College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2025 Best General Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

10 Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
286 Bachelor's Degrees
$25,339 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on getting your bachelor's degree in general visual & performing arts, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #94 in the country in terms of popularity. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 10 schools in the Great Lakes Region to determine which ones were the best for general visual & performing arts students pursuing a bachelor's degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 286 bachelor's degrees in general visual & performing arts during the 2022-2023 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great General Visual & Performing Arts School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best General Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region The visual arts bachelor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality visual arts program can vary widely even among the top schools. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.

A Great Overall School

The overall quality of a bachelor'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 consider a college's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a host of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

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

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

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for general visual & performing arts students working on their bachelor's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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

The visual 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 General Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region.

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 General Visual & Performing Arts in the Great Lakes Region

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in general visual & performing arts.

10 Top Great Lakes Region Schools for a Bachelor's in Visual Arts

1
Michigan State crest
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI
13 Annual Graduates

Michigan State University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in general visual & performing arts. Michigan State is a fairly large public university located in the city of East Lansing.More information about a bachelor’s in general visual & performing arts from Michigan State University

2
15 Annual Graduates

Ohio University - Athens Campus is one of the best schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in general visual & performing arts. Located in the distant town of Athens, OHIO Athens is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in general visual & performing arts from Ohio University - Athens Campus

3

Any student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in general visual & performing arts needs to take a look at University of Wisconsin - Whitewater. Located in the town of Whitewater, UW - Whitewater is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Those general visual & performing arts students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Wisconsin - Whitewater earn $2,888 more than the standard visual arts grad.

More information about a bachelor’s in general visual & performing arts from University of Wisconsin - Whitewater

4
Elmhurst crest
Elmhurst University
Elmhurst, IL
26 Annual Graduates

It is hard to beat Elmhurst University if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in general visual & performing arts. Located in the large suburb of Elmhurst, Elmhurst is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.More information about a bachelor’s in general visual & performing arts from Elmhurst University

5

Located in the fringe town of Bowling Green, BGSU is a public university with a large student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the visual arts program report average early career wages of $18,819.

More information about a bachelor’s in general visual & performing arts from Bowling Green State University - Main Campus

6
15 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Chicago, UIC is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in general visual & performing arts from University of Illinois at Chicago

7
21 Annual Graduates

Located in the town of Menomonie, UW - Stout is a public university with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a bachelor’s in general visual & performing arts from University of Wisconsin - Stout

8
Central Michigan crest
Central Michigan University
Mount Pleasant, MI
16 Annual Graduates

Located in the distant town of Mount Pleasant, Central Michigan is a public university with a large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in general visual & performing arts from Central Michigan University

9
15 Annual Graduates

UW - Parkside is a small public university located in the rural area of Kenosha.More information about a bachelor’s in general visual & performing arts from University of Wisconsin - Parkside

10

Located in the city of Fort Wayne, University of St. Francis Fort Wayne is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the general visual & performing arts major at University of Saint Francis - Fort Wayne get $2,346 more than the average college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a bachelor’s in general visual & performing arts from University of Saint Francis - Fort Wayne

Best General Visual & Performing Arts Colleges by State

Explore the best general visual & performing arts schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Michigan 261 2
Ohio 252 47
Illinois 241 49
Indiana 235 16
Wisconsin 213 76

View All Rankings >

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

Visual Arts Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Digital Arts 242
Visual & Performing Arts 44

Majors Similar to Visual Arts

Related Major Annual Graduates
Fine & Studio Arts 3,493
Design & Applied Arts 3,013
Music 2,245
Drama & Theater Arts 1,934
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 1,337
Dance 311
Arts & Media Management 296
Other Visual Art 74
Crafts, Folk Art & Artisanry 12

Notes and References

Popular Reports

College Rankings
Best by Location
Degree Guides by Major
Graduate Programs

Compare Your School Options