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2025 Best General Visual & Performing Arts Master's Degree Schools

5 Colleges in the United States
327 Master's Degrees
$59,573 Avg Early-Career Salary
General Visual & Performing Arts is about average in terms of popularity for master's degrees programs. That is, it ranks #172 out of the 343 majors across the country that we analyze each year. So, you may have to do some digging around to find quality schools that offer the degree program. This list can help with that.

For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 5 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for general visual & performing arts students pursuing a master's degree. Combined, these schools handed out 327 master's degrees in general visual & performing arts to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

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

Best General Visual & Performing Arts Master's Degree Schools The visual arts master'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. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:

Overall Quality Is a Must

The overall quality of a master's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we consider a college's overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking which itself looks at a host of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Average Early-Career Salaries

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their master's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your master's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.

Other Factors We Consider

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

Our complete 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 master'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 Master's Degree Schools.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study General Visual & Performing Arts in the United States

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in general visual & performing arts.

Top Schools for a Master's in Visual Arts

1
18 Annual Graduates

The University of Texas at Dallas is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in general visual & performing arts. UT Dallas is a very large public university located in the city of Richardson.More information about a master’s in general visual & performing arts from The University of Texas at Dallas

2
Academy of Art University crest
Academy of Art University
San Francisco, CA
29 Annual Graduates

Academy of Art University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a master's degree in general visual & performing arts. Academy of Art University is a medium-sized private for-profit university located in the city of San Francisco.More information about a master’s in general visual & performing arts from Academy of Art University

3

Any student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in general visual & performing arts has to check out University of Central Florida. Located in the large suburb of Orlando, UCF is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Master's recipients from the general visual & performing arts degree program at University of Central Florida earn $3,079 more than the average college graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a master’s in general visual & performing arts from University of Central Florida

4

Every student who is interested in a master's degree in general visual & performing arts needs to take a look at Columbus College of Art and Design. CCAD is a fairly small private not-for-profit college located in the large city of Columbus.

Soon after graduation, visual arts master's recipients typically make an average of $27,543 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a master’s in general visual & performing arts from Columbus College of Art and Design

5

Located in the large city of Los Angeles, Cal State LA is a public university with a very large student population.

Soon after graduating, visual arts master's recipients typically make around $22,247 in their early careers.

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

General Visual & Performing Arts by Region

View the Best General Visual & Performing Arts Master's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

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

Visual Arts Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Digital Arts 208
Visual & Performing Arts 119

Related Major Annual Graduates
Music 6,247
Fine & Studio Arts 3,058
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 1,871
Drama & Theater Arts 1,756
Design & Applied Arts 1,688
Arts & Media Management 1,178
Other Visual Art 319
Dance 244

Notes and References

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