by our College Data Analytics TeamFor its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 208 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for visual & performing arts students pursuing a master's degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 16,688 master's degrees in visual & performing arts during the <nil> academic year.
What's on this page: * Our Methodology
The visual & performing arts master's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:
The overall quality of a master's degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we include a college's overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree 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.
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.
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 visual & performing arts students working on their master's degree.
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 Master's Degree Schools.
The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in visual & performing arts. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
Every student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in visual & performing arts needs to take a look at New York University. NYU is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of New York.More information about a master’s in visual & performing arts from New York University
Every student who is interested in a master's degree in visual & performing arts has to take a look at University of Southern California. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in visual & performing arts from University of Southern California
Any student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in visual & performing arts needs to look into Carnegie Mellon University. Carnegie Mellon is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Pittsburgh.More information about a master’s in visual & performing arts from Carnegie Mellon University
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is a wonderful decision for students pursuing a master's degree in visual & performing arts. Located in the medium-sized city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in visual & performing arts from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in visual & performing arts from Northwestern University
Located in the city of Orange, Chapman is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population.More information about a master’s in visual & performing arts from Chapman University
MICA is a small private not-for-profit college located in the large city of Baltimore.More information about a master’s in visual & performing arts from Maryland Institute College of Art
Located in the large city of Boston, Boston U is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in visual & performing arts from Boston University
Located in the city of New York, Juilliard is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.More information about a master’s in visual & performing arts from The Juilliard School
WUSTL is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Saint Louis.More information about a master’s in visual & performing arts from Washington University in St Louis
Michigan State is a very large public university located in the city of East Lansing.More information about a master’s in visual & performing arts from Michigan State University
Located in the midsize city of Providence, RISD is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.More information about a master’s in visual & performing arts from Rhode Island School of Design
Located in the large city of Baltimore, Johns Hopkins is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in visual & performing arts from Johns Hopkins University
University of Rochester is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Rochester.More information about a master’s in visual & performing arts from University of Rochester
Pratt Institute is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Brooklyn.More information about a master’s in visual & performing arts from Pratt Institute - Main
UPenn is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Philadelphia.More information about a master’s in visual & performing arts from University of Pennsylvania
Massachusetts College of Art and Design is a small public college located in the large city of Boston.More information about a master’s in visual & performing arts from Massachusetts College of Art and Design
Located in the large city of Boston, Northeastern is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in visual & performing arts from Northeastern University
Emerson is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit college located in the city of Boston.More information about a master’s in visual & performing arts from Emerson College
TCU is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Fort Worth.More information about a master’s in visual & performing arts from Texas Christian University
Located in the large suburb of Medford, Tufts is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in visual & performing arts from Tufts University
Located in the small city of Bloomington, IU Bloomington is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in visual & performing arts from Indiana University - Bloomington
Located in the city of San Francisco, SFCM is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.More information about a master’s in visual & performing arts from San Francisco Conservatory of Music
Brown is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Providence.More information about a master’s in visual & performing arts from Brown University
Columbia is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of New York.More information about a master’s in visual & performing arts from Columbia University in the City of New York
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Visual & Performing Arts Master's Degree Schools award.
View the Best Visual & Performing Arts Master's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.
| 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 |
| General Visual & Performing Arts | 327 |
| Other Visual Art | 319 |
| Dance | 244 |
