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2024 Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools in New York

73 Colleges in New York
17,866 Visual & Performing Arts Degrees Awarded
$27,167 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 73 schools in New York to determine which ones were the best for visual & performing arts students pursuing a degree. Combined, these schools handed out 17,866 degrees in visual & performing arts to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Visual & Performing Arts School

Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools in New York Your choice of visual & performing arts school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. 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.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Pick Your Visual & Performing Arts 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

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools in New York ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that 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 New York

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. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

10 Top New York Schools in Visual & Performing Arts

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
443 Visual & Performing Arts Degrees Awarded
19.2% Growth in Graduates

Columbia University in the City of New York is a great option for students pursuing a degree in visual & performing arts. Located in the city of New York, Columbia is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #14 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Columbia is a great university overall.

There were approximately 443 visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at Columbia in the most recent year we have data available. Those visual & performing arts students who get their degree from Columbia University in the City of New York receive $7,960 more than the typical visual & performing arts student.

More information about a degree in visual & performing arts from Columbia University in the City of New York

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1,834 Visual & Performing Arts Degrees Awarded
18.5% Growth in Graduates

New York University is a wonderful option for students pursuing a degree in visual & performing arts. Located in the city of New York, NYU is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #27 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means NYU is a great university overall.

There were about 1834 visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at NYU in the most recent data year. Visual & Performing Arts degree recipients from New York University get an earnings boost of about $3,878 over the average income of visual & performing arts graduates.

More information about a degree in visual & performing arts from New York University

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
316 Visual & Performing Arts Degrees Awarded
20.6% Growth in Graduates

Every student pursuing a degree in visual & performing arts needs to check out The Juilliard School. Located in the large city of New York, Juilliard is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

There were about 316 visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at Juilliard in the most recent year we have data available. Visual & Performing Arts degree recipients from The Juilliard School earn a boost of around $4,367 over the typical earnings of visual & performing arts graduates.

More information about a degree in visual & performing arts from The Juilliard School

4
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
781 Visual & Performing Arts Degrees Awarded
38.4% Growth in Graduates

Any student who is interested in visual & performing arts needs to take a look at American Musical and Dramatic Academy. American Musical and Dramatic Academy is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of New York.

There were roughly 781 visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at American Musical and Dramatic Academy in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the visual & performing arts program earn an average of $18,417 in their early career salary.

More information about a degree in visual & performing arts from American Musical and Dramatic Academy

5
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1,475 Visual & Performing Arts Degrees Awarded
$26,694 Median Starting Salary

Located in the large city of New York, FIT SUNY is a public school with a moderately-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #85 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means FIT SUNY is a great school overall.

There were roughly 1475 visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at FIT SUNY in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the visual & performing arts program state that they receive average early career income of $26,694.

More information about a degree in visual & performing arts from Fashion Institute of Technology

6
New School University crest
The New School
New York, NY
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1,406 Visual & Performing Arts Degrees Awarded
14.4% Growth in Graduates

New School University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of New York. This school ranks 15th out of 142 colleges for overall quality in the state of New York.

There were roughly 1406 visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at New School University in the most recent data year. Visual & Performing Arts degree recipients from The New School earn a boost of around $5,617 above the typical income of visual & performing arts majors.

More information about a degree in visual & performing arts from The New School

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
264 Visual & Performing Arts Degrees Awarded
$25,339 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of Rochester, University of Rochester is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #104 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means University of Rochester is a great university overall.

There were approximately 264 visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at University of Rochester in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the visual & performing arts program report average early career wages of $25,339.

More information about a degree in visual & performing arts from University of Rochester

8
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
643 Visual & Performing Arts Degrees Awarded
$37,908 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of Brooklyn, Pratt Institute is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.

There were about 643 visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at Pratt Institute in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the visual & performing arts degree program at Pratt Institute - Main earn $10,741 more than the typical college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in visual & performing arts from Pratt Institute - Main

9
Skidmore crest
Skidmore College
Saratoga Springs, NY
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
86 Visual & Performing Arts Degrees Awarded
15.1% Growth in Graduates

Skidmore is a small private not-for-profit college located in the small suburb of Saratoga Springs. This college ranks 21st out of 142 colleges for overall quality in the state of New York.

There were about 86 visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at Skidmore in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the visual & performing arts major at Skidmore College earn $6,135 more than the average college grad in this field shortly after graduation.

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

10
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
103 Visual & Performing Arts Degrees Awarded
16.5% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of New York, The Graduate Center is a public school with a medium-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #182 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means The Graduate Center is a great school overall.

There were approximately 103 visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at The Graduate Center in the most recent data year. Those visual & performing arts students who get their degree from The Graduate Center, CUNY make $31,018 more than the typical visual & performing arts grad.

More information about a degree in visual & performing arts from The Graduate Center, CUNY

Additional Noteworthy Schools

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools in New York award.

RankCollegeLocation
11Syracuse UniversitySyracuse, NY
12American Academy of Dramatic Arts - New YorkNew York, NY
13Manhattan School of MusicNew York, NY
14Rochester Institute of TechnologyRochester, NY
15School of Visual ArtsNew York, NY
16Vassar CollegePoughkeepsie, NY
17Fordham UniversityBronx, NY
18Rensselaer Polytechnic InstituteTroy, NY

Best Visual & Performing Arts Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region

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

StateCollegesDegrees Awarded
New Jersey382,567
Pennsylvania385,399
Maryland372,030
Delaware33182
District of Columbia33571

View All Rankings >

Visual & Performing Arts Majors to Study

MajorAnnual Graduates
Design & Applied Arts4,369
Fine & Studio Arts3,544
Drama & Theater Arts3,142
Music2,523
Film, Video & Photographic Arts2,173
Arts & Media Management595
General Visual & Performing Arts549
Dance498
Other Visual Art473

View All Visual & Performing Arts Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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