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2025 Best Fine & Studio Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

40 Colleges in California
3,997 Bachelor's Degrees
$22,943 Avg Early-Career Salary
Fine & Studio Arts is of the hottest bachelor's degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #22 most popular major in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.

College Factual looked at 40 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Fine & Studio Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in California ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 3,997 bachelor's degrees in fine & studio arts during the 2022-2023 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

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

Best Fine & Studio Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in California Your choice of fine & studio arts for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. 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 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 bachelor's degree.

More Ways to Rank Fine & Studio Arts Schools

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Fine Arts Rankings Other Ranking Categories

The fine 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 Fine & Studio Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in California.

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 Fine & Studio Arts in California

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in fine & studio arts.

10 Top California Schools for a Bachelor's in Fine Arts

1
55 Annual Graduates
$50,161 Median Starting Salary
$68,342 Median Student Debt

University of Southern California is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in fine & studio arts. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Los Angeles.

Fine & Studio Arts bachelor's degree recipients from University of Southern California get an earnings boost of approximately $27,218 over the typical income of fine & studio arts graduates.

More information about a bachelor’s in fine & studio arts from University of Southern California

2
158 Annual Graduates
$21,220 Median Starting Salary
$32,528 Median Student Debt

Every student pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in fine & studio arts needs to look into University of California - Los Angeles. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the fine arts program state that they receive average early career wages of $21,220.

More information about a bachelor’s in fine & studio arts from University of California - Los Angeles

3
122 Annual Graduates
$32,140 Median Student Debt

University of California - Santa Barbara is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in fine & studio arts. Located in the suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in fine & studio arts from University of California - Santa Barbara

4

It's hard to beat University of California - Berkeley if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in fine & studio arts. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public university located in the city of Berkeley.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the fine arts program make about $20,368 in their early career salary.

More information about a bachelor’s in fine & studio arts from University of California - Berkeley

5

CSULB is a fairly large public university located in the city of Long Beach.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the fine arts program state that they receive average early career income of $21,493.

More information about a bachelor’s in fine & studio arts from California State University - Long Beach

6

Located in the small suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public university with a very large student population.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the fine arts program make around $22,700 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in fine & studio arts from University of California - Davis

7
115 Annual Graduates
$21,106 Median Starting Salary
$31,510 Median Student Debt

UC Santa Cruz is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Santa Cruz.

Soon after graduation, fine arts bachelor's recipients usually earn about $21,106 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in fine & studio arts from University of California - Santa Cruz

8
433 Annual Graduates
$22,839 Median Starting Salary
$26,955 Median Student Debt

Located in the large suburb of Fullerton, Cal State Fullerton is a public university with a very large student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the fine arts program report average early career earnings of $22,839.

More information about a bachelor’s in fine & studio arts from California State University - Fullerton

9

SFSU is a very large public university located in the large city of San Francisco.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the fine arts program earn about $24,606 for their early career.

More information about a bachelor’s in fine & studio arts from San Francisco State University

10
45 Annual Graduates
$17,690 Median Starting Salary
$20,847 Median Student Debt

California College of the Arts is a small private not-for-profit college located in the city of San Francisco.

After graduation, fine arts bachelor's recipients typically make around $17,690 in their early careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in fine & studio arts from California College of the Arts

Best Fine & Studio Arts Colleges in the Far Western US Region

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

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Washington 226 390
Oregon 185 368
Nevada 129 97
Hawaii 112 111
Alaska 75 32

View All Rankings >

Fine & Studio Arts is one of 10 different types of Visual & Performing Arts programs to choose from.

Fine Arts Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Art Studies 2,067
Fine Arts 1,418
Art History 393
Other Fine Arts & Art Studies 49
Intermedia/Multimedia 40
Painting 12
Jewelry Arts 10
Ceramic Arts & Ceramics 3
Sculpture 2
Fiber, Textile & Weaving Arts 2

Majors Similar to Fine Arts

Related Major Annual Graduates
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 2,722
Design & Applied Arts 2,456
Music 1,666
Drama & Theater Arts 1,591
General Visual & Performing Arts 416
Dance 300
Arts & Media Management 257
Other Visual Art 28

Notes and References

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