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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Visual & Performing Arts in the Great Lakes Region

14 Ranked Colleges
221 Degrees Awarded
$18,900 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Visual Arts Schools for a Bachelor's in the Great Lakes Region

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Visual Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region” ranking is part of that endeavor.

General Visual & Performing Arts is the 125th most popular major in the country with 6,359 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, general visual and performing arts graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $24,577 and had an average of $26,968 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Great Lakes region, there were 455 general visual and performing arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $26,114 and $31,060 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 221 general visual and performing arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,075 and $25,381 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Visual Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region” ranking, we looked at 14 colleges that offer a degree in general visual and performing arts. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality general visual and performing arts programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the general visual and performing arts program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank General Visual & Performing Arts Schools

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 “Best Value Visual Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region”.

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. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Best Value Visual Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region

The colleges and universities below are the best for great lakes region bachelor’s degree visual arts students.

Top 14 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Visual & Performing Arts in the Great Lakes Region

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Wisconsin - Whitewater. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Visual Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. University of Wisconsin - Whitewater is located in Whitewater, Wisconsin and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 40 bachelors’s visual arts degrees to qualified students.

UW - Whitewater did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best General Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for UW - Whitewater is $15,249 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Visual Arts students.

Full University of Wisconsin - Whitewater General Visual & Performing Arts Report

#2

University of Wisconsin - Stout

Menomonie, Wisconsin

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Wisconsin - Stout. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Visual Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region. Located in Menomonie, Wisconsin, this medium-sized public school handed out 28 degrees to qualified bachelors’s visual arts students in 2019-2020.

UW - Stout did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best General Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The yearly cost to attend UW - Stout is $15,839 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Visual Arts students.

The low student loan default rate of 3.8% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Full UW - Stout General Visual & Performing Arts Report

#3 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Wisconsin - Parkside. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Visual Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region. UW - Parkside is located in Kenosha, Wisconsin and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 25 bachelors’s visual arts degrees to qualified students.

UW - Parkside did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best General Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Wisconsin - Parkside is $11,327 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree visual arts students.

Read more about General Visual & Performing Arts at University of Wisconsin - Parkside

Out of the 14 schools in the Best Value Visual Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Bowling Green State University - Main Campus landed the #4 spot on the list. Bowling Green State University - Main Campus is a fairly large public school situated in Bowling Green, Ohio. It awarded 25 bachelors’s visual arts degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at BGSU, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best General Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend BGSU is $18,394 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Visual Arts students.

Read more about General Visual & Performing Arts at BGSU

#5

Central Michigan University

Mount Pleasant, Michigan
#8 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Central Michigan University. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Visual Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. Central Michigan University is a fairly large school located in Mount Pleasant, Michigan that handed out 7 bachelors’s visual arts degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our great lakes region bachelor’s degree visual arts students list, Central Michigan has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best General Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Central Michigan is $15,981 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree visual arts students.

Read more about General Visual & Performing Arts at Central Michigan

#6

University of Toledo

Toledo, Ohio
#11 in overall quality

With a ranking of #6, University of Toledo did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Visual Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. This fairly large school is located in Toledo, Ohio, and it awarded 2 bachelors’s visual arts degrees in 2019-2020.

University of Toledo did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #11 on our “Best General Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of Toledo is $17,630 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Visual Arts students.

Read more about General Visual & Performing Arts at University of Toledo

#6 in overall quality

With a ranking of #7, Ohio University - Athens Campus did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Visual Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. Athens, Ohio is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s visual arts degrees to 36 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at OHIO Athens, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best General Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. It costs about $22,906 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree visual arts students per year to attend OHIO Athens.

Full OHIO Athens General Visual & Performing Arts Report

#8

Oakland University

Rochester Hills, Michigan
#12 in overall quality

Oakland University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Visual Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #8. Located in Rochester Hills, Michigan, this fairly large public school handed out 1 degrees to qualified bachelors’s visual arts students in 2019-2020.

Oakland did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #12 on our “Best General Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The yearly cost to attend Oakland is $11,802 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Visual Arts students.

Read more about General Visual & Performing Arts at Oakland

#14 in overall quality

Grace College and Theological Seminary ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Visual Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. Winona Lake, Indiana is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s visual arts degrees to 1 students in 2019-2020.

Grace College also took the #14 spot in our “Best General Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Grace College and Theological Seminary is $20,820 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree visual arts students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Grace College General Visual & Performing Arts Report

#5 in overall quality

University of Illinois at Chicago did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Visual Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #10. UIC is a large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 8 bachelors’s visual arts degrees in 2019-2020.

UIC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best General Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of Illinois at Chicago is $13,312 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Visual Arts students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on General Visual & Performing Arts at University of Illinois at Chicago

University of Saint Francis - Fort Wayne landed the #11 spot on the 2022 Best Value Visual Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking. University of St. Francis Fort Wayne is a small school located in Fort Wayne, Indiana that handed out 11 bachelors’s visual arts degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at University of St. Francis Fort Wayne, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best General Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Saint Francis - Fort Wayne is $17,796 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Visual Arts students.

Read full report on General Visual & Performing Arts at University of Saint Francis - Fort Wayne

#12

University of St Francis

Joliet, Illinois

University of St Francis came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Visual Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in Joliet, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 4 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s visual arts students in 2019-2020.

University of Saint Francis not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #9 on our “Best General Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The yearly cost to attend University of St Francis is $17,538 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Visual Arts students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on General Visual & Performing Arts at University of Saint Francis

#13 in overall quality

With a ranking of #13, Trinity International University - Illinois did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Visual Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region list. Trinity International University - Illinois is located in Deerfield, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 1 bachelors’s visual arts degrees to qualified students.

TIU Illinois did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #13 on our “Best General Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The yearly cost to attend Trinity International University - Illinois is $21,204 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree visual arts students.

The student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Read full report on General Visual & Performing Arts at Trinity International University - Illinois

School of the Art Institute of Chicago did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Visual Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #14. This small school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 10 bachelors’s visual arts degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at School of the Art Institute of Chicago, the school also landed the #10 spot in our “Best General Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. It costs about $44,815 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Visual Arts students per year to attend School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

With a student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Read full report on General Visual & Performing Arts at School of the Art Institute of Chicago

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Notes and References

References

  • 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 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).
  • Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

  • *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
  • Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

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