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2025 Best Visual & Performing Arts Doctor's Degree Schools

41 Colleges in the United States
1,775 Doctor's Degrees
$39,930 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on getting your doctor's degree in visual & performing arts, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #14 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.

College Factual reviewed 41 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for doctor's degree seekers in the field of visual & performing arts. Combined, these schools handed out 1,775 doctor's degrees in visual & performing arts to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

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

Best Visual & Performing Arts Doctor's Degree Schools Your choice of visual & performing arts for getting your doctor's degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. 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 account for this we consider a college's overall Best Colleges for a Doctor's Degree ranking which itself looks at a combination of different 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 doctorate graduates during the early years of their career. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their doctor's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

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 colleges for visual & performing arts students working on their doctor's degree.

More Ways to Rank Visual & Performing Arts Schools

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

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Visual & Performing Arts Doctor's Degree Schools ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

Best Schools for Doctorate Students to Study Visual & Performing Arts in the United States

Explore the top ranked colleges and universities for visual & performing arts students seeking a a doctor's degree.

10 Top Schools for a Doctorate in Visual & Performing Arts

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
40 Annual Graduates

Northwestern University is a wonderful option for students interested in a doctor's degree in visual & performing arts. Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a doctorate in visual & performing arts from Northwestern University

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
43 Annual Graduates

Any student who is interested in a doctor's degree in visual & performing arts has to check out University of Southern California. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a doctorate in visual & performing arts from University of Southern California

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
30 Annual Graduates

Any student who is interested in a doctor's degree in visual & performing arts needs to look into University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. Located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a doctorate in visual & performing arts from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
38 Annual Graduates

Any student who is interested in a doctor's degree in visual & performing arts needs to take a look at University of Rochester. University of Rochester is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the midsize city of Rochester.More information about a doctorate in visual & performing arts from University of Rochester

5
Michigan State crest
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
51 Annual Graduates

Michigan State is a very large public university located in the city of East Lansing.More information about a doctorate in visual & performing arts from Michigan State University

6
Boston U crest
Boston University
Boston, MA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
28 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Boston, Boston U is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a doctorate in visual & performing arts from Boston University

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
43 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Bloomington, IU Bloomington is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a doctorate in visual & performing arts from Indiana University - Bloomington

8
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
16 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Baltimore, Johns Hopkins is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a doctorate in visual & performing arts from Johns Hopkins University

9
U Miami crest
University of Miami
Coral Gables, FL
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
35 Annual Graduates

Located in the large suburb of Coral Gables, U Miami is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a doctorate in visual & performing arts from University of Miami

10
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
26 Annual Graduates

UCLA is a very large public university located in the large city of Los Angeles.More information about a doctorate in visual & performing arts from University of California - Los Angeles

Visual & Performing Arts by Region

View the Best Visual & Performing Arts Doctor'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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Visual & Performing Arts Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Music 1,357
Fine & Studio Arts 188
Drama & Theater Arts 89
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 57
General Visual & Performing Arts 28
Other Visual Art 21
Design & Applied Arts 20
Dance 9
Arts & Media Management 6

Notes and References

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