If you plan on getting your associate degree in
general visual & performing arts, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #70 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.
In 2025, College Factual analyzed 13 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best General Visual & Performing Arts Associate Degree Schools ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,740 associate degrees in general visual & performing arts during the <nil> academic year.
What's on this page: * Our Methodology
Your choice of general visual & performing arts for getting your associate degree school matters. 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
A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To take this into account we consider a college's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a combination of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.
Early-Career Earnings
Average early-career salary of those graduating with their associate degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. That is, everyone wants their associate 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 - The number of general visual & performing arts students who choose to seek a associate degree at the school.
- 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 associate 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 associate degree.
One Size Does Not Fit All
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best General Visual & Performing Arts Associate Degree Schools ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
