If you pursue a degree in fine & studio arts, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #31 most popular program in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.
In 2025, College Factual analyzed 9 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Fine & Studio Arts Schools in Virginia ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 733 degrees in fine & studio 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 & Studio Arts rankings. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for fine & studio arts schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each 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.
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 Schools in Virginia.
If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.
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.
Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the fine arts degree levels they offer.
Every student pursuing a degree in fine & studio arts has to check out James Madison University. Located in the small city of Harrisonburg, JMU is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #141 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means JMU is a great university overall.
There were about 122 fine & studio arts students who graduated with this degree at JMU in the most recent year we have data available. Fine & Studio Arts degree recipients from James Madison University earn a boost of about $7,163 over the typical income of fine & studio arts graduates.
University of Virginia - Main Campus is a great option for students interested in a degree in fine & studio arts. University of Virginia is a very large public university located in the midsize suburb of Charlottesville. A Best Colleges rank of #35 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means University of Virginia is a great university overall.
There were roughly 75 fine & studio arts students who graduated with this degree at University of Virginia in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the fine arts program state that they receive average early career wages of $23,372.
It is hard to beat Virginia Tech if you wish to pursue a degree in fine & studio arts. Virginia Tech is a very large public school located in the small city of Blacksburg. A Best Colleges rank of #58 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Virginia Tech is a great school overall.
There were about 59 fine & studio arts students who graduated with this degree at Virginia Tech in the most recent data year. Those fine & studio arts students who get their degree from Virginia Tech earn $10,589 more than the typical fine arts student.
Virginia Commonwealth University is a wonderful choice for students pursuing a degree in fine & studio arts. VCU is a very large public university located in the medium-sized city of Richmond. This university ranks 8th out of 57 colleges for overall quality in the state of Virginia.
There were roughly 80 fine & studio arts students who graduated with this degree at VCU in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the fine arts program state that they receive average early career income of $21,351.
William & Mary is a medium-sized public school located in the small suburb of Williamsburg. A Best Colleges rank of #103 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means William & Mary is a great school overall.
There were roughly 19 fine & studio arts students who graduated with this degree at William & Mary in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the fine & studio arts program at William & Mary get $3,414 more than the standard college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
Northern Virginia Community College is a fairly large public college located in the large suburb of Annandale. This college ranks 9th out of 57 schools for overall quality in the state of Virginia.
There were roughly 88 fine & studio arts students who graduated with this degree at Northern Virginia Community College in the most recent data year.
Old Dominion is a very large public university located in the medium-sized city of Norfolk. This university ranks 16th out of 57 colleges for overall quality in the state of Virginia.
There were roughly 56 fine & studio arts students who graduated with this degree at Old Dominion in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the fine arts program state that they receive average early career income of $27,535.
Located in the town of Radford, Radford is a public university with a moderately-sized student population. This university ranks 20th out of 57 schools for overall quality in the state of Virginia.
There were approximately 46 fine & studio arts students who graduated with this degree at Radford in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the fine arts program earn around $23,308 for their early career.
Located in the medium-sized suburb of Fredericksburg, UMW is a public university with a small student population. This university ranks 19th out of 57 colleges for overall quality in the state of Virginia.
There were about 29 fine & studio arts students who graduated with this degree at UMW in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the fine arts program state that they receive average early career income of $24,013.
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 & Studio Arts rankings. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for fine & studio arts schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.
