2024 Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools in the Southeast Region
141Colleges in the Southeast Region
31,401Visual & Performing Arts Degrees Awarded
$25,471Avg Early-Career Salary
A degree in visual & performing arts is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #10 out of 38 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.
College Factual reviewed 141 schools in the Southeast Region to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of visual & performing arts. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 31,401 degrees in visual & performing arts during the 2021-2022 academic year.
The visual & performing arts program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Visual & Performing Arts rankings. We derive our Best Overall Visual & Performing Arts School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.
In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools in the Southeast Region ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.
In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you.
When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.
Best Schools for Visual & Performing Arts in the Southeast 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 & performing arts degrees they offer, see the list below. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
21 Top Southeast Region Schools in Visual & Performing Arts
Duke University is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in visual & performing arts. Duke is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Durham. A Best Colleges rank of #7 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Duke is a great university overall.
There were approximately 55 visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at Duke in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the visual & performing arts major at Duke University earn $13,165 above the typical college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
Emory University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in visual & performing arts. Emory is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Atlanta. A Best Colleges rank of #28 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Emory is a great university overall.
There were approximately 122 visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at Emory in the most recent year we have data available. Those visual & performing arts students who get their degree from Emory University earn $11,237 more than the typical visual & performing arts student.
It's hard to beat Vanderbilt University if you want to pursue a degree in visual & performing arts. Located in the city of Nashville, Vanderbilt is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #19 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Vanderbilt is a great university overall.
There were roughly 84 visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at Vanderbilt in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, visual & performing arts degree recipients generally make about $26,788 in their early careers.
University of Florida is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in visual & performing arts. UF is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized city of Gainesville. A Best Colleges rank of #58 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UF is a great university overall.
There were approximately 476 visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at UF in the most recent data year. Visual & Performing Arts degree recipients from University of Florida receive an earnings boost of about $2,856 above the typical earnings of visual & performing arts graduates.
Located in the large city of Nashville, Belmont is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population. This university ranks 3rd out of 45 schools for overall quality in the state of Tennessee.
There were approximately 656 visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at Belmont in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the visual & performing arts program state that they receive average early career earnings of $23,957.
Located in the suburb of Charlottesville, University of Virginia is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #33 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means University of Virginia is a great university overall.
There were approximately 119.99999999999999 visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at University of Virginia in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the visual & performing arts program make about $24,937 in the first couple years of their career.
UGA is a fairly large public university located in the city of Athens. A Best Colleges rank of #72 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UGA is a great university overall.
There were about 354 visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at UGA in the most recent data year. Those visual & performing arts students who get their degree from University of Georgia make $3,310 more than the standard visual & performing arts student.
John Tyler Community College is a moderately-sized public college located in the large suburb of Chester. This college ranks 30th out of 63 schools for overall quality in the state of Virginia.
There were roughly 86 visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at John Tyler Community College in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the visual & performing arts program report average early career earnings of $22,862.
Georgia Tech is a very large public school located in the large city of Atlanta. A Best Colleges rank of #24 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Georgia Tech is a great school overall.
There were roughly 83 visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at Georgia Tech in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the visual & performing arts program at Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus get $22,728 above the standard college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
Located in the large city of New Orleans, Tulane is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #78 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Tulane is a great university overall.
There were approximately 100 visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at Tulane in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the visual & performing arts major at Tulane University of Louisiana get $2,684 above the typical graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.
U Miami is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Coral Gables. A Best Colleges rank of #91 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means U Miami is a great university overall.
There were roughly 383 visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at U Miami in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, visual & performing arts degree recipients generally earn around $23,846 in their early careers.
Florida State is a fairly large public university located in the midsize city of Tallahassee. This university ranks 3rd out of 77 schools for overall quality in the state of Florida.
There were about 559 visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at Florida State in the most recent data year. Those visual & performing arts students who get their degree from Florida State University receive $5,798 more than the average visual & performing arts grad.
Located in the small city of Harrisonburg, JMU is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 6th out of 63 colleges for overall quality in the state of Virginia.
There were roughly 290 visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at JMU in the most recent data year. Those visual & performing arts students who get their degree from James Madison University make $3,886 more than the standard visual & performing arts student.
Virginia Tech is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Blacksburg. A Best Colleges rank of #62 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Virginia Tech is a great school overall.
There were about 182 visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at Virginia Tech in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the visual & performing arts major at Virginia Tech get $15,268 more than the typical college grad in this field shortly after graduation.
Located in the midsize city of Savannah, SCAD is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
There were approximately 1728 visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at SCAD in the most recent data year. Visual & Performing Arts degree recipients from Savannah College of Art and Design earn a boost of around $2,782 over the average earnings of visual & performing arts graduates.
Located in the small city of Chapel Hill, UNC Chapel Hill is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #43 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UNC Chapel Hill is a great university overall.
There were approximately 126 visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at UNC Chapel Hill in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the visual & performing arts program state that they receive average early career earnings of $22,476.
Located in the midsize city of Columbia, UofSC is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 2nd out of 44 colleges for overall quality in the state of South Carolina.
There were approximately 285 visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at UofSC in the most recent year we have data available. Visual & Performing Arts degree recipients from University of South Carolina - Columbia receive an earnings boost of about $3,750 over the typical income of visual & performing arts majors.
Located in the city of Winston Salem, UNCSA is a public university with a small student population.
There were roughly 276 visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at UNCSA in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the visual & performing arts program earn about $25,687 in their early career salary.
Located in the city of Lexington, UK is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 1st out of 38 schools for overall quality in the state of Kentucky.
There were approximately 287 visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at UK in the most recent data year. Visual & Performing Arts degree recipients from University of Kentucky receive an earnings boost of approximately $11,116 above the typical earnings of visual & performing arts graduates.
Located in the large suburb of Orlando, UCF is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 7th out of 77 colleges for overall quality in the state of Florida.
There were about 1163 visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at UCF in the most recent year we have data available. Those visual & performing arts students who get their degree from University of Central Florida make $2,817 more than the typical visual & performing arts graduate.
Located in the city of Auburn, Auburn is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 3rd out of 40 schools for overall quality in the state of Alabama.
There were about 217.99999999999997 visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at Auburn in the most recent data year. Those visual & performing arts students who get their degree from Auburn University earn $3,339 more than the standard visual & performing arts grad.
Rest of the Top Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools in the Southeast Region
Honorable Mentions
Here are some additional great schools for Visual & Performing Arts students in the Southeast Region that almost earned our Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools in the Southeast Region award.
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.
The visual & performing arts program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Visual & Performing Arts rankings. We derive our Best Overall Visual & Performing Arts School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.
