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Best Value Visual & Performing Arts Schools in the Plains States Region

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2023 Best Value Visual & Performing Arts Schools in the Plains States Region

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

49 Colleges
$16,549 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$27,498 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Visual & Performing Arts 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.

It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.

The Best Value Visual & Performing Arts Schools in the Plains States Region ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 49 schools in the Plains States Region 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.

Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. 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.

In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

2023 Best Value Visual & Performing Arts Schools in the Plains States Region

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

Top 10 Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools

$4,680 Average Tuition & Fees

Our analysis found Metropolitan Community College to be the best value school for visual and performing arts students who want to pursue a degree in the Plains States Region . Located in the large city of Omaha, MCC is a public college with a large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at MCC are $4,680 a year. While working on their degree, visual and performing arts majors at MCC accumulate an average of around $12,098 in student debt.

Read full report on Visual & Performing Arts at Metropolitan Community College

#2

Johnson County Community College

Overland Park, KS

The excellent programs at Johnson County Community College helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best visual and performing arts schools in the Plains States Region . Located in the city of Overland Park, JCCC is a public school with a large student population.

JCCC undergraduate students pay an average of $5,352 in tuition and fees each year. On average, visual and performing arts graduates from JCCC take out $11,449 in student loans while working on their degree.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at Johnson County Community College Report

#3

Century College

White Bear Lake, MN
$5,907 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at Century College helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best visual and performing arts schools in the Plains States Region . Century College is a medium-sized public school located in the large suburb of White Bear Lake.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Century College are $5,907 a year.

Read full report on Visual & Performing Arts at Century College

$5,906 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Minneapolis Community and Technical College is a great value for visual and performing arts students. Minneapolis Community and Technical College is a medium-sized public school located in the large city of Minneapolis.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Minneapolis Community and Technical College are $5,906 a year. The average amount in student loans that visual and performing arts majors at Minneapolis Community and Technical College take out is $24,174.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at Minneapolis Community and Technical College Report

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means North Dakota State University - Main Campus is a great value for visual and performing arts students. Located in the midsize city of Fargo, North Dakota State University is a public school with a large student population.

North Dakota State University undergraduate students pay an average of $14,876 in tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that visual and performing arts majors at North Dakota State University take out is $24,833.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, North Dakota State University also did well on our Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools in the Plains States Region list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Read full report on Visual & Performing Arts at North Dakota State University - Main Campus

$15,320 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #6, University of Nebraska at Kearney did quite well on this year’s best value schools for visual and performing arts students. Located in the distant town of Kearney, UNK is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UNK are $15,320 per year.

Read full report on Visual & Performing Arts at University of Nebraska at Kearney

Winona State University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Visual & Performing Arts Schools in the Plains States Region list. Winona State is a moderately-sized public school located in the town of Winona.

Winona State undergraduate students pay an average of $16,684 in tuition and fees each year. While working on their degree, visual and performing arts majors at Winona State accumulate an average of around $27,500 in student debt.

Winona State excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools in the Plains States Region list.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at Winona State University Report

#8

University of South Dakota

Vermillion, SD
$12,942 Average Tuition & Fees

University of South Dakota landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value visual and performing arts programs. Located in the town of Vermillion, USD is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at USD are $12,942 per year. Visual & Performing Arts majors at USD take out an average of $29,000 in student loans while working on their egree.

Read full report on Visual & Performing Arts at University of South Dakota

#9

Saint Louis Community College

Saint Louis, MO
$7,155 Average Tuition & Fees

Saint Louis Community College landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value visual and performing arts programs. Located in the suburb of Saint Louis, Saint Louis Community College is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Saint Louis Community College are $7,155 a year. On average, visual and performing arts graduates from Saint Louis Community College take out $12,000 in student loans while working on their degree.

Read full report on Visual & Performing Arts at Saint Louis Community College

South Dakota State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for visual and performing arts students. It came in at #10 on the list. South Dakota State is a fairly large public school located in the remote town of Brookings.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at South Dakota State are $12,809 per year.

South Dakota State also claimed a spot on our Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools in the Plains States Region list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.

Read full report on Visual & Performing Arts at South Dakota State University

Best Visual & Performing Arts Colleges by State

Explore the best visual and performing arts schools for a specific state in the Plains States region.

State Degrees Awarded
Kansas 920
Minnesota 1,711
Iowa 1,309
South Dakota 188
Missouri 1,911
Nebraska 727
North Dakota 160

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 26 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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