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2024 Best General Visual & Performing Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Region

15 Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
413 Visual Arts Degrees Awarded
$24,172 Avg Early-Career Salary
A degree in general visual & performing arts is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #116 out of 395 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 15 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best General Visual & Performing Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 413 degrees in general visual & performing arts during the 2020-2021 academic year.

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

Choosing a Great General Visual & Performing Arts School

Best General Visual & Performing Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Region Your choice of general visual & performing arts school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. For our Best Overall General Visual & Performing Arts 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.

Pick Your General Visual & Performing Arts Degree Level

Bachelor's Degrees in Visual Arts
Master's Degrees in Visual Arts
Doctor's Degrees in Visual Arts

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 Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision. More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.

To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Read more about College Factual's methodology.

Best Schools for General Visual & Performing Arts in the Great Lakes Region

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 visual arts degrees they offer, see the list below.

10 Top Great Lakes Region Schools in Visual Arts

1
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
41 Visual Arts Degrees Awarded
2.4% Growth in Graduates

University of Wisconsin - Whitewater is a great choice for students pursuing a degree in general visual & performing arts. UW - Whitewater is a fairly large public university located in the distant town of Whitewater. A Best Colleges rank of #359 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UW - Whitewater is a great university overall.

There were roughly 41 general visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at UW - Whitewater in the most recent year we have data available. General Visual & Performing Arts degree recipients from University of Wisconsin - Whitewater receive an earnings boost of around $3,938 over the average earnings of general visual & performing arts graduates.

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

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In OH

It's difficult to beat Ohio University - Athens Campus if you wish to pursue a degree in general visual & performing arts. OHIO Athens is a very large public university located in the town of Athens. A Best Colleges rank of #239 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means OHIO Athens is a great university overall.

There were approximately 25 general visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at OHIO Athens in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in general visual & performing arts from Ohio University - Athens Campus

3
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$25,267 Median Starting Salary
$30,005 Median Student Debt

It's hard to beat University of Wisconsin - Stout if you want to pursue a degree in general visual & performing arts. UW - Stout is a moderately-sized public university located in the distant town of Menomonie. This university ranks 11th out of 46 schools for overall quality in the state of Wisconsin.

There were about 20 general visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at UW - Stout in the most recent data year. Soon after graduating, visual arts degree recipients usually make an average of $25,267 in their early careers.

More information about a degree in general visual & performing arts from University of Wisconsin - Stout

4
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In IL

Every student pursuing a degree in general visual & performing arts needs to look into School of the Art Institute of Chicago. School of the Art Institute of Chicago is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago.

There were roughly 16 general visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at School of the Art Institute of Chicago in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in general visual & performing arts from School of the Art Institute of Chicago

5
Michigan State crest
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI

Located in the small city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #74 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Michigan State is a great university overall.More information about a degree in general visual & performing arts from Michigan State University

6
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In IN
25.0% Growth in Graduates

Located in the large city of Indianapolis, IUPUI is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #274 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means IUPUI is a great university overall.

There were roughly 12 general visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at IUPUI in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in general visual & performing arts from Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis

7
Central Michigan crest
Central Michigan University
Mount Pleasant, MI
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In MI

Central Michigan is a large public university located in the distant town of Mount Pleasant. This university ranks 10th out of 57 colleges for overall quality in the state of Michigan.

There were roughly 2 general visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at Central Michigan in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in general visual & performing arts from Central Michigan University

8
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In IL
46.7% Growth in Graduates

UIC is a very large public university located in the city of Chicago. A Best Colleges rank of #192 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UIC is a great university overall.

There were roughly 15 general visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at UIC in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in general visual & performing arts from University of Illinois at Chicago

9

U-M is a fairly large public university located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor. A Best Colleges rank of #29 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means U-M is a great university overall.More information about a degree in general visual & performing arts from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

10
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
$26,939 Median Starting Salary

Located in the large city of Columbus, CCAD is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.

There were approximately 14 general visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at CCAD in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the general visual & performing arts major at Columbus College of Art and Design make $2,767 above the typical college grad in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in general visual & performing arts from Columbus College of Art and Design

Best General Visual & Performing Arts Colleges by State

Explore the best general visual & performing arts colleges for a specific state in the Great Lakes Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Michigan 322 10
Ohio 314 67
Illinois 304 62
Indiana 294 26
Wisconsin 273 78

View All Rankings >

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
Visual & Performing Arts 215
Digital Arts 198

View All Visual Arts Focus Areas >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Design & Applied Arts 5,375
Fine & Studio Arts 4,583
Music 4,060
Drama & Theater Arts 2,364
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 1,727
Arts & Media Management 602
Dance 358
Other Visual Art 108
Crafts, Folk Art & Artisanry 32

View All Visual Arts Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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