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2025 Best General Visual & Performing Arts Schools in California

9 Colleges in California
1,286 Visual Arts Degrees Awarded
$27,435 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on majoring in general visual & performing arts, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #116 in the country in terms of popularity. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.

College Factual reviewed 9 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of general visual & performing arts. Combined, these schools handed out 1,286 degrees in general visual & performing arts to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great General Visual & Performing Arts School

Best General Visual & Performing Arts Schools in California The visual arts program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for General Visual & Performing Arts rankings. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for general visual & performing 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.

General Visual & Performing Arts Rankings by Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Visual Arts
Bachelor's Degrees in Visual Arts
Master's Degrees in Visual Arts
Doctor's Degrees in Visual Arts

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 Schools in California. 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.

More information on how we come up with our rankings can be found here: College Factual's Data Methodology.

Best Schools for General Visual & Performing Arts in California

Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the visual arts degree levels they offer.

Top California Schools in Visual Arts

1
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
8th Most Popular In CA
56 Visual Arts Degrees Awarded

It is hard to beat University of Southern California if you want to pursue a degree in general visual & performing arts. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #13 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means USC is a great university overall.

There were about 56 general visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in general visual & performing arts from University of Southern California

2
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In CA
83 Visual Arts Degrees Awarded

Every student who is interested in general visual & performing arts needs to check out University of California - San Diego. Located in the city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #49 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UCSD is a great university overall.

There were about 83 general visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at UCSD in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in general visual & performing arts from University of California - San Diego

3
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
90 Visual Arts Degrees Awarded
42.2% Growth in Graduates

It is difficult to beat Otis College of Art and Design if you wish to pursue a degree in general visual & performing arts. Otis College of Art and Design is a small private not-for-profit college located in the city of Los Angeles.

There were approximately 90 general visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at Otis College of Art and Design in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the visual arts program state that they receive average early career wages of $21,558.

More information about a degree in general visual & performing arts from Otis College of Art and Design

4
Academy of Art University crest
Academy of Art University
San Francisco, CA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
87 Visual Arts Degrees Awarded
27.6% Growth in Graduates

It's difficult to beat Academy of Art University if you wish to pursue a degree in general visual & performing arts. Academy of Art University is a moderately-sized private for-profit university located in the large city of San Francisco. This university ranks 47th out of 161 schools for overall quality in the state of California.

There were approximately 87 general visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at Academy of Art University in the most recent data year. Soon after graduating, visual arts degree recipients generally earn an average of $28,494 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a degree in general visual & performing arts from Academy of Art University

5
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
9th Most Popular In CA
38 Visual Arts Degrees Awarded

Located in the suburb of Azusa, Azusa Pacific is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #143 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Azusa Pacific is a great university overall.

There were roughly 38 general visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at Azusa Pacific in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in general visual & performing arts from Azusa Pacific University

6
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
76 Visual Arts Degrees Awarded
22.4% Growth in Graduates

Located in the large suburb of San Marcos, CSUSM is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 65th out of 161 schools for overall quality in the state of California.

There were roughly 76 general visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at CSUSM in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the visual arts program make around $27,741 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a degree in general visual & performing arts from California State University - San Marcos

7
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
14th Most Popular In CA

Located in the rural area of Camarillo, CSUCI is a public university with a moderately-sized student population. This university ranks 95th out of 161 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.

There were roughly 10 general visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at CSUCI in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in general visual & performing arts from California State University - Channel Islands

8
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
$22,247 Median Starting Salary

Located in the large city of Los Angeles, Cal State LA is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 87th out of 161 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.

There were approximately 2 general visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at Cal State LA in the most recent year we have data available. After graduating, visual arts degree recipients typically earn about $22,247 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a degree in general visual & performing arts from California State University - Los Angeles

9
Gnomon crest
Gnomon
Hollywood, CA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
12th Most Popular In CA

Gnomon is a fairly small private for-profit school located in the city of Hollywood.

There were approximately 29 general visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at Gnomon in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in general visual & performing arts from Gnomon

Best General Visual & Performing Arts Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best General Visual & Performing Arts Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Washington 300 13
Oregon 266 66
Nevada 192 20

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
Visual & Performing Arts 1,002
Digital Arts 284

View All Visual Arts Concentrations >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Fine & Studio Arts 6,800
Design & Applied Arts 4,768
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 4,479
Music 3,501
Drama & Theater Arts 2,809
Dance 498
Arts & Media Management 335
Other Visual Art 45

View All Visual Arts Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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