2025 Best Visual & Performing Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

If you plan on getting your associate degree in visual & performing arts, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #9 in the country in terms of popularity. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 16 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Visual & Performing Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 1,384 associate degrees in visual & performing arts to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Associate Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great Visual & Performing Arts School for Your Associate Degree

Your choice of visual & performing arts for getting your associate degree school matters. Important measures of a quality visual & performing arts program can vary widely even among the top schools. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

The overall quality of a associate degree school is important to ensure a good 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 ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Average Earnings

One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of associate graduates during the early years of their career. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their associate 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 - The number of visual & performing arts students who choose to seek a associate degree at the school.
• 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 associate 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 colleges for 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 Visual & Performing Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

Best Schools for Associate Students to Study Visual & Performing Arts in the Great Lakes Region

Learn about the top ranked colleges and universities for visual & performing arts students seeking a an associate degree.

10 Top Great Lakes Region Schools for an Associate in Visual & Performing Arts

1

Madison Area Technical College
Madison, WI

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

72 Annual Graduates

Madison Area Technical College is a great decision for students interested in an associate degree in visual & performing arts. Located in the large city of Madison, Madison College is a public college with a fairly large student population.More information about a associate in visual & performing arts from Madison Area Technical College

2

Gateway Technical College
Kenosha, WI

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

25 Annual Graduates

Gateway Technical College is one of the finest schools in the country for getting an associate degree in visual & performing arts. Located in the small city of Kenosha, Gateway Technical College is a public college with a large student population.More information about a associate in visual & performing arts from Gateway Technical College

3

Western Technical College
La Crosse, WI

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

30 Annual Graduates

Western Technical College is one of the best schools in the United States for getting an associate degree in visual & performing arts. Located in the small city of La Crosse, Western Technical College is a public college with a small student population.More information about a associate in visual & performing arts from Western Technical College

4

College of DuPage
Glen Ellyn, IL

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

46 Annual Graduates

College of DuPage is one of the best schools in the United States for getting an associate degree in visual & performing arts. COD is a very large public college located in the large suburb of Glen Ellyn.More information about a associate in visual & performing arts from College of DuPage

5

Milwaukee Area Technical College
Milwaukee, WI

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

45 Annual Graduates

MATC is a fairly large public college located in the city of Milwaukee.More information about a associate in visual & performing arts from Milwaukee Area Technical College

6

Ivy Tech Community College
Indianapolis, IN

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

136 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Indianapolis, Ivy Tech Community College is a public college with a very large student population.More information about a associate in visual & performing arts from Ivy Tech Community College

7

Sinclair Community College
Dayton, OH

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

77 Annual Graduates

Located in the medium-sized city of Dayton, Sinclair Community College is a public college with a large student population.More information about a associate in visual & performing arts from Sinclair Community College

8

Washtenaw Community College
Ann Arbor, MI

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

64 Annual Graduates

Located in the suburb of Ann Arbor, Washtenaw Community College is a public college with a fairly large student population.More information about a associate in visual & performing arts from Washtenaw Community College

9

Waukesha County Technical College
Pewaukee, WI

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

37 Annual Graduates

WCTC is a medium-sized public college located in the suburb of Pewaukee.More information about a associate in visual & performing arts from Waukesha County Technical College

10

Cuyahoga Community College District
Cleveland, OH

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

55 Annual Graduates

Cuyahoga Community College District is a fairly large public college located in the city of Cleveland.More information about a associate in visual & performing arts from Cuyahoga Community College District

Best Visual & Performing Arts Colleges by State

Explore the best visual & performing arts schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes Region .

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Michigan	38	468
Ohio	36	378
Indiana	35	137
Wisconsin	31	348
Illinois	30	263

View All Rankings >

Visual & Performing Arts Majors to Study

Major	Annual Graduates
Design & Applied Arts	896
Fine & Studio Arts	219
Music	107
Film, Video & Photographic Arts	95
General Visual & Performing Arts	33
Drama & Theater Arts	17
Arts & Media Management	16
Dance	1

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
• Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
• Credit for the banner image above goes to Bonnielou2013. More about our data sources and methodologies.