College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2024 Best Painting Schools

44 Colleges in the United States
646 Painting Degrees Awarded
A degree in painting is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #517 out of 1506 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

College Factual looked at 44 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best Painting Schools ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 646 degrees in painting during the 2020-2021 academic year.

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

Choosing a Great Painting School

Best Painting Schools Your choice of painting school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. For our Best Overall Painting School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.

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

Painting Rankings by Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Painting
Bachelor's Degrees in Painting
Master's Degrees in Painting

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Painting Schools list, to help you choose the best school for you. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.

Best Schools for Painting in the United States

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 painting degrees they offer, see the list below.

10 Top Schools in Painting

1
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In MO

It's hard to beat Washington University in St Louis if you wish to pursue a degree in painting. Located in the suburb of Saint Louis, WUSTL is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #17 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means WUSTL is a great university overall.

There were approximately 1 painting students who graduated with this degree at WUSTL in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in painting from Washington University in St Louis

1
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In WA

Every student who is interested in painting has to check out University of Washington - Seattle Campus. Located in the city of Seattle, UW Seattle is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #37 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UW Seattle is a great university overall.

There were about 3 painting students who graduated with this degree at UW Seattle in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in painting from University of Washington - Seattle Campus

2
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In IL

Every student who is interested in painting has to check out University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #34 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UIUC is a great university overall.

There were approximately 6 painting students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in painting from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

3
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In RI
38 Painting Degrees Awarded

It is difficult to beat Rhode Island School of Design if you want to pursue a degree in painting. RISD is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Providence.

There were roughly 38 painting students who graduated with this degree at RISD in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in painting from Rhode Island School of Design

4
Boston U crest
Boston University
Boston, MA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In MA
38 Painting Degrees Awarded

Boston University is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in painting. Boston U is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Boston. A Best Colleges rank of #54 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Boston U is a great university overall.

There were roughly 38 painting students who graduated with this degree at Boston U in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in painting from Boston University

5
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In MD
36 Painting Degrees Awarded

Located in the city of Baltimore, MICA is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

There were roughly 36 painting students who graduated with this degree at MICA in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in painting from Maryland Institute College of Art

6
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In MA

Located in the large city of Boston, Massachusetts College of Art and Design is a public college with a small student population.

There were about 27 painting students who graduated with this degree at Massachusetts College of Art and Design in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in painting from Massachusetts College of Art and Design

7
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In TX

Located in the large city of Fort Worth, TCU is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #80 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means TCU is a great university overall.

There were about 2 painting students who graduated with this degree at TCU in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in painting from Texas Christian University

8
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In GA
71 Painting Degrees Awarded

SCAD is a fairly large private not-for-profit college located in the midsize city of Savannah.

There were roughly 71 painting students who graduated with this degree at SCAD in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in painting from Savannah College of Art and Design

9
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In NY
48 Painting Degrees Awarded

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

There were about 48 painting students who graduated with this degree at Pratt Institute in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in painting from Pratt Institute - Main

Painting by Region

View the Best Painting Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

View All Rankings >

One of 13 majors within the Fine & Studio Arts area of study, Painting has other similar majors worth exploring.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Art Studies 18,323
Fine Arts 11,922
Art History 3,512
Other Fine Arts & Art Studies 837
Intermedia/Multimedia 805
Drawing 347
Jewelry Arts 321
Sculpture 236
Fiber, Textile & Weaving Arts 168
Printmaking 160

View All Painting Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

Popular Reports

College Rankings
Best by Location
Degree Guides by Major
Graduate Programs

Compare Your School Options