2023 Most Popular Visual & Performing Arts Master's Degree Schools
Finding the Best Visual & Performing Arts Master's Degree School for You
In 2020-2021, 149,215 visual and performing arts students received their degrees and certificates, making the major the #10 most popular in the country.
It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Most Popular Visual & Performing Arts Master's Degree Schools to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 505 schools in the United States to see which master's degree programs were the most popular 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.
2023 Most Popular Visual & Performing Arts Master’s Degree Schools in the United States
The colleges and universities below are the most popular for visual and performing arts majors pursuing a master's degree.
Top 25 Most Popular Schools for a Master's in Visual & Performing Arts
Our analysis found New York University to be the most popular school for visual and performing arts students who want to pursue a master’s degree in the United States. NYU is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of New York.
Of the 492 students majoring in visual and performing arts at NYU, 33% are male and 67% are female.
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Out of the 505 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Savannah College of Art and Design landed the # 2 spot on the list. SCAD is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Savannah.
Of the 476 students majoring in visual and performing arts at SCAD, 36% are male and 64% are female.
Full Visual & Performing Arts at Savannah College of Art and Design Report
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Full Sail University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Popular Visual & Performing Arts Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large suburb of Winter Park, Full Sail University is a private for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
Of the 343 students majoring in visual and performing arts at Full Sail University, 56% are male and 44% are female.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Southern California. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Popular Visual & Performing Arts Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.
About 52% of the students majoring in visual and performing arts at the school are women while 48% are male.
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Out of the 505 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Pratt Institute - Main landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the large city of Brooklyn, Pratt Institute is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.
About 78% of the students majoring in visual and performing arts at the school are women while 22% are male.
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Academy of Art University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Visual & Performing Arts Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the large city of San Francisco, Academy of Art University is a private for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.
Women make up 66% of the visual and performing arts majors at the school.
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Maryland Institute College of Art did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for visual and performing arts students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the city of Baltimore, MICA is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
Women make up 67% of the visual and performing arts majors at the school.
Read full report on Visual & Performing Arts at Maryland Institute College of Art
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The New School landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree visual and performing arts programs. New School University is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of New York.
Of the 221 students majoring in visual and performing arts at New School University, 29% are male and 71% are female.
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With a ranking of #9, Indiana University - Bloomington did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for visual and performing arts students working on their master’s degree. Located in the small city of Bloomington, IU Bloomington is a public school with a very large student population.
Of the 211 students majoring in visual and performing arts at IU Bloomington, 44% are male and 56% are female.
Full Visual & Performing Arts at Indiana University - Bloomington Report
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Yale University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree visual and performing arts programs. Yale is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of New Haven.
Women make up 53% of the visual and performing arts majors at the school.
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With a ranking of #11, New York Film Academy did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for visual and performing arts students working on their master’s degree. New York Film Academy is a small private for-profit school located in the midsize city of Burbank.
About 50% of the students majoring in visual and performing arts at the school are women while 50% are male.
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Berklee College of Music did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for visual and performing arts students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #12 on the list. Berklee College of Music is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Boston.
About 53% of the students majoring in visual and performing arts at the school are women while 47% are male.
Full Visual & Performing Arts at Berklee College of Music Report
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Columbia University in the City of New York landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree visual and performing arts programs. Located in the city of New York, Columbia is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.
Of the 184 students majoring in visual and performing arts at Columbia, 32% are male and 68% are female.
Full Visual & Performing Arts at Columbia University in the City of New York Report
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University of Cincinnati - Main Campus landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree visual and performing arts programs. Located in the large city of Cincinnati, UC is a public school with a fairly large student population.
About 52% of the students majoring in visual and performing arts at the school are women while 48% are male.
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University of California - Los Angeles did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for visual and performing arts students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #15 on the list. UCLA is a very large public school located in the large city of Los Angeles.
Of the 173 students majoring in visual and performing arts at UCLA, 43% are male and 57% are female.
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School of the Art Institute of Chicago landed the #16 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree visual and performing arts programs. School of the Art Institute of Chicago is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Chicago.
Of the 164 students majoring in visual and performing arts at School of the Art Institute of Chicago, 30% are male and 70% are female.
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With a ranking of #17, Carnegie Mellon University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for visual and performing arts students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.
Of the 155 students majoring in visual and performing arts at Carnegie Mellon, 35% are male and 65% are female.
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Northwestern University ranked #18 on this year’s Most Popular Visual & Performing Arts Master’s Degree Schools list. Northwestern is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Evanston.
Of the 154 students majoring in visual and performing arts at Northwestern, 36% are male and 64% are female.
Full Visual & Performing Arts at Northwestern University Report
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Florida State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for visual and performing arts students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #19 on the list. Located in the medium-sized city of Tallahassee, Florida State is a public school with a very large student population.
Of the 152 students majoring in visual and performing arts at Florida State, 44% are male and 56% are female.
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School of Visual Arts landed the #20 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree visual and performing arts programs. Located in the city of New York, SVA is a private for-profit school with a small student population.
Of the 145 students majoring in visual and performing arts at SVA, 30% are male and 70% are female.
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Manhattan School of Music landed the #21 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree visual and performing arts programs. Located in the large city of New York, Manhattan School of Music is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
Of the 132 students majoring in visual and performing arts at Manhattan School of Music, 39% are male and 61% are female.
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With a ranking of #22, The New England Conservatory of Music did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for visual and performing arts students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Boston, The New England Conservatory of Music is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
Women make up 49% of the visual and performing arts majors at the school.
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With a ranking of #23, Temple University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for visual and performing arts students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Philadelphia, Temple is a public school with a very large student population.
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 Temple University
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With a ranking of #24, California Institute of the Arts did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for visual and performing arts students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large suburb of Valencia, CalArts is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
Of the 120 students majoring in visual and performing arts at CalArts, 44% are male and 56% are female.
Full Visual & Performing Arts at California Institute of the Arts Report
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Liberty University landed the #25 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree visual and performing arts programs. Located in the small city of Lynchburg, Liberty University is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
Of the 119 students majoring in visual and performing arts at Liberty University, 33% are male and 67% are female.
Full Visual & Performing Arts at Liberty University Report
Request InformationRest of the Top 50 Most Popular Visual & Performing Arts Master's Degree Schools
Additional Award Winners
This list represents the remainder of the colleges awarded a Most Popular Visual & Performing Arts Master's Degree Schools badge. Showing in this list means the college was ranked in the top 15% of the 505 different United States visual and performing arts schools we analyzed.
Honorable Mentions
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also popular but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Most Popular Visual & Performing Arts Master's Degree Schools award.
Visual & Performing Arts by Region
View the Most Popular Visual & Performing Arts Master's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
Visual & Performing Arts Related Majors
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 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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