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Most Popular Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois

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2023 Most Popular Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois

52 Colleges
$26,022 Avg Salary
$26,083 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree School for You

In 2020-2021, visual and performing arts students earned 5,502 degrees and certificates from an Illinois school, making the subject the 10th in the state.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.

The Most Popular Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 52 schools in Illinois to see which ones were the most popular bachelor's degree programs for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Visual & Performing Arts program at each school on the list.

The colleges and universities below are the most popular for visual and performing arts majors pursuing a bachelor's degree.

Our 2023 rankings named Columbia College Chicago the most popular school in Illinois for visual and performing arts students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the large city of Chicago, Columbia is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.

Women make up 60% of the visual and performing arts majors at the school.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at Columbia College Chicago Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend School of the Art Institute of Chicago. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Popular Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Located in the city of Chicago, School of the Art Institute of Chicago is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Women make up 75% of the visual and performing arts majors at the school.

Read full report on Visual & Performing Arts at School of the Art Institute of Chicago

#3

DePaul University

Chicago, IL

The in-demand bachelor’s degree programs at DePaul University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular visual and performing arts schools in Illinois. Located in the large city of Chicago, DePaul is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.

Women make up 47% of the visual and performing arts majors at the school.

Read More…

Out of the 52 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Illinois State University landed the # 4 spot on the list. Illinois State is a fairly large public school located in the midsize suburb of Normal.

Women make up 66% of the visual and performing arts majors at the school.

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

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a great place for visual and performing arts students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the city of Champaign, UIUC is a public school with a fairly large student population.

About 62% of the students majoring in visual and performing arts at the school are women while 38% are male.

Read More…

#6

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

With a ranking of #6, Northwestern University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for visual and performing arts students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.

Women make up 58% of the visual and performing arts majors at the school.

Read full report on Visual & Performing Arts at Northwestern University

University of Illinois at Chicago landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular bachelor’s degree visual and performing arts programs. UIC is a very large public school located in the large city of Chicago.

About 59% of the students majoring in visual and performing arts at the school are women while 41% are male.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at University of Illinois at Chicago Report

Northern Illinois University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular bachelor’s degree visual and performing arts programs. NIU is a large public school located in the suburb of Dekalb.

About 60% of the students majoring in visual and performing arts at the school are women while 40% are male.

Read full report on Visual & Performing Arts at Northern Illinois University

#9

Millikin University

Decatur, IL

Millikin University ranked #9 on this year’s Most Popular Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Located in the city of Decatur, Millikin is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Women make up 64% of the visual and performing arts majors at the school.

Read full report on Visual & Performing Arts at Millikin University

Southern Illinois University Carbondale ranked #10 on this year’s Most Popular Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. SIUC is a large public school located in the small city of Carbondale.

About 52% of the students majoring in visual and performing arts at the school are women while 48% are male.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at Southern Illinois University Carbondale Report

Best Visual & Performing Arts Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Most Popular Visual & Performing Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Indiana 2,306
Michigan 3,433
Ohio 4,641
Wisconsin 2,248

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 25 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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