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

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

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

44 Colleges
$25,696 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$26,942 Avg Salary

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 Value 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 value experiences for visual and performing arts students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value 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 value for your educational dollar.

Top 10 Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools

$27,786 Average Tuition & Fees

Our analysis found Columbia College Chicago to be the best value school for visual and performing arts students who want to pursue a degree in the Great Lakes Region . Located in the city of Chicago, Columbia is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Columbia are $27,786 a year.

Read full report on Visual & Performing Arts at Columbia College Chicago

#2

Youngstown State University

Youngstown, OH
$9,732 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 44 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Youngstown State University landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the city of Youngstown, Youngstown State University is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Youngstown State University undergraduate students pay an average of $9,732 in tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

#3

Ferris State University

Big Rapids, MI

The excellent programs at Ferris State University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best visual and performing arts schools in the Great Lakes Region . Ferris is a large public school located in the distant town of Big Rapids.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Ferris are $13,188 a year.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at Ferris State University Report

$11,496 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best visual and performing arts schools in the Great Lakes Region . SIUE is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of Edwardsville.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at SIUE are $11,496 per year.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Illinois State University. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Visual & Performing Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Illinois State is a fairly large public school located in the midsize suburb of Normal.

Illinois State undergraduate students pay an average of $24,172 in tuition and fees each year.

In addition to its great value ranking, Illinois State is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Visual & Performing Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.

Read More…

$13,297 Average Tuition & Fees

Western Illinois University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value visual and performing arts programs. Located in the remote town of Macomb, WIU is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at WIU are $13,297 a year.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at Western Illinois University Report

$14,738 Average Tuition & Fees

Northern Illinois University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Visual & Performing Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. NIU is a large public school located in the small suburb of Dekalb.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at NIU are $14,738 a year.

Read More…

#8

Eastern Illinois University

Charleston, IL
$14,551 Average Tuition & Fees

Eastern Illinois University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for visual and performing arts students. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the distant town of Charleston, EIU is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at EIU are $14,551 per year.

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

$50,375 Average Tuition & Fees

Illinois Institute of Technology landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value visual and performing arts programs. Located in the city of Chicago, Illinois Tech is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Illinois Tech are $50,375 per year.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at Illinois Institute of Technology Report

$11,880 Average Tuition & Fees

University of Akron Main Campus did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for visual and performing arts students. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the city of Akron, University of Akron Main Campus is a public school with a fairly large student population.

University of Akron Main Campus undergraduate students pay an average of $11,880 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Visual & Performing Arts at University of Akron Main Campus Report

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.

  • 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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