Ranked #31 in popularity, fine & studio arts is one of the most sought-after degree programs in the nation. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.
For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 465 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for fine & studio arts students pursuing a degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 37,604 degrees in fine & studio arts annually.
The fine arts program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Fine & Studio Arts rankings. For our Best Overall Fine & Studio Arts School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that 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.
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Fine & Studio Arts Schools 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.
Best Schools for Fine & Studio Arts 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 fine arts degrees they offer, see the list below. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
It's hard to beat University of Michigan - Ann Arbor if you want to pursue a degree in fine & studio arts. Located in the medium-sized city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #22 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means U-M is a great university overall.
There were about 170 fine & studio arts students who graduated with this degree at U-M in the most recent data year. Those fine & studio arts students who get their degree from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor earn $5,029 more than the standard fine arts grad.
Cornell University is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in fine & studio arts. Located in the city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #9 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Cornell is a great university overall.
There were about 49 fine & studio arts students who graduated with this degree at Cornell in the most recent year we have data available. Fine & Studio Arts degree recipients from Cornell University get an earnings boost of about $4,735 above the typical income of fine & studio arts majors.
Every student pursuing a degree in fine & studio arts needs to take a look at University of Southern California. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #13 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means USC is a great university overall.
There were approximately 90 fine & studio arts students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent data year. Fine & Studio Arts degree recipients from University of Southern California receive an earnings boost of about $23,823 above the average earnings of fine & studio arts majors.
It is hard to beat New York University if you wish to pursue a degree in fine & studio arts. NYU is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of New York. A Best Colleges rank of #16 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means NYU is a great university overall.
There were approximately 188 fine & studio arts students who graduated with this degree at NYU in the most recent year we have data available. Those fine & studio arts students who get their degree from New York University receive $5,716 more than the standard fine arts graduate.
Located in the large city of Nashville, Vanderbilt is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #18 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Vanderbilt is a great university overall.
There were roughly 24 fine & studio arts students who graduated with this degree at Vanderbilt in the most recent year we have data available.
UW Seattle is a fairly large public university located in the city of Seattle. This university ranks 1st out of 50 schools for overall quality in the state of Washington.
There were about 152 fine & studio arts students who graduated with this degree at UW Seattle in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduation, fine arts degree recipients generally make an average of $25,947 at the beginning of their careers.
UCLA is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Los Angeles. This university ranks 4th out of 161 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.
There were about 149 fine & studio arts students who graduated with this degree at UCLA in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the fine arts program report average early career wages of $21,220.
Located in the city of Providence, RISD is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
There were approximately 130 fine & studio arts students who graduated with this degree at RISD in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduating, fine arts degree recipients usually make an average of $20,231 in the first five years of their career.
Brown is a large private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Providence. A Best Colleges rank of #26 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Brown is a great university overall.
There were roughly 58.00000000000001 fine & studio arts students who graduated with this degree at Brown in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the fine arts program make around $23,180 in the first couple years of their career.
Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.
There were roughly 24 fine & studio arts students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent year we have data available.
UGA is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized city of Athens. This university ranks 3rd out of 68 schools for overall quality in the state of Georgia.
There were roughly 142 fine & studio arts students who graduated with this degree at UGA in the most recent year we have data available. Fine & Studio Arts degree recipients from University of Georgia get an earnings boost of around $6,033 above the typical earnings of fine & studio arts majors.
MICA is a small private not-for-profit college located in the city of Baltimore.
There were about 155 fine & studio arts students who graduated with this degree at MICA in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the fine arts program state that they receive average early career earnings of $22,531.
WUSTL is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Saint Louis. A Best Colleges rank of #21 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means WUSTL is a great university overall.
There were approximately 51 fine & studio arts students who graduated with this degree at WUSTL in the most recent year we have data available.
Massachusetts College of Art and Design is a small public college located in the large city of Boston.
There were about 113 fine & studio arts students who graduated with this degree at Massachusetts College of Art and Design in the most recent data year. Soon after graduating, fine arts degree recipients typically earn an average of $26,425 at the beginning of their careers.
Notre Dame is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Notre Dame. This university ranks 1st out of 41 schools for overall quality in the state of Indiana.
There were about 14 fine & studio arts students who graduated with this degree at Notre Dame in the most recent year we have data available.
UCSB is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Santa Barbara. This university ranks 7th out of 161 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.
There were about 142 fine & studio arts students who graduated with this degree at UCSB in the most recent year we have data available.
UW - Madison is a very large public university located in the large city of Madison. This university ranks 1st out of 46 schools for overall quality in the state of Wisconsin.
There were approximately 200 fine & studio arts students who graduated with this degree at UW - Madison in the most recent year we have data available. Those fine & studio arts students who get their degree from University of Wisconsin - Madison receive $4,278 more than the typical fine arts grad.
Located in the large city of Boston, Boston U is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #23 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Boston U is a great university overall.
There were about 72 fine & studio arts students who graduated with this degree at Boston U in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the fine arts program state that they receive average early career earnings of $25,402.
UPenn is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Philadelphia. A Best Colleges rank of #2 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UPenn is a great university overall.
There were roughly 59 fine & studio arts students who graduated with this degree at UPenn in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the fine & studio arts degree program at University of Pennsylvania make $8,727 above the average graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
Florida State is a very large public university located in the medium-sized city of Tallahassee. This university ranks 2nd out of 70 colleges for overall quality in the state of Florida.
There were approximately 166 fine & studio arts students who graduated with this degree at Florida State in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the fine arts program earn about $27,366 in their early career salary.
Located in the suburb of College Park, UMCP is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 2nd out of 35 schools for overall quality in the state of Maryland.
There were approximately 103 fine & studio arts students who graduated with this degree at UMCP in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the fine & studio arts program at University of Maryland - College Park earn $5,693 above the average college graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.
UMN Twin Cities is a very large public university located in the city of Minneapolis. This university ranks 1st out of 52 schools for overall quality in the state of Minnesota.
There were approximately 101 fine & studio arts students who graduated with this degree at UMN Twin Cities in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the fine arts program report average early career earnings of $20,192.
UT Austin is a very large public university located in the city of Austin. This university ranks 2nd out of 115 colleges for overall quality in the state of Texas.
There were about 121 fine & studio arts students who graduated with this degree at UT Austin in the most recent data year. Fine & Studio Arts degree recipients from The University of Texas at Austin earn a boost of around $2,775 above the average income of fine & studio arts graduates.
Located in the city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #14 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UC Berkeley is a great university overall.
There were approximately 101 fine & studio arts students who graduated with this degree at UC Berkeley in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the fine arts program make around $20,368 in the first couple years of working.
UF is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized city of Gainesville. This university ranks 1st out of 70 schools for overall quality in the state of Florida.
There were approximately 122 fine & studio arts students who graduated with this degree at UF in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduation, fine arts degree recipients typically earn about $26,614 in the first five years of their career.
This list represents the rest of the schools awarded a Best Fine & Studio Arts Schools badge.
Showing in this list means the college was ranked in the top 20% of the 465 different United States fine & studio arts schools we analyzed.
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Fine & Studio Arts Schools award.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
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 Jorge Royan.
The fine arts program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Fine & Studio Arts rankings. For our Best Overall Fine & Studio Arts School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.
