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2025 Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in the New England Region

54 Colleges in the New England Region
7,425 Bachelor's Degrees
$27,243 Avg Early-Career Salary
a bachelor's degree in visual & performing arts is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #9 out of 38 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 54 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in the New England Region ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 7,425 bachelor's degrees in visual & performing arts to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

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

Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in the New England Region Your choice of visual & performing arts for getting your bachelor's 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

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. 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

One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of bachelor's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their bachelor's 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:

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 bachelor's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Visual & Performing Arts Rankings Other Ranking Categories

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 Bachelor's Degree Schools in the New England Region.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Visual & Performing Arts in the New England Region

Learn about the top ranked colleges and universities for visual & performing arts students seeking a a bachelor's degree. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

10 Top New England Region Schools for a Bachelor's in Visual & Performing Arts

1
Brown crest
Brown University
Providence, RI
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
102 Annual Graduates

Brown University is one of the best schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in visual & performing arts. Located in the midsize city of Providence, Brown is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from Brown University

2
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
278 Annual Graduates

Any student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in visual & performing arts has to take a look at Rhode Island School of Design. RISD is a small private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Providence.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from Rhode Island School of Design

3
Emerson crest
Emerson College
Boston, MA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
402 Annual Graduates

Every student pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in visual & performing arts has to look into Emerson College. Located in the city of Boston, Emerson is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from Emerson College

4
Boston U crest
Boston University
Boston, MA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
172 Annual Graduates

Boston University is a great option for individuals pursuing a bachelor's degree in visual & performing arts. Boston U is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Boston.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from Boston University

5
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
302 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Boston, Massachusetts College of Art and Design is a public college with a small student population.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from Massachusetts College of Art and Design

6
Tufts crest
Tufts University
Medford, MA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
154 Annual Graduates

Tufts is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Medford.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from Tufts University

7
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
105 Annual Graduates

Northeastern is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Boston.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from Northeastern University

8
Dartmouth crest
Dartmouth College
Hanover, NH
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
63 Annual Graduates

Dartmouth is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit college located in the remote town of Hanover.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from Dartmouth College

9
Williams crest
Williams College
Williamstown, MA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
61 Annual Graduates

Located in the fringe town of Williamstown, Williams is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from Williams College

10
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
884 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Boston, Berklee College of Music is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from Berklee College of Music

Additional Noteworthy Schools

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 Bachelor's Degree Schools in the New England Region award.

Rank College Location
11 Wentworth Institute of Technology Boston, MA
12 The New England Conservatory of Music Boston, MA
13 Endicott College Beverly, MA
14 University of Massachusetts Amherst Amherst, MA
15 University of Connecticut Storrs, CT
16 Connecticut College New London, CT
17 University of Hartford West Hartford, CT
18 Mount Holyoke College South Hadley, MA

Best Visual & Performing Arts Colleges by State

Explore the best visual & performing arts schools for a specific state in the New England Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Massachusetts 33 3,985
New Hampshire 32 790
Vermont 32 448
Maine 32 229
Rhode Island 32 570
Connecticut 31 947

View All Rankings >

Visual & Performing Arts Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Design & Applied Arts 1,764
Fine & Studio Arts 1,575
Music 1,497
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 1,142
Drama & Theater Arts 779
Arts & Media Management 230
General Visual & Performing Arts 226
Dance 160
Other Visual Art 31
Crafts, Folk Art & Artisanry 15

Notes and References

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