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2024 Best General Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools

100 Colleges in the United States
3,794 Bachelor's Degrees
$24,917 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on getting your bachelor's degree in general visual & performing arts, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #94 in the country in terms of popularity. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 100 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best General Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 3,794 bachelor's degrees in general visual & performing arts to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great General Visual & Performing Arts School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best General Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools Your choice of general visual & performing arts for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.

A Great Overall School

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Early-Career Earnings

One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of bachelor's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their bachelor's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for general visual & performing arts students working on their bachelor's degree.

More Ways to Rank General Visual & Performing Arts Schools

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Visual Arts Rankings Other Ranking Categories

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

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.

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study General Visual & Performing Arts in the United States

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in general visual & performing arts. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

15 Top Schools for a Bachelor's in Visual Arts

1
84 Annual Graduates
$32,207 Median Starting Salary
$21,500 Median Student Debt

The University of Texas at Austin is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in general visual & performing arts. Located in the city of Austin, UT Austin is a public university with a very large student population.

General Visual & Performing Arts bachelor's degree recipients from The University of Texas at Austin get an earnings boost of around $7,290 above the typical income of general visual & performing arts graduates.

More information about a bachelor’s in general visual & performing arts from The University of Texas at Austin

2
Duke crest
Duke University
Durham, NC
6 Annual Graduates

Duke University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in general visual & performing arts. Located in the city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in general visual & performing arts from Duke University

3

University of Southern California is a great choice for students interested in a bachelor's degree in general visual & performing arts. USC is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Los Angeles.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the visual arts program earn about $18,394 for their early career.

More information about a bachelor’s in general visual & performing arts from University of Southern California

4
Rice crest
Rice University
Houston, TX
26 Annual Graduates

Rice University is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in general visual & performing arts. Rice is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the city of Houston.More information about a bachelor’s in general visual & performing arts from Rice University

5
84 Annual Graduates
$22,195 Median Starting Salary
$15,000 Median Student Debt

UCSD is a fairly large public university located in the city of La Jolla.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the visual arts program make an average of $22,195 in their early career salary.

More information about a bachelor’s in general visual & performing arts from University of California - San Diego

6
UPenn crest
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
13 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in general visual & performing arts from University of Pennsylvania

7
UF crest
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL
53 Annual Graduates
$30,849 Median Starting Salary
$17,983 Median Student Debt

Located in the medium-sized city of Gainesville, UF is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Those general visual & performing arts students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Florida earn $5,932 more than the average visual arts grad.

More information about a bachelor’s in general visual & performing arts from University of Florida

8
285 Annual Graduates
$30,784 Median Starting Salary
$21,196 Median Student Debt

Located in the midsize city of Richardson, UT Dallas is a public university with a very large student population.

General Visual & Performing Arts bachelor's degree recipients from The University of Texas at Dallas receive an earnings boost of approximately $5,867 above the typical earnings of general visual & performing arts majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in general visual & performing arts from The University of Texas at Dallas

9
101 Annual Graduates
$26,808 Median Starting Salary
$25,620 Median Student Debt

GMU is a fairly large public university located in the large suburb of Fairfax.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the visual arts program earn around $26,808 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in general visual & performing arts from George Mason University

10
379 Annual Graduates
$28,892 Median Starting Salary
$24,250 Median Student Debt

UCF is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Orlando.

Those general visual & performing arts students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Central Florida earn $3,975 more than the standard visual arts grad.

More information about a bachelor’s in general visual & performing arts from University of Central Florida

11
45 Annual Graduates
$23,522 Median Student Debt

UK is a very large public university located in the large city of Lexington.More information about a bachelor’s in general visual & performing arts from University of Kentucky

12
52 Annual Graduates
$36,531 Median Starting Salary
$27,000 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of Los Angeles, Otis College of Art and Design is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Those general visual & performing arts students who get their bachelor's degree from Otis College of Art and Design make $11,614 more than the standard visual arts graduate.

More information about a bachelor’s in general visual & performing arts from Otis College of Art and Design

13
4 Annual Graduates

RPI is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Troy.More information about a bachelor’s in general visual & performing arts from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

14
41 Annual Graduates
$28,110 Median Starting Salary
$24,500 Median Student Debt

UW - Whitewater is a large public university located in the town of Whitewater.

Bachelor's recipients from the general visual & performing arts program at University of Wisconsin - Whitewater make $3,193 above the standard college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a bachelor’s in general visual & performing arts from University of Wisconsin - Whitewater

15
USFCA crest
University of San Francisco
San Francisco, CA
14 Annual Graduates
$25,000 Median Student Debt

USFCA is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the large city of San Francisco.More information about a bachelor’s in general visual & performing arts from University of San Francisco

Additional Noteworthy Schools

Here are some additional great schools for General Visual & Performing Arts students that almost earned our Best General Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
16 Academy of Art University San Francisco, CA
17 Mississippi State University Mississippi State, MS
18 Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX
19 Arizona State University - Tempe Tempe, AZ
20 University of Missouri - Columbia Columbia, MO
21 San Jose State University San Jose, CA
22 California State University - San Marcos San Marcos, CA
23 Wichita State University Wichita, KS
24 Iowa State University Ames, IA
25 University of Wisconsin - Stout Menomonie, WI

General Visual & Performing Arts by Region

View the Best General Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree 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

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General Visual & Performing Arts is one of 10 different types of Visual & Performing Arts programs to choose from.

Visual Arts Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Digital Arts 2,207
Visual & Performing Arts 1,587

Majors Similar to Visual Arts

Related Major Annual Graduates
Fine & Studio Arts 24,602
Design & Applied Arts 19,770
Music 15,362
Drama & Theater Arts 13,117
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 11,759
Arts & Media Management 3,065
Dance 2,676
Other Visual Art 492
Crafts, Folk Art & Artisanry 71
Community/Environmental/Socially-Engaged Art 9

Notes and References

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