2023 Best Value Visual & Performing Arts Schools in Iowa
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
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.
Best Iowa Schools for Affordable Quality in Visual & Performing Arts
Our 2023 rankings named Des Moines Area Community College the best value school in Iowa for visual and performing arts students. Located in the suburb of Ankeny, DMACC is a public college with a very large student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at DMACC are $5,220 per year. Visual & Performing Arts majors at DMACC take out an average of $14,167 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 University of Northern Iowa. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Visual & Performing Arts Schools in Iowa list. Located in the 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 made our Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools in Iowa list, coming in at #5.
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The excellent programs at Iowa State University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best visual and performing arts schools in Iowa. Iowa State is a very large public school located in the city of Ames.
Iowa State undergraduate students pay an average of $9,634 in in-state tuition and fees each 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.
Full Visual & Performing Arts at Iowa State University Report
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Iowa. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Visual & Performing Arts Schools in Iowa list. Located in the city of Iowa City, Iowa is a public school 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.
Iowa excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools in Iowa list.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Luther College. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Visual & Performing Arts Schools in Iowa list. 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.
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Drake University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for visual and performing arts students. It came in at #6 on the list. Located in the city of Des Moines, Drake is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Drake are $45,912 per year.
In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Drake is ranked #3 for overall quality for visual and performing arts in Iowa.
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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 city of Cedar Rapids.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Coe are $48,822 per year.
Request InformationBest 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 |
More Visual & Performing Arts Rankings in Iowa
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 |
Most Popular Related Majors
| 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.