2024 Best Visual & Performing Arts Associate Degree Schools in the New England Region

an associate degree in visual & performing arts is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #9 out of 38 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 6 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Visual & Performing Arts Associate Degree Schools in the New England Region ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 658 associate degrees in visual & performing arts to qualified students.

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. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:

Overall Quality Is a Must

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 Early-Career Salaries

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their associate degree from the school. After all, your associate degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.

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 complete 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

The visual & performing 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 the Best Visual & Performing Arts Associate Degree Schools in the New England Region.

Best Schools for Associate Students to Study Visual & Performing Arts in the New England Region

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing an associate degree in visual & performing arts.

Top New England Region Schools for an Associate in Visual & Performing Arts

1

Southern New Hampshire University
Manchester, NH

Master's Degree Highest Degree Type

79 Annual Graduates

Any student who is interested in an associate degree in visual & performing arts needs to check out Southern New Hampshire University. Located in the suburb of Manchester, SNHU is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a associate in visual & performing arts from Southern New Hampshire University

2

New England Institute of Technology
East Greenwich, RI

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

51 Annual Graduates

New England Institute of Technology is one of the best schools in the country for getting an associate degree in visual & performing arts. New England Tech is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of East Greenwich.More information about a associate in visual & performing arts from New England Institute of Technology

3

Holyoke Community College
Holyoke, MA

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

17 Annual Graduates

Any student who is interested in an associate degree in visual & performing arts needs to take a look at Holyoke Community College. Located in the suburb of Holyoke, Holyoke Community College is a public college with a small student population.More information about a associate in visual & performing arts from Holyoke Community College

4

Northern Vermont University
Johnson, VT

Master's Degree Highest Degree Type

3 Annual Graduates

Northern Vermont University is a wonderful decision for students pursuing an associate degree in visual & performing arts. Northern Vermont University is a small public university located in the rural area of Johnson.More information about a associate in visual & performing arts from Northern Vermont University

5

Dean College
Franklin, MA

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

8 Annual Graduates

Located in the suburb of Franklin, Dean College is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.More information about a associate in visual & performing arts from Dean College

6

Springfield Technical Community College
Springfield, MA

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

17 Annual Graduates

Located in the medium-sized city of Springfield, STCC is a public college with a small student population.More information about a associate in visual & performing arts from Springfield Technical Community College

Best Visual & Performing Arts Colleges by State

Explore the best visual & performing arts colleges for a specific state in the New England Region .

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Massachusetts	35	245
Connecticut	33	189
New Hampshire	31	107
Maine	26	3
Rhode Island	25	85
Vermont	19	29

View All Rankings >

Visual & Performing Arts Majors to Study

Major	Annual Graduates
Design & Applied Arts	264
Fine & Studio Arts	207
Film, Video & Photographic Arts	96
Drama & Theater Arts	32
Music	30
General Visual & Performing Arts	12
Arts & Media Management	8
Dance	7
Other Visual Art	2

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.