania is a great value for visual and performing arts students working on their graduate certificate. Bloomsburg is a moderately-sized public school located in the city of Bloomsburg.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Bloomsburg are $11,871 per year.

Read More…

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means West Chester University of Pennsylvania is a great value for visual and performing arts students working on their graduate certificate. WCUPA is a large public school located in the suburb of West Chester.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at WCUPA are $11,898 a year.

Read full report on Visual & Performing Arts at West Chester University of Pennsylvania

#4

Marywood University

Scranton, PA

Out of the 9 schools in Pennsylvania that were part of this year’s ranking, Marywood University landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the small city of Scranton, Marywood is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Marywood are $11,438 per year.

Read full report on Visual & Performing Arts at Marywood University

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Mercyhurst University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Visual & Performing Arts Graduate Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania list. Located in the small city of Erie, Mercyhurst is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Mercyhurst are $17,043 a year.

Read full report on Visual & Performing Arts at Mercyhurst University

#6

Duquesne University

Pittsburgh, PA

Duquesne University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Visual & Performing Arts Graduate Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania list. Duquesne is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Pittsburgh.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Duquesne are $24,534 per year.

Read More…

#7

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA

University of Pennsylvania landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value graduate certificate visual and performing arts programs. Located in the large city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.

UPenn graduate students pay an average of $42,932 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

UPenn also made our Best Visual & Performing Arts Graduate Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania list, coming in at #2.

Read More…

#8

Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, PA

Carnegie Mellon University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for visual and performing arts students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #8 on the list. Carnegie Mellon is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Pittsburgh.

Carnegie Mellon graduate students pay an average of $47,347 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Carnegie Mellon also claimed a spot on our Best Visual & Performing Arts Graduate Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools in this category.

Read full report on Visual & Performing Arts at Carnegie Mellon University

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for visual and performing arts students to get a graduate certificate. It came in at #9 on the list. Located in the large city of Philadelphia, PAFA is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at PAFA are $41,356 per year.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Report

Best Value Visual & Performing Arts Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region

Explore all the Best Value Visual & Performing Arts Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
New Jersey 2,574
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

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 9 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.

Featured Schools

Find Schools Near You

Our free school finder matches students with accredited colleges across the U.S.