Best Colleges for Fine & Studio Arts
50 Fine & Studio Arts programs ranked by real graduate earnings, debt, and completion — from the College Scorecard Field-of-Study data.
For Fine & Studio Arts, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (Michigan) ranks #1 by our outcome score, with median graduate earnings of $66,846. Rankings reflect earnings, debt, and completion — not reputation or cost — across 50 programs with published outcome data.
| # | School | Credential | Median earnings | Median debt | Completers | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI | Bachelor's Degree | $66,846 | $18,767 | 153 | 95.1 |
| 2 | CUNY Hunter College New York, NY | Bachelor's Degree | $56,160 | $10,300 | 90 | 94.4 |
| 3 | University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA | Bachelor's Degree | $72,428 | $19,750 | 69 | 93.5 |
| 4 | Dartmouth College Hanover, NH | Bachelor's Degree | $68,523 | $13,663 | 24 | 93.4 |
| 5 | University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA | Bachelor's Degree | $53,805 | $13,000 | 141 | 92.8 |
| 6 | Eastern Illinois University Charleston, IL | Master's Degree | $58,301 | $14,627 | 48 | 92.5 |
| 7 | Brown University Providence, RI | Bachelor's Degree | $60,985 | $17,300 | 51 | 92.4 |
| 8 | Binghamton University Vestal, NY | Bachelor's Degree | $60,299 | $17,750 | 54 | 91.9 |
| 9 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA | Bachelor's Degree | $59,721 | $17,886 | 54 | 91.6 |
| 10 | Williams College Williamstown, MA | Bachelor's Degree | $55,012 | $11,850 | 37 | 91 |
| 11 | University of Maryland-College Park College Park, MD | Bachelor's Degree | $55,713 | $19,417 | 92 | 90.2 |
| 12 | University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA | Bachelor's Degree | $51,699 | $12,464 | 94 | 89.7 |
| 13 | Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY | Bachelor's Degree | $63,418 | $18,985 | 24 | 89.6 |
| 14 | University of North Carolina Wilmington Wilmington, NC | Master's Degree | $99,698 | $20,500 | — | 89.3 |
| 15 | University of Virginia-Main Campus Charlottesville, VA | Bachelor's Degree | $54,579 | $19,500 | 72 | 88.7 |
| 16 | Rutgers University-New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ | Master's Degree | $66,086 | $20,450 | 16 | 87.1 |
| 17 | Scottsdale Community College Scottsdale, AZ | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | $49,440 | $8,000 | 258 | 86.8 |
| 18 | Illinois State University Normal, IL | Bachelor's Degree | $51,386 | $17,750 | 90 | 86.7 |
| 19 | Skidmore College Saratoga Springs, NY | Bachelor's Degree | $53,602 | $18,500 | 42 | 86.7 |
| 20 | Rio Salado College Tempe, AZ | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | $58,091 | — | 307 | 86.3 |
| 21 | Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA | Bachelor's Degree | $58,468 | $22,375 | 47 | 86.1 |
| 22 | Kenyon College Gambier, OH | Bachelor's Degree | $53,620 | $15,500 | 23 | 86.1 |
| 23 | James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA | Bachelor's Degree | $54,093 | $22,125 | 120 | 86.1 |
| 24 | CUNY Lehman College Bronx, NY | Bachelor's Degree | $50,334 | $10,065 | 48 | 85.8 |
| 25 | San Jose State University San Jose, CA | Bachelor's Degree | $56,424 | — | 197 | 85.6 |
| 26 | Connecticut College New London, CT | Bachelor's Degree | $61,321 | $21,500 | 22 | 85.3 |
| 27 | University of Georgia Athens, GA | Bachelor's Degree | $53,300 | $21,500 | 125 | 85.1 |
| 28 | Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN | Bachelor's Degree | $83,742 | — | 23 | 84.7 |
| 29 | University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | $66,761 | — | — | 84.2 |
| 30 | Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA | Bachelor's Degree | $53,726 | $21,281 | 33 | 83.7 |
| 31 | Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX | Bachelor's Degree | $62,394 | — | 27 | 83.6 |
| 32 | University of Washington-Bothell Campus Bothell, WA | Bachelor's Degree | $53,805 | $13,000 | 0 | 83.4 |
| 33 | University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus Pittsburgh, PA | Bachelor's Degree | $57,705 | $22,727 | 28 | 83.3 |
| 34 | West Chester University of Pennsylvania West Chester, PA | Bachelor's Degree | $57,470 | — | 46 | 83.3 |
| 35 | Fordham University Bronx, NY | Bachelor's Degree | $60,515 | $25,250 | 57 | 83.1 |
| 36 | Oklahoma State University-Main Campus Stillwater, OK | Bachelor's Degree | $52,405 | $21,111 | 46 | 82.9 |
| 37 | Wake Forest University Winston-Salem, NC | Bachelor's Degree | $61,144 | — | 24 | 82.8 |
| 38 | Towson University Towson, MD | Bachelor's Degree | $48,238 | $16,750 | 137 | 82.6 |
| 39 | Wellesley College Wellesley, MA | Bachelor's Degree | $63,391 | — | 19 | 82.5 |
| 40 | Marist College Poughkeepsie, NY | Bachelor's Degree | $55,296 | $23,437 | 37 | 82.5 |
| 41 | University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI | Bachelor's Degree | $48,684 | $16,750 | 72 | 82.4 |
| 42 | University of Missouri-Columbia Columbia, MO | Bachelor's Degree | $51,254 | $19,500 | 30 | 81.9 |
| 43 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA | Bachelor's Degree | $58,652 | $26,000 | 59 | 81.7 |
| 44 | University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA | Master's Degree | $62,398 | — | 16 | 81.6 |
| 45 | University of California-San Diego La Jolla, CA | Bachelor's Degree | $48,506 | $14,833 | 42 | 81.6 |
| 46 | Rutgers University-New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ | Bachelor's Degree | $52,450 | $22,500 | 48 | 81.2 |
| 47 | University of Vermont Burlington, VT | Bachelor's Degree | $53,191 | $20,937 | 22 | 81.2 |
| 48 | San Diego City College San Diego, CA | Associate's Degree | $71,302 | — | 9 | 81 |
| 49 | Utah State University Logan, UT | Bachelor's Degree | $48,180 | $17,125 | 61 | 80.8 |
| 50 | Rutgers University-Camden Camden, NJ | Bachelor's Degree | $52,450 | $22,500 | 39 | 80.6 |
How we ranked this
Programs are scored 0–100 within the Fine & Studio Arts field (CIP 50.07) using three College Scorecard figures: median graduate earnings (weighted 70%), median federal-loan debt (20%, inverted so lower debt scores higher), and completer count (10%, log-scaled). Each input is percentile-ranked against the other Fine & Studio Arts programs, so the score is robust to outliers and comparable across schools. Programs with no published earnings are excluded — never given a fabricated number. This is the same engine that powers our interactive Major Rankings. Minimum 5 scorable programs required to publish.
Frequently asked questions
Which college has the best Fine & Studio Arts program?+
By our outcome score, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (Michigan) ranks #1 for Fine & Studio Arts, with median graduate earnings of $66,846.
How are these Fine & Studio Arts programs ranked?+
Each program gets a 0–100 outcome score from three real College Scorecard figures: median graduate earnings (70%), median federal-loan debt (20%, lower is better), and completer count (10%). Programs are compared within the major so the score reflects the best schools for this field specifically.
Where does the earnings and debt data come from?+
The U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard Field-of-Study file, which publishes median earnings and median debt by institution and major (4-digit CIP). Figures are post-graduation medians; programs without published earnings are not scored and are omitted from this ranking.
Can I filter Fine & Studio Arts programs by state or degree level?+
Yes. This page shows the national top programs; use the interactive Major Rankings tool to filter the same data by state, and by credential level (bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral).
Keep exploring
Data sources: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (Field of Study) · IPEDS Completions. Figures are the most recent values published in each federal dataset; cells with no published value are shown as “—” and never estimated. CertiHomes Education does not sell rankings or accept placement fees.