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2024 Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools in Michigan

18 Colleges in Michigan
3,456 Visual & Performing Arts Degrees Awarded
$27,493 Avg Early-Career Salary
A degree in visual & performing arts is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #10 out of 38 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.

For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 18 schools in Michigan to determine which ones were the best for visual & performing arts students pursuing a degree. Combined, these schools handed out 3,456 degrees in visual & performing arts to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Visual & Performing Arts School

Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools in Michigan The visual & performing arts program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Visual & Performing Arts rankings. We derive our Best Overall Visual & Performing Arts School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.

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.

Visual & Performing Arts Rankings by Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Visual & Performing Arts
Bachelor's Degrees in Visual & Performing Arts
Master's Degrees in Visual & Performing Arts
Doctor's Degrees in Visual & Performing Arts

When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools in Michigan list to help you make the college decision. 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.

Best Schools for Visual & Performing Arts in Michigan

If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the visual & performing arts degrees they offer, see the list below.

10 Top Michigan Schools in Visual & Performing Arts

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
545 Visual & Performing Arts Degrees Awarded
0.9% Growth in Graduates

Every student who is interested in visual & performing arts needs to look into University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. Located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #29 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means U-M is a great university overall.

There were roughly 545 visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at U-M in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the visual & performing arts program report average early career wages of $25,673.

More information about a degree in visual & performing arts from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
358 Visual & Performing Arts Degrees Awarded
$36,164 Median Starting Salary

Michigan State University is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in visual & performing arts. Michigan State is a fairly large public university located in the city of East Lansing. A Best Colleges rank of #74 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Michigan State is a great university overall.

There were roughly 358 visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at Michigan State in the most recent data year. Those visual & performing arts students who get their degree from Michigan State University make $8,671 more than the standard visual & performing arts student.

More information about a degree in visual & performing arts from Michigan State University

3

It's difficult to beat Lawrence Technological University if you want to pursue a degree in visual & performing arts. Lawrence Tech is a small private not-for-profit university located in the city of Southfield. This university ranks 19th out of 57 schools for overall quality in the state of Michigan.

There were about 21 visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at Lawrence Tech in the most recent data year. Those visual & performing arts students who get their degree from Lawrence Technological University receive $46,219 more than the standard visual & performing arts grad.

More information about a degree in visual & performing arts from Lawrence Technological University

4
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
130 Visual & Performing Arts Degrees Awarded
$25,250 Median Starting Salary

Every student who is interested in visual & performing arts needs to check out College for Creative Studies. CCS is a small private not-for-profit college located in the large city of Detroit.

There were about 130 visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at CCS in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the visual & performing arts program earn about $25,250 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a degree in visual & performing arts from College for Creative Studies

5
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
272 Visual & Performing Arts Degrees Awarded
1.1% Growth in Graduates

WMU is a fairly large public university located in the city of Kalamazoo. A Best Colleges rank of #335 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means WMU is a great university overall.

There were about 272 visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at WMU in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the visual & performing arts program report average early career wages of $24,578.

More information about a degree in visual & performing arts from Western Michigan University

6
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
145 Visual & Performing Arts Degrees Awarded
$29,865 Median Starting Salary

Located in the town of Big Rapids, Ferris is a public university with a large student population. This university ranks 16th out of 57 schools for overall quality in the state of Michigan.

There were about 145 visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at Ferris in the most recent year we have data available. Those visual & performing arts students who get their degree from Ferris State University receive $2,372 more than the average visual & performing arts student.

More information about a degree in visual & performing arts from Ferris State University

7
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
168 Visual & Performing Arts Degrees Awarded
$28,315 Median Starting Salary

Located in the large suburb of Allendale, GVSU is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #399 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means GVSU is a great university overall.

There were about 168 visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at GVSU in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, visual & performing arts degree recipients typically earn around $28,315 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a degree in visual & performing arts from Grand Valley State University

8
K College crest
Kalamazoo College
Kalamazoo, MI
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$17,180 Median Starting Salary

K College is a small private not-for-profit college located in the city of Kalamazoo. This college ranks 13th out of 57 schools for overall quality in the state of Michigan.

There were approximately 20 visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at K College in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the visual & performing arts program state that they receive average early career income of $17,180.

More information about a degree in visual & performing arts from Kalamazoo College

9
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
184 Visual & Performing Arts Degrees Awarded
$24,854 Median Starting Salary

Located in the large suburb of Ypsilanti, Eastern Michigan is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 20th out of 57 colleges for overall quality in the state of Michigan.

There were about 184 visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at Eastern Michigan in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the visual & performing arts program make around $24,854 for their early career.

More information about a degree in visual & performing arts from Eastern Michigan University

10
Carnbrook Academy crest
Cranbrook Academy of Art
Bloomfield Hills, MI
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
55 Visual & Performing Arts Degrees Awarded
$25,921 Median Starting Salary

Carnbrook Academy is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Bloomfield Hills.

There were approximately 55 visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at Carnbrook Academy in the most recent data year. Soon after graduating, visual & performing arts degree recipients typically make an average of $25,921 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a degree in visual & performing arts from Cranbrook Academy of Art

Best Visual & Performing Arts Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Visual & Performing Arts Colleges in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

StateCollegesDegrees Awarded
Indiana382,243
Ohio384,594
Illinois385,450
Wisconsin372,244

View All Rankings >

Visual & Performing Arts Majors to Study

MajorAnnual Graduates
Design & Applied Arts980
Fine & Studio Arts734
Music699
Film, Video & Photographic Arts540
Drama & Theater Arts299
Dance105
Arts & Media Management48
General Visual & Performing Arts25
Other Visual Art17
Crafts, Folk Art & Artisanry9

View All Visual & Performing Arts Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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