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2025 Best Fine & Studio Arts Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

11 Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
479 Master's Degrees
$34,682 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on getting your master's degree in fine & studio arts, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #58 in the country in terms of popularity. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 11 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Fine & Studio Arts Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 479 master's degrees in fine & studio arts during the 2021-2022 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Fine & Studio Arts School for Your Master's Degree

Best Fine & Studio Arts Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region Your choice of fine & studio arts for getting your master's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality fine 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 master's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To take this into account we include a college's overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking which itself looks at a collection of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Average Earnings

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their master's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their master's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for fine & studio arts students working on their master's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Fine 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 Fine & Studio Arts Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list, to help you choose the best school for you.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Fine & Studio Arts in the Great Lakes Region

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in fine & studio arts.

10 Top Great Lakes Region Schools for a Master's in Fine Arts

1
8 Annual Graduates

Northwestern University is a great choice for students pursuing a master's degree in fine & studio arts. Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in fine & studio arts from Northwestern University

2

University of Wisconsin - Madison is one of the best schools in the country for getting a master's degree in fine & studio arts. UW - Madison is a very large public university located in the large city of Madison.

Soon after graduation, fine arts master's recipients generally make an average of $30,934 in their early careers.

More information about a master’s in fine & studio arts from University of Wisconsin - Madison

3

Indiana University - Bloomington is a good choice for students interested in a master's degree in fine & studio arts. Located in the city of Bloomington, IU Bloomington is a public university with a very large student population.

Those fine & studio arts students who get their master's degree from Indiana University - Bloomington receive $2,504 more than the standard fine arts grad.

More information about a master’s in fine & studio arts from Indiana University - Bloomington

4
15 Annual Graduates

Every student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in fine & studio arts needs to take a look at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. UIUC is a very large public university located in the small city of Champaign.More information about a master’s in fine & studio arts from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

5

Located in the large city of Chicago, School of the Art Institute of Chicago is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

After graduating, fine arts master's recipients generally earn about $24,521 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a master’s in fine & studio arts from School of the Art Institute of Chicago

6
18 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Columbus, Ohio State is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in fine & studio arts from Ohio State University - Main Campus

7

UWM is a very large public university located in the city of Milwaukee.

Fine & Studio Arts master's degree recipients from University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee receive an earnings boost of around $4,998 over the average income of fine & studio arts majors.

More information about a master’s in fine & studio arts from University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee

8

Located in the remote town of Charleston, EIU is a public university with a moderately-sized student population.

Those fine & studio arts students who get their master's degree from Eastern Illinois University make $20,887 more than the standard fine arts student.

More information about a master’s in fine & studio arts from Eastern Illinois University

9

Located in the distant town of Athens, OHIO Athens is a public university with a very large student population.

Students who graduate with their master's from the fine arts program report average early career income of $30,459.

More information about a master’s in fine & studio arts from Ohio University - Athens Campus

10
8 Annual Graduates

Located in the suburb of Kent, Kent State is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in fine & studio arts from Kent State University at Kent

Best Fine & Studio Arts Colleges by State

Explore the best fine & studio arts colleges for a specific state in the Great Lakes Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Illinois 221 248
Michigan 211 70
Ohio 207 76
Indiana 191 44
Wisconsin 173 51

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One of 10 majors within the Visual & Performing Arts area of study, Fine & Studio Arts has other similar majors worth exploring.

Fine Arts Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Fine Arts 238
Art Studies 124
Art History 57
Painting 12
Printmaking 11
Sculpture 10
Ceramic Arts & Ceramics 9
Intermedia/Multimedia 7
Metal Arts 6
Fiber, Textile & Weaving Arts 5

Related Major Annual Graduates
Music 1,004
Arts & Media Management 236
Drama & Theater Arts 199
Design & Applied Arts 197
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 93
General Visual & Performing Arts 27
Dance 22

Notes and References

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