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Best Value Visual & Performing Arts Schools in Iowa

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2023 Best Value Visual & Performing Arts Schools in Iowa

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

7 Colleges
$28,354 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$28,405 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Visual & Performing Arts School for You

With 1,309 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, visual and performing arts is the #12 most popular major in Iowa.

It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

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 Schools in Iowa ranking. This report analyzed 7 schools in Iowa to see which ones offered the best value 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. 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 Iowa

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

Best Iowa Schools for Affordable Quality in Visual & Performing Arts

$5,220 Average Tuition & Fees

Our analysis found Des Moines Area Community College to be the best value school for visual and performing arts students who want to pursue a degree in Iowa. Located in the suburb of Ankeny, DMACC is a public school with a fairly large student population.

DMACC undergraduate students pay an average of $5,220 in in-state tuition and fees each year. Visual & Performing Arts majors at DMACC take out an average of $14,167 in student loans while working on their egree.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at Des Moines Area Community College Report

#2

University of Northern Iowa

Cedar Falls, IA
$9,053 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Northern Iowa. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Visual & Performing Arts Schools in Iowa list. Located in the small city of Cedar Falls, UNI is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UNI are $9,053 a year. On average, visual and performing arts graduates from UNI take out $22,883 in student loans while working on their degree.

UNI also took the #5 spot in our Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools in Iowa rankings.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at University of Northern Iowa Report

$9,634 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Iowa State University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Visual & Performing Arts Schools in Iowa list. Iowa State is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Ames.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Iowa State are $9,634 a year. The average amount in student loans that visual and performing arts majors at Iowa State take out is $27,000. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $262, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Iowa State did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools in Iowa list.

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

#4

University of Iowa

Iowa City, IA
$9,942 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at University of Iowa helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best visual and performing arts schools in Iowa. Located in the small city of Iowa City, Iowa is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Iowa are $9,942 a year. The average amount in student loans that visual and performing arts majors at Iowa take out is $25,006. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $309, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

In addition to its great value ranking, Iowa is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools in Iowa list.

Read More…

#5

Luther College

Decorah, IA
$46,760 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Luther College is a great value for visual and performing arts students. Luther is a small private not-for-profit school located in the remote town of Decorah.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Luther are $46,760 per year. After completing their degree, visual and performing arts graduates from Luther carry an average student debtload of $27,000.

Read full report on Visual & Performing Arts at Luther College

#6

Drake University

Des Moines, IA
$45,912 Average Tuition & Fees

Drake University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value visual and performing arts programs. Located in the medium-sized city of Des Moines, Drake is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Drake undergraduate students pay an average of $45,912 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Drake also took the #3 spot in our Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools in Iowa rankings.

Read More…

#7

Coe College

Cedar Rapids, IA
$48,822 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #7, Coe College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for visual and performing arts students. Coe is a small private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Cedar Rapids.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Coe are $48,822 a year.

Read full report on Visual & Performing Arts at Coe College

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

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

State Degrees Awarded
Kansas 920
Minnesota 1,711
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 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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