Visual & Performing Arts is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #9 most popular associate degree program in the country. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.
College Factual reviewed 17 schools in the Southwest Region to determine which ones were the best for associate degree seekers in the field of visual & performing arts. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 2,318 associate degrees in visual & performing arts during the 2022-2023 academic year.
Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology
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. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.
A Great Overall School
The overall quality of a associate 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 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
Average early-career salary of those graduating with their associate degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. That is, everyone wants their associate degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.
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
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 Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list to help you make the college decision.