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 4 schools in the Far Western US Region to determine which ones were the best for doctor's degree seekers in the field of visual & performing arts. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 236 doctor's degrees in visual & performing arts during the 2022-2023 academic year.
Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology
The visual & performing arts doctor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality visual & performing 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 doctor's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges for a Doctor's Degree ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.
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
In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:
- Major Focus - How much a school focuses on visual & performing arts students vs. other majors.
- Major Demand - How many other visual & performing arts students want to attend this school to pursue a doctor's degree.
- Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
- Student Debt - How easy is it for visual & performing arts to pay back their student loans after receiving their doctor's degree.
- Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized visual & performing arts related body.
Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for visual & performing arts students working on their doctor's degree.
One Size Does Not Fit All
The visual & performing 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 Visual & Performing Arts Doctor's Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region.