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College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2025 Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in New York

54 Colleges in New York
10,702 Bachelor's Degrees
$24,221 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 New York ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 10,702 bachelor's degrees in visual & performing arts during the 2022-2023 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

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

Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in New York The visual & performing arts bachelor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.

A Great Overall School

The overall quality of a bachelor's degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we consider a school's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a combination of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

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

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

Our complete 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.

More Ways to Rank Visual & Performing Arts Schools

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

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Visual & Performing Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in New York ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

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.

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Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Visual & Performing Arts in New York

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.

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

1
NYU crest
New York University
New York, NY
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1,200 Annual Graduates

Every student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in visual & performing arts has to check out New York University. NYU is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of New York.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from New York University

2
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
711 Annual Graduates

Fashion Institute of Technology is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in visual & performing arts. FIT SUNY is a moderately-sized public school located in the city of New York.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from Fashion Institute of Technology

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
53 Annual Graduates

Cornell University is a wonderful decision for students interested in a bachelor's degree in visual & performing arts. Located in the small city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from Cornell University

4
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
536 Annual Graduates

Any student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in visual & performing arts needs to check out Pratt Institute - Main. Pratt Institute is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Brooklyn.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from Pratt Institute - Main

5
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
250 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of New York, American Musical and Dramatic Academy is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from American Musical and Dramatic Academy

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6
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
274 Annual Graduates

Located in the large suburb of Rochester, RIT is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from Rochester Institute of Technology

7
Syracuse crest
Syracuse University
Syracuse, NY
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
310 Annual Graduates

Located in the midsize city of Syracuse, Syracuse is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from Syracuse University

8
New School University crest
The New School
New York, NY
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
972 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of New York, New School University is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.More information about a bachelor’s in visual & performing arts from The New School

9
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
137 Annual Graduates

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

10
Ithaca crest
Ithaca College
Ithaca, NY
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
239 Annual Graduates

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

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Honorable Mentions

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 New York award.

Rank College Location
11 University of Rochester Rochester, NY
12 The Juilliard School New York, NY
13 School of Visual Arts New York, NY
14 Manhattan School of Music New York, NY
15 Barnard College New York, NY
16 University at Buffalo Buffalo, NY
17 Purchase College Purchase, NY
18 Marymount Manhattan College New York, NY

Best Visual & Performing Arts Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region

Explore all the Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools in the Middle Atlantic Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Pennsylvania 37 4,279
New Jersey 34 1,892
Maryland 33 1,285
Delaware 30 100
District of Columbia 28 381
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Visual & Performing Arts Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Design & Applied Arts 2,669
Fine & Studio Arts 1,974
Drama & Theater Arts 1,906
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 1,765
Music 1,143
Arts & Media Management 470
Dance 361
General Visual & Performing Arts 213
Other Visual Art 201
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Notes and References

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Popular Reports

College Rankings
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Degree Guides by Major
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