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Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Region

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2023 Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Region

44 Colleges
$26,942 Avg Salary
$26,129 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Visual & Performing Arts School for You

Visual & Performing Arts is the #11 most popular major in the country with 18,379 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

The Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking is one of many tools that Grad Degree Search has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 44 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which programs offered the best educational experiences for students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Region

Check out the visual and performing arts programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.

Top 10 Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools

#1

University of Notre Dame

Notre Dame, IN

Our 2023 rankings named University of Notre Dame the best school in the Great Lakes Region for visual and performing arts students. Located in the suburb of Notre Dame, Notre Dame is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

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The excellent programs at Illinois Institute of Technology helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best visual and performing arts schools in the Great Lakes Region . Located in the large city of Chicago, Illinois Tech is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at Illinois Institute of Technology Report

#3

Michigan State University

East Lansing, MI

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Michigan State University is a great place for visual and performing arts students. Michigan State is a very large public school located in the city of East Lansing.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at Michigan State University Report

#4

Eastern Illinois University

Charleston, IL

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Eastern Illinois University is a great place for visual and performing arts students. Located in the distant town of Charleston, EIU is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

Read full report on Visual & Performing Arts at Eastern Illinois University

#5

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Northwestern University. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Visual & Performing Arts at Northwestern University

#6

Purdue University - Main Campus

West Lafayette, IN

With a ranking of #6, Purdue University - Main Campus did quite well on this year’s best schools for visual and performing arts students. Located in the small city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at Purdue University - Main Campus Report

University of Wisconsin - Madison did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for visual and performing arts students. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the large city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public school with a fairly large student population.

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Ohio State University - Main Campus came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in the large city of Columbus, Ohio State is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Visual & Performing Arts at Ohio State University - Main Campus

With a ranking of #9, College for Creative Studies did quite well on this year’s best schools for visual and performing arts students. Located in the city of Detroit, CCS is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at College for Creative Studies Report

Miami University - Oxford landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best visual and performing arts programs. Located in the fringe town of Oxford, Miami University - Oxford is a public college with a fairly large student population.

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Best Visual & Performing Arts Colleges by State

Explore the best visual and performing arts colleges for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.

State Degrees Awarded
Illinois 1,053
Indiana 417
Ohio 791
Wisconsin 146
Michigan 469

Visual & Performing Arts Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Music 7,675
Fine & Studio Arts 3,224
Design & Applied Arts 1,979
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 1,704
Drama & Theater Arts 1,699
Arts & Media Management 1,184
General Visual & Performing Arts 390
Dance 257
Other Visual Art 254
Crafts, Folk Art & Artisanry 13

Related Major Annual Graduates
Theology & Religious Vocations 17,287
English Language & Literature 9,566
Foreign Languages & Linguistics 4,163
Philosophy & Religious Studies 3,136
Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities 2,680

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to Bonnielou2013.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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