Ranked #66 in popularity, fine arts is one of the most sought-after degree programs in the nation. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.
College Factual looked at 9 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Fine Arts Schools in Illinois ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,078 degrees in fine arts annually.
The fine arts program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Fine Arts rankings. For our Best Overall Fine Arts School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.
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 the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Fine Arts Schools in Illinois list, to help you choose the best school for you.
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.
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 fine arts degrees they offer, see the list below.
Any student pursuing a degree in fine arts has to check out School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Located in the city of Chicago, School of the Art Institute of Chicago is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
There were approximately 713 fine arts students who graduated with this degree at School of the Art Institute of Chicago in the most recent data year.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in fine arts. UIUC is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Champaign. A Best Colleges rank of #41 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UIUC is a great university overall.
There were about 22 fine arts students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent year we have data available.
Every student pursuing a degree in fine arts needs to look into Illinois State University. Illinois State is a very large public university located in the medium-sized suburb of Normal. A Best Colleges rank of #210 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Illinois State is a great university overall.
There were roughly 24 fine arts students who graduated with this degree at Illinois State in the most recent year we have data available.
It is difficult to beat Columbia College Chicago if you wish to pursue a degree in fine arts. Columbia is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit college located in the city of Chicago. A Best Colleges rank of #212 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Columbia is a great college overall.
There were about 31 fine arts students who graduated with this degree at Columbia in the most recent data year.
Located in the suburb of Dekalb, NIU is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 20th out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were approximately 75 fine arts students who graduated with this degree at NIU in the most recent data year.
Located in the city of Chicago, UIC is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 10th out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were about 33 fine arts students who graduated with this degree at UIC in the most recent data year.
Loyola Chicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Chicago. A Best Colleges rank of #100 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Loyola Chicago is a great university overall.
There were roughly 8 fine arts students who graduated with this degree at Loyola Chicago in the most recent year we have data available.
Located in the distant town of Carbondale, SIUC is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 36th out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were roughly 41 fine arts students who graduated with this degree at SIUC in the most recent data year.
SIUE is a large public university located in the large suburb of Edwardsville. This university ranks 31st out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were roughly 18 fine arts students who graduated with this degree at SIUE in the most recent data year.
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 Jorge Royan.
The fine arts program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Fine Arts rankings. For our Best Overall Fine Arts School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.
