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2025 Best Visual & Performing Arts Master's Degree Schools in New York

25 Colleges in New York
3,132 Master's Degrees
$33,302 Avg Early-Career Salary
Visual & Performing Arts is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #10 most popular master's degree program in the country. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 25 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Visual & Performing Arts Master's Degree Schools in New York ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 3,132 master's degrees in visual & performing arts during the 2022-2023 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

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

Best Visual & Performing Arts Master's Degree Schools in New York 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:

Overall Quality Is a Must

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 consider 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 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 colleges for visual & performing arts students working on their master'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

When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Visual & Performing Arts Master's Degree Schools in New York list to help you make the college decision.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Visual & Performing Arts in New York

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in visual & performing arts.

10 Top New York Schools for a Master's in Visual & Performing Arts

1
NYU crest
New York University
New York, NY
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
652 Annual Graduates

New York University is one of the best schools in the country for getting a master's degree in visual & performing arts. NYU 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 New York University

2
Juilliard crest
The Juilliard School
New York, NY
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
125 Annual Graduates

Any student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in visual & performing arts needs to take a look at The Juilliard School. Located in the large 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

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
84 Annual Graduates

University of Rochester is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a master's degree in visual & performing arts. University of Rochester is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Rochester.More information about a master’s in visual & performing arts from University of Rochester

4
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
236 Annual Graduates

It is difficult to beat Pratt Institute - Main if you want to pursue a master's degree in visual & performing arts. Pratt Institute is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Brooklyn.More information about a master’s in visual & performing arts from Pratt Institute - Main

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
221 Annual Graduates

Columbia 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 Columbia University in the City of New York

6
New School University crest
The New School
New York, NY
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
367 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of New York, New School University is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a master’s in visual & performing arts from The New School

7
Syracuse crest
Syracuse University
Syracuse, NY
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
71 Annual Graduates

Located in the medium-sized city of Syracuse, Syracuse is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in visual & performing arts from Syracuse University

8
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
233 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of New York, Manhattan School of Music is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.More information about a master’s in visual & performing arts from Manhattan School of Music

9
Ithaca crest
Ithaca College
Ithaca, NY
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
12 Annual Graduates

Located in the small suburb of Ithaca, Ithaca is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.More information about a master’s in visual & performing arts from Ithaca College

10
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
36 Annual Graduates

Located in the suburb of Rochester, RIT is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in visual & performing arts from Rochester Institute of Technology

Best Visual & Performing Arts Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region

Explore all the Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools in the Middle Atlantic Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Pennsylvania 34 636
New Jersey 32 150
Maryland 32 434
District of Columbia 32 160
Delaware 24 33

View All Rankings >

Visual & Performing Arts Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Music 972
Fine & Studio Arts 657
Design & Applied Arts 373
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 327
Drama & Theater Arts 314
Other Visual Art 245
Arts & Media Management 176
Dance 41
General Visual & Performing Arts 27

Notes and References

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