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

If you plan on getting your associate degree in visual & performing arts, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #9 in the country in terms of popularity. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.

For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 19 schools in the Great Lakes Region to determine which ones were the best for visual & performing arts students pursuing a associate degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,594 associate degrees in visual & performing arts during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Associate Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great Visual & Performing Arts School for Your Associate Degree

Your choice of visual & performing arts for getting your associate degree school matters. Important measures of a quality visual & performing arts program can vary widely even among the top schools. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

The overall quality of a associate degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. 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.

Average Earnings

One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of associate graduates during the early years of their career. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their associate degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

Other Factors We Consider

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

• Major Focus - How much a school focuses on visual & performing arts students vs. other majors.
• Major Demand - The number of visual & performing arts students who choose to seek a associate degree at the school.
• Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
• Student Debt - How easy is it for visual & performing arts to pay back their student loans after receiving their associate degree.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized visual & performing arts related body.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for visual & performing arts students working on their associate degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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

Best Schools for Associate Students to Study Visual & Performing Arts in the Great Lakes Region

Explore the top ranked colleges and universities for visual & performing arts students seeking a an associate degree.

10 Top Great Lakes Region Schools for an Associate in Visual & Performing Arts

1

Madison Area Technical College
Madison, WI

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

94 Annual Graduates

Madison Area Technical College is a great choice for students pursuing an associate degree in visual & performing arts. Located in the large city of Madison, Madison College is a public college with a fairly large student population.More information about a associate in visual & performing arts from Madison Area Technical College

2

Waukesha County Technical College
Pewaukee, WI

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

37 Annual Graduates

Waukesha County Technical College is one of the best schools in the country for getting an associate degree in visual & performing arts. WCTC is a moderately-sized public college located in the large suburb of Pewaukee.More information about a associate in visual & performing arts from Waukesha County Technical College

3

University of Saint Francis - Fort Wayne
Fort Wayne, IN

Master's Degree Highest Degree Type

University of Saint Francis - Fort Wayne is a good option for students interested in an associate degree in visual & performing arts. University of St. Francis Fort Wayne is a small private not-for-profit university located in the city of Fort Wayne.More information about a associate in visual & performing arts from University of Saint Francis - Fort Wayne

4

Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis
Indianapolis, IN

Master's Degree Highest Degree Type

9 Annual Graduates

Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis is one of the best schools in the United States for getting an associate degree in visual & performing arts. Located in the city of Indianapolis, IUPUI is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a associate in visual & performing arts from Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis

5

Western Technical College
La Crosse, WI

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

28 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of La Crosse, Western Technical College is a public college with a small student population.More information about a associate in visual & performing arts from Western Technical College

6

Milwaukee Area Technical College
Milwaukee, WI

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

35 Annual Graduates

MATC is a fairly large public college located in the large city of Milwaukee.More information about a associate in visual & performing arts from Milwaukee Area Technical College

7

Sinclair Community College
Dayton, OH

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

82 Annual Graduates

Located in the midsize city of Dayton, Sinclair Community College is a public college with a large student population.More information about a associate in visual & performing arts from Sinclair Community College

8

Northern Michigan University
Marquette, MI

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

9 Annual Graduates

Located in the remote town of Marquette, Northern Michigan University is a public university with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a associate in visual & performing arts from Northern Michigan University

9

Macomb Community College
Warren, MI

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

72 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Warren, Macomb Community College is a public college with a large student population.More information about a associate in visual & performing arts from Macomb Community College

10

Gateway Technical College
Kenosha, WI

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

54 Annual Graduates

Located in the midsize suburb of Kenosha, Gateway Technical College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.More information about a associate in visual & performing arts from Gateway Technical College

Best Visual & Performing Arts Colleges by State

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

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Michigan	38	468
Ohio	36	378
Indiana	35	137
Wisconsin	31	348
Illinois	30	263

View All Rankings >

Visual & Performing Arts Majors to Study

Major	Annual Graduates
Design & Applied Arts	1,105
Fine & Studio Arts	227
Film, Video & Photographic Arts	105
Music	96
Drama & Theater Arts	18
General Visual & Performing Arts	17
Arts & Media Management	17
Crafts, Folk Art & Artisanry	8
Dance	1

Notes and References

• 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 Bonnielou2013. More about our data sources and methodologies.