2023 Best Value Visual & Performing Arts Schools in Colorado
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
Finding the Best Visual & Performing Arts School for You
In 2020-2021, 1,943 degrees and certificates were awarded to visual and performing arts students who went to a Colorado college or university. This makes it the #11 most popular major in the state.
Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Value Visual & Performing Arts Schools in Colorado to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 12 schools in Colorado to see which 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.
When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.
Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.
Top 10 Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools
Our analysis found Arapahoe Community College to be the best value school for visual and performing arts students who want to pursue a degree in Colorado. Arapahoe Community College is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Littleton.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Arapahoe Community College are $4,080 per year. Visual & Performing Arts majors at Arapahoe Community College take out an average of $23,985 in student loans while working on their egree.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Community College of Aurora. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Visual & Performing Arts Schools in Colorado list. Located in the city of Aurora, CCA is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at CCA are $3,947 a year.
Full Visual & Performing Arts at Community College of Aurora Report
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Out of the 12 schools in Colorado that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the city of Denver, CU Anschutz is a public school with a fairly large student population.
CU Anschutz undergraduate students pay an average of $9,384 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, visual and performing arts graduates from CU Anschutz take out $25,837 in student loans while working on their degree. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $267.
CU Anschutz excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools in Colorado list.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Colorado State University - Fort Collins. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Visual & Performing Arts Schools in Colorado list. Colorado State is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Fort Collins.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Colorado State are $12,188 a year. On average, visual and performing arts graduates from Colorado State take out $25,232 in student loans while working on their degree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $467.
Colorado State not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #3 on our Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools in Colorado list.
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The excellent programs at University of Northern Colorado helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best visual and performing arts schools in Colorado. University of Northern Colorado is a large public school located in the city of Greeley.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at University of Northern Colorado are $10,666 per year. While working on their degree, visual and performing arts majors at University of Northern Colorado accumulate an average of around $24,382 in student debt. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $349.
Full Visual & Performing Arts at University of Northern Colorado Report
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Fort Lewis College came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Visual & Performing Arts Schools in Colorado ranking. FLC is a small public school located in the town of Durango.
FLC undergraduate students pay an average of $9,004 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, visual and performing arts graduates from FLC take out $17,881 in student loans while working on their degree.
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University of Colorado Boulder landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value visual and performing arts programs. Located in the city of Boulder, CU - Boulder is a public college with a very large student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at CU - Boulder are $12,610 per year. On average, visual and performing arts graduates from CU - Boulder take out $20,437 in student loans while working on their degree.
CU - Boulder did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools in Colorado list.
Read full report on Visual & Performing Arts at University of Colorado Boulder
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Colorado Mesa University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Visual & Performing Arts Schools in Colorado list. Colorado Mesa is a medium-sized public school located in the city of Grand Junction.
Colorado Mesa undergraduate students pay an average of $9,000 in in-state tuition and fees each year. Visual & Performing Arts majors at Colorado Mesa take out an average of $28,244 in student loans while working on their egree.
Full Visual & Performing Arts at Colorado Mesa University Report
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Metropolitan State University of Denver did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for visual and performing arts students. It came in at #9 on the list. Located in the large city of Denver, MSU Denver is a public college with a large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at MSU Denver are $10,021 a year. While working on their degree, visual and performing arts majors at MSU Denver accumulate an average of around $27,681 in student debt.
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Western Colorado University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Visual & Performing Arts Schools in Colorado ranking. Located in the town of Gunnison, Western is a public school with a small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Western are $10,662 a year.
Full Visual & Performing Arts at Western Colorado University Report
Request InformationBest Value Visual & Performing Arts Colleges in the Rocky Mountains Region
Explore all the Best Value Visual & Performing Arts Colleges in the Rocky Mountains Area or other specific states within that region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Utah | 1,871 |
| Montana | 318 |
| Idaho | 591 |
| Wyoming | 179 |
More Visual & Performing Arts Rankings in Colorado
Majors Related to Visual & Performing Arts
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 12 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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