by our College Data Analytics TeamFor its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 50 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for visual & performing arts students pursuing a bachelor's degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 13,433 bachelor's 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 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 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.
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.
In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:
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 bachelor's degree.
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in California list, to help you choose the best school for you.
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.
Explore 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.
It is difficult to beat University of Southern California if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in visual & performing arts. USC is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Los Angeles.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from University of Southern California
It is difficult to beat Chapman University if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in visual & performing arts. Chapman is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the city of Orange.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from Chapman University
FIDM/Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising - Los Angeles is one of the best schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in visual & performing arts. FIDM Los Angeles is a small private for-profit school located in the large city of Los Angeles.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from FIDM/Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising - Los Angeles
Every student pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in visual & performing arts has to check out University of California - Los Angeles. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from University of California - Los Angeles
Located in the suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from University of California - Santa Barbara
Located in the midsize city of Pasadena, Art Center College of Design is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from Art Center College of Design
UC Berkeley is a fairly large public university located in the midsize city of Berkeley.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from University of California - Berkeley
SFSU is a very large public university located in the large city of San Francisco.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from San Francisco State University
Loyola Marymount is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Los Angeles.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from Loyola Marymount University
Located in the suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from University of California - Davis
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 California award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | University of California - Riverside | Riverside, CA |
| 12 | University of California - Irvine | Irvine, CA |
| 13 | San Francisco Conservatory of Music | San Francisco, CA |
| 14 | California State University - Long Beach | Long Beach, CA |
| 15 | University of California - Santa Cruz | Santa Cruz, CA |
| 16 | University of California - San Diego | La Jolla, CA |
Explore all the Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.
| State | Colleges | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|---|
| Washington | 34 | 1,357 |
| Hawaii | 30 | 145 |
| Oregon | 30 | 1,262 |
| Nevada | 30 | 383 |
| Alaska | 29 | 57 |
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Fine & Studio Arts | 3,997 |
| Film, Video & Photographic Arts | 2,722 |
| Design & Applied Arts | 2,456 |
| Music | 1,666 |
| Drama & Theater Arts | 1,591 |
| General Visual & Performing Arts | 416 |
| Dance | 300 |
| Arts & Media Management | 257 |
| Other Visual Art | 28 |
