51
Colleges in California
24,521
Visual & Performing Arts Degrees Awarded
$27,860
Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on majoring in
visual & performing arts, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #10 in the country in terms of popularity. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.
For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 51 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for visual & performing arts students pursuing a degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 24,521 degrees in visual & performing arts annually.
What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings
The visual & performing arts program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Visual & Performing Arts rankings. For our Best Overall Visual & Performing Arts School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.
In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.
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 Schools in California.
If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.
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.
If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.
Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the visual & performing arts degree levels they offer. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
FIDM/Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising - Los Angeles is a good option for students interested in a degree in visual & performing arts. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, FIDM Los Angeles is a private for-profit school with a small student population.
There were about 298 visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at FIDM Los Angeles in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the visual & performing arts program earn about $24,724 in their early career salary.
More information about a degree in visual & performing arts from FIDM/Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising - Los Angeles
University of Southern California is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in visual & performing arts. Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #13 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means USC is a great university overall.
There were roughly 1089 visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the visual & performing arts program state that they receive average early career wages of $29,335.
More information about a degree in visual & performing arts from University of Southern California
Chapman University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in visual & performing arts. Located in the city of Orange, Chapman is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population. This university ranks 24th out of 161 schools for overall quality in the state of California.
There were approximately 548 visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at Chapman in the most recent year we have data available. Those visual & performing arts students who get their degree from Chapman University earn $2,962 more than the average visual & performing arts grad.
More information about a degree in visual & performing arts from Chapman University
University of California - Los Angeles is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in visual & performing arts. UCLA is a very large public university located in the large city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #28 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UCLA is a great university overall.
There were roughly 569 visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at UCLA in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduating, visual & performing arts degree recipients generally earn about $29,037 in the first five years of their career.
More information about a degree in visual & performing arts from University of California - Los Angeles
Located in the city of Los Angeles, American Academy of Dramatic Arts - Los Angeles is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
There were approximately 106 visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at American Academy of Dramatic Arts - Los Angeles in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the visual & performing arts program report average early career earnings of $12,456.
More information about a degree in visual & performing arts from American Academy of Dramatic Arts - Los Angeles
UCSB is a very large public university located in the midsize suburb of Santa Barbara. A Best Colleges rank of #47 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UCSB is a great university overall.
There were about 397 visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at UCSB in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the visual & performing arts program report average early career earnings of $26,687.
More information about a degree in visual & performing arts from University of California - Santa Barbara
Art Center College of Design is a small private not-for-profit college located in the medium-sized city of Pasadena.
There were about 358 visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at Art Center College of Design in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the visual & performing arts major at Art Center College of Design earn $13,503 more than the standard college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.
More information about a degree in visual & performing arts from Art Center College of Design
Located in the city of San Francisco, SFCM is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
There were approximately 134 visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at SFCM in the most recent year we have data available. Visual & Performing Arts degree recipients from San Francisco Conservatory of Music get an earnings boost of approximately $7,066 over the average income of visual & performing arts graduates.
More information about a degree in visual & performing arts from San Francisco Conservatory of Music
Located in the midsize city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #14 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UC Berkeley is a great university overall.
There were approximately 273 visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at UC Berkeley in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the visual & performing arts program report average early career earnings of $23,176.
More information about a degree in visual & performing arts from University of California - Berkeley
UC Davis is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Davis. A Best Colleges rank of #55 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UC Davis is a great university overall.
There were roughly 437 visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at UC Davis in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the visual & performing arts program earn about $27,270 for their early career.
More information about a degree in visual & performing arts from University of California - Davis
