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Best Visual & Performing Arts Master's Degree Schools in California

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2023 Best Visual & Performing Arts Master's Degree Schools in California

35 Colleges
$32,741 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Visual & Performing Arts Master's Degree School for You

Out of the majors we analyze each year, visual and performing arts was ranked 9th in California. In fact, 2,548 were awarded in the state in 2020-2021.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Grad Degree Search has developed this Best Visual & Performing Arts Master's Degree Schools in California ranking. This report analyzed 35 schools in California to see which ones offered the best master's degree programs for students. To come up with a school's ranking, we analyzed numerous factors related to post-graduation wages, the quality of education offered by the school, average accumulated student debt, and more.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Visual & Performing Arts Master’s Degree Schools in California

The colleges and universities below are the best for visual and performing arts majors pursuing a master's degree.

Top 10 Best Visual & Performing Arts Master's Degree Schools

Our analysis found University of California - Berkeley to be the best school for visual and performing arts students who want to pursue a master’s degree in California. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at University of California - Berkeley Report

#2

National University

La Jolla, CA

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend National University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Visual & Performing Arts Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the large city of La Jolla, National University is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at National University Report

#3

Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, CA

The excellent master’s degree programs at Mount Saint Mary’s University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best visual and performing arts schools in California. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, MSMU is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Read full report on Visual & Performing Arts at Mount Saint Mary’s University

The excellent master’s degree programs at Azusa Pacific University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best visual and performing arts schools in California. Azusa Pacific is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Azusa.

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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means San Jose State University is a great place for visual and performing arts students working on their master’s degree. San Jose State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of San Jose.

Read full report on Visual & Performing Arts at San Jose State University

University of California - San Diego did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for visual and performing arts students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #6 on the list. Located in the large city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public college with a very large student population.

Read full report on Visual & Performing Arts at University of California - San Diego

With a ranking of #7, University of California - Davis did quite well on this year’s best schools for visual and performing arts students working on their master’s degree. UC Davis is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Davis.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at University of California - Davis Report

#8

Loyola Marymount University

Los Angeles, CA

With a ranking of #8, Loyola Marymount University did quite well on this year’s best schools for visual and performing arts students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, Loyola Marymount is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at Loyola Marymount University Report

University of California - Irvine came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Visual & Performing Arts Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking. UC Irvine is a fairly large public school located in the city of Irvine.

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University of Southern California landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree visual and performing arts programs. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

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Best Visual & Performing Arts Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Visual & Performing Arts Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 130
Oregon 185
Nevada 51
Hawaii 26
Alaska 3

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

Majors Similar to Visual & Performing Arts

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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