12
Colleges in California
1,198
Visual Arts Degrees Awarded
$26,951
Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on majoring in
general visual & performing arts, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #116 in the country in terms of popularity. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.
College Factual looked at 12 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best General Visual & Performing Arts Schools in California ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,198 degrees in general visual & performing arts during the 2020-2021 academic year.
What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings
The visual arts program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for General Visual & Performing Arts rankings. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for general visual & performing arts schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.
In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.
The visual arts school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best General Visual & Performing Arts Schools in California.
You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.
In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you.
When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.
More information on how we come up with our rankings can be found here: College Factual's Data Methodology.
Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the visual arts degree levels they offer.
10 Top California Schools in Visual Arts
It's difficult to beat University of Southern California if you wish to pursue a degree in general visual & performing arts. Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #11 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means USC is a great university overall.
There were about 49 general visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the visual arts program earn about $18,394 in their early career salary.
More information about a degree in general visual & performing arts from University of Southern California
Any student who is interested in general visual & performing arts needs to take a look at University of California - San Diego. Located in the city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #38 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UCSD is a great university overall.
There were roughly 99 general visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at UCSD in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the visual arts program earn an average of $22,195 for their early career.
More information about a degree in general visual & performing arts from University of California - San Diego
It's hard to beat Otis College of Art and Design if you want to pursue a degree in general visual & performing arts. Otis College of Art and Design is a small private not-for-profit college located in the city of Los Angeles.
There were approximately 52 general visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at Otis College of Art and Design in the most recent data year. Those general visual & performing arts students who get their degree from Otis College of Art and Design make $9,580 more than the standard visual arts grad.
More information about a degree in general visual & performing arts from Otis College of Art and Design
It is hard to beat Academy of Art University if you want to pursue a degree in general visual & performing arts. Academy of Art University is a moderately-sized private for-profit university located in the large city of San Francisco. This university ranks 37th out of 168 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.
There were approximately 63 general visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at Academy of Art University in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the general visual & performing arts major at Academy of Art University get $2,605 above the average graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
More information about a degree in general visual & performing arts from Academy of Art University
Located in the large city of San Francisco, USFCA is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #164 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means USFCA is a great university overall.
There were roughly 14 general visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at USFCA in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in general visual & performing arts from University of San Francisco