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 23 schools in the Southeast 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 1,780 bachelor's degrees in general visual & performing arts during the 2022-2023 academic year.
What's on this page: * Our Methodology
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 good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we include 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.
- Major Focus - How much a school focuses on general visual & performing arts students vs. other majors.
- Major Demand - How many other general visual & performing arts students want to attend this school to pursue a bachelor's degree.
- Educational Resources - How many resources are allocated to students. These resources may include educational expenditures per student, number of students per instructor, and graduation rate among other things.
- Student Debt - How easy is it for general visual & performing arts to pay back their student loans after receiving their bachelor's degree.
- Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized general visual & performing arts related body.
Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for general visual & performing arts students working on their bachelor's degree.
One Size Does Not Fit All
When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best General Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list to help you make the college decision.
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.
The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in general visual & performing arts.
10 Top Southeast Region Schools for a Bachelor's in Visual Arts
University of Florida is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in general visual & performing arts. UF is a fairly large public university located in the midsize city of Gainesville.
Those general visual & performing arts students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Florida earn $4,138 more than the average visual arts graduate.
More information about a bachelor’s in general visual & performing arts from University of Florida
George Mason University is one of the best schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in general visual & performing arts. Located in the large suburb of Fairfax, GMU is a public university with a very large student population.
Bachelor's recipients from the general visual & performing arts degree program at George Mason University earn $5,450 above the average college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.
More information about a bachelor’s in general visual & performing arts from George Mason University
University of Central Florida is one of the best schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in general visual & performing arts. Located in the large suburb of Orlando, UCF is a public university with a fairly large student population.
Bachelor's recipients from the general visual & performing arts program at University of Central Florida make $2,387 above the standard college grad in this field shortly after graduation.
More information about a bachelor’s in general visual & performing arts from University of Central Florida
University of Kentucky is a wonderful decision for individuals pursuing a bachelor's degree in general visual & performing arts. Located in the large city of Lexington, UK is a public university with a fairly large student population.
Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the visual arts program earn about $26,343 in the first couple years of their career.
More information about a bachelor’s in general visual & performing arts from University of Kentucky
Longwood is a small public university located in the distant town of Farmville.
Bachelor's recipients from the general visual & performing arts program at Longwood University make $8,321 above the typical college graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.
More information about a bachelor’s in general visual & performing arts from Longwood University
Located in the midsize city of Newport News, CNU is a public university with a small student population.
After graduating, visual arts bachelor's recipients usually make an average of $23,656 at the beginning of their careers.
More information about a bachelor’s in general visual & performing arts from Christopher Newport University
Stetson is a small private not-for-profit university located in the city of DeLand.
Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the visual arts program state that they receive average early career income of $26,913.
More information about a bachelor’s in general visual & performing arts from Stetson University
Located in the remote town of Cleveland, Delta State University is a public university with a small student population.
After graduating, visual arts bachelor's recipients usually earn an average of $24,839 in the first five years of their career.
More information about a bachelor’s in general visual & performing arts from Delta State University
Mississippi State is a fairly large public university located in the town of Mississippi State.
Soon after graduation, visual arts bachelor's recipients typically earn an average of $24,752 in the first five years of their career.
More information about a bachelor’s in general visual & performing arts from Mississippi State University
UF Online is a moderately-sized public university located in the midsize city of Gainesville.
Bachelor's recipients from the general visual & performing arts program at University of Florida-Online make $4,138 above the typical college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
More information about a bachelor’s in general visual & performing arts from University of Florida-Online
