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2025 Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools in Rhode Island

5 Colleges in Rhode Island
745 Visual & Performing Arts Degrees Awarded
$27,860 Avg Early-Career Salary
Visual & Performing Arts is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #10 most popular degree program in the country. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.

For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 5 schools in Rhode Island to determine which ones were the best for visual & performing arts students pursuing a degree. Combined, these schools handed out 745 degrees in visual & performing arts to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Visual & Performing Arts School

Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools in Rhode Island Your choice of visual & performing arts school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for visual & performing arts schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Pick Your Visual & Performing Arts Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Visual & Performing Arts
Bachelor's Degrees in Visual & Performing Arts
Master's Degrees in Visual & Performing Arts
Doctor's Degrees in Visual & Performing Arts

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 Schools in Rhode Island list to help you make the college decision. More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.

To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Read more about College Factual's methodology.

Best Schools for Visual & Performing Arts in Rhode Island

The schools below may not offer all types of visual & performing arts degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.

Top Rhode Island Schools in Visual & Performing Arts

1
Brown crest
Brown University
Providence, RI
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
115 Visual & Performing Arts Degrees Awarded
18.3% Growth in Graduates

Any student who is interested in visual & performing arts needs to take a look at Brown University. Located in the medium-sized city of Providence, Brown is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #26 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Brown is a great university overall.

There were approximately 115 visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at Brown in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the visual & performing arts program state that they receive average early career income of $23,180.

More information about a degree in visual & performing arts from Brown University

2
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
277 Visual & Performing Arts Degrees Awarded
13.4% Growth in Graduates

Every student who is interested in visual & performing arts needs to look into Rhode Island School of Design. RISD is a small private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Providence.

There were approximately 277 visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at RISD in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the visual & performing arts program state that they receive average early career earnings of $24,603.

More information about a degree in visual & performing arts from Rhode Island School of Design

3
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
60 Visual & Performing Arts Degrees Awarded
$26,818 Median Starting Salary

New England Institute of Technology is a wonderful option for students interested in a degree in visual & performing arts. New England Tech is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of East Greenwich. This school ranks 8th out of 9 schools for overall quality in the state of Rhode Island.

There were roughly 60 visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at New England Tech in the most recent data year. After graduating, visual & performing arts degree recipients usually make about $26,818 in their early careers.

More information about a degree in visual & performing arts from New England Institute of Technology

4
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
119 Visual & Performing Arts Degrees Awarded
7.6% Growth in Graduates

It's hard to beat University of Rhode Island if you wish to pursue a degree in visual & performing arts. Located in the large suburb of Kingston, URI is a public university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #241 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means URI is a great university overall.

There were approximately 119 visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at URI in the most recent data year. After graduating, visual & performing arts degree recipients usually earn an average of $24,834 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a degree in visual & performing arts from University of Rhode Island

5
RIC crest
Rhode Island College
Providence, RI
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
77 Visual & Performing Arts Degrees Awarded
$28,475 Median Starting Salary

Located in the large suburb of Providence, RIC is a public college with a medium-sized student population. This college ranks 6th out of 9 schools for overall quality in the state of Rhode Island.

There were about 77 visual & performing arts students who graduated with this degree at RIC in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the visual & performing arts program make around $28,475 for their early career.

More information about a degree in visual & performing arts from Rhode Island College

Best Visual & Performing Arts Colleges in the New England Region

Explore all the Best Visual & Performing Arts Colleges in the New England Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
New Hampshire 37 931
Maine 37 263
Massachusetts 37 5,118
Connecticut 35 1,514
Vermont 34 550

View All Rankings >

Visual & Performing Arts Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Fine & Studio Arts 269
Design & Applied Arts 179
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 139
Music 73
Drama & Theater Arts 69
Dance 13
General Visual & Performing Arts 3

View All Visual & Performing Arts Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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