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2024 Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

51 Colleges in California
13,368 Bachelor's Degrees
$25,716 Avg Early-Career Salary
a bachelor's 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. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 51 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in California ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 13,368 bachelor's degrees in visual & performing arts during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

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

Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in California Your choice of visual & performing arts for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality visual & performing arts program can vary widely even among the top schools. 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 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 bachelor's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in California list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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 Visual & Performing Arts in California

Explore the top ranked colleges and universities for visual & performing arts students seeking a a bachelor's degree.

10 Top California Schools for a Bachelor's in Visual & Performing Arts

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
613 Annual Graduates

It's difficult to beat University of Southern California if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in visual & performing arts. USC is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Los Angeles.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from University of Southern California

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
254 Annual Graduates

It is hard to beat University of California - Berkeley if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in visual & performing arts. UC Berkeley is a very large public university located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from University of California - Berkeley

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
383 Annual Graduates

Every student pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in visual & performing arts has to check out University of California - Los Angeles. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from University of California - Los Angeles

4
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
292 Annual Graduates

It's hard to beat Chapman University if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in visual & performing arts. Chapman is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Orange.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from Chapman University

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
469 Annual Graduates

UC Irvine is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Irvine.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from University of California - Irvine

6
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
374 Annual Graduates

Located in the medium-sized suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from University of California - Santa Barbara

7
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
243 Annual Graduates

Loyola Marymount is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Los Angeles.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from Loyola Marymount University

8
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
220 Annual Graduates

UCSD is a very large public university located in the large city of La Jolla.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from University of California - San Diego

9
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
421 Annual Graduates

Located in the small suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from University of California - Davis

10
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
465 Annual Graduates

San Jose State is a very large public university located in the large city of San Jose.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from San Jose State University

Best Visual & Performing Arts Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Washington 34 1,357
Hawaii 30 145
Oregon 30 1,262
Nevada 30 383
Alaska 29 57

View All Rankings >

Visual & Performing Arts Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Fine & Studio Arts 3,908
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 2,667
Design & Applied Arts 2,446
Music 1,679
Drama & Theater Arts 1,601
General Visual & Performing Arts 476
Dance 314
Arts & Media Management 223
Other Visual Art 54

Notes and References

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