2022 Best Value Visual Arts Schools for a Master’s in California

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Visual Arts Schools for a Master’s in California” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

In 2019-2020, 6,359 people earned their degree in general visual and performing arts, making the major the 125th most popular in the United States. 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 California, there were 1,292 general visual and performing arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $21,800 and $23,419 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 84 general visual and performing arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $60,281 and $50,119 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Visual Arts Schools for a Master’s in California” ranking analyzed 4 colleges that offered a degree in general visual and performing arts. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great general visual and performing arts programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the general visual and performing arts program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Visual Arts Schools for a Master’s in California” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. 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 Master’s in California

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Visual Arts Schools for a Master’s in California.

Top 4 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for General Visual & Performing Arts in California

#1

University of California - San Diego

La Jolla, California

#3 in overall quality

$28,631 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$14,442 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - San Diego. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Visual Arts Schools for a Master’s in California. UCSD is a large school located in La Jolla, California that handed out 9 masters’s visual arts degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california master’s degree visual arts students list, UCSD has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best General Visual & Performing Arts Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at UCSD are $28,631, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full UCSD General Visual & Performing Arts Report

#2

California State University - Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California

#4 in overall quality

$17,723 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - Los Angeles. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Visual Arts Schools for a Master’s in California. Located in Los Angeles, California, this large public school awarded 19 degrees to qualified masters’s visual arts students in 2019-2020.

Cal State LA also took the #4 spot in our “Best General Visual & Performing Arts Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at California State University - Los Angeles are $17,723, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about General Visual & Performing Arts at Cal State LA

#3

Academy of Art University

San Francisco, California

#2 in overall quality

$27,688 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$32,925 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Academy of Art University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Visual Arts Schools for a Master’s in California. Academy of Art University is located in San Francisco, California and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 37 masters’s visual arts degrees to qualified students.

Academy of Art University not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best General Visual & Performing Arts Master’s Degree Schools in California” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Academy of Art University are $27,688.

Read full report on General Visual & Performing Arts at Academy of Art University

#4

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California

#1 in overall quality

$48,715 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Southern California. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Visual Arts Schools for a Master’s in California list. University of Southern California is a large school located in Los Angeles, California that handed out 15 masters’s visual arts degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at USC, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best General Visual & Performing Arts Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Southern California are $48,715, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about General Visual & Performing Arts at University of Southern California

• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for General Visual & Performing Arts in the Far Western US Region
• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for General Visual & Performing Arts

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.

Credits

• Credit for the banner image above goes to Sven Mandel / CC-BY-SA-4.0.

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