9,409
Graduates Per Year
$49K
Average Salary
#49
Most Popular Major
TOP
50
Degree Stats
Popular
9,409
13% NATIONAL AVG
Diplomas Received Last Year
572
5% NATIONAL AVG
Colleges Offering this Degree
Most Popular Degrees
48
International Relations and Affairs
9,868
49
Fine Art
9,409
50
Drama
9,323
Most Widely Offered Degrees
35
/
1.852
Worse
Better
Top 100 Colleges offering this degree
Degree Granting Schools that are Public
Most Graduates
By Region
Southeast
University of Central Florida
By State
California
California State University-Fullerton
By Conference
Big West Conference
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
By School
Arizona Western College
If you think life as a forensic artist, commercial art gallery manager, or music director sounds interesting, then a degree in fine art may just be for you. You could even become a fine art appraiser and collector!
Fine art is the 49th most popular degree in America, with 9,409 students receiving their bachelors degree last year. It just beat out #50 Drama, and narrowly lost to #48 International Relations and Affairs
The degree is offered at a total of 572 colleges across the nation, and is the 33rd most widely offered degree. Given that fine art is offered at 55% of the Top 100 Best Collegesin America, you can be sure this is a critical degree and the skillsets acquired are likely to last for a long time.
It is also worth noting that in the neighborhood of 1 in every 2 colleges offering fine art are public making it a pretty accessible field.
The southeast produces the most fine art graduates, largely led by University of Central Florida, while it’s the Big West Conference that leads conference totals. As far as states, California ranks highest, with particular help from California State University-Fullertonand California State University-Long Beach.
All that being said, no individual school produces more fine art graduates than Arizona Western College, which graduated 583 students last year alone. Although size is critical, another important factor to consider is the program’s density (the percent of all students that study fine art). More students studied fine art as a percentage of total students at School of the Art Institute of Chicagothan any other college.
Good luck on your college search and we hope you enjoy Authority's 2022 official Best Colleges for Fine Art list. Some of our picks may surprise you!
Good luck on your college search. We hope you enjoy Authority's 2022 official Best Colleges for Fine Art list. Some of our picks may surprise you!
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#1 Best Colleges for Fine Art
School of the Art Institute of Chicago is a small private art school located in Chicago, IL ranked 14thin Illinois. It has a total of 3,175 full-time undergraduate students and is not very competitive, accepting a touch south of 4 in 7 applicants. School of the Art Institute of Chicago offers 19 different majors and is best known for its fine art, visual and performing arts, and creative writing programs (nationally ranked 1st, 22nd, and 46th respectively). With a tuition cost of $49,980 per year, School of the Art Institute of Chicago is exceptionally pricey. 62.26% of students graduate beginning the next phase of their lives, employment. After graduation, alumni go on to earn about $33,500 per year, which is 19% below the national median.
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Chicago, IL
www.saic.edu
A-
Rating
57%
Acceptance
3,998
Students
# 226
Ranking
$49,980
Tuition
#2 Best Colleges for Fine Art
Stanford University is a large private university located in Stanford, CA ranked 2ndin America. It has a total of 8,290 full-time undergraduate students and is highly competitive, accepting 4.34% of applicants. Stanford University offers 227 different majors and is best known for its human biology, industrial management, and earth sciences programs, which are all nationally ranked 1st. With a tuition cost of $52,857 per year, Stanford University is very high-priced. 89.2% of students graduate beginning the next chapter of their lives, joining the labor market. After graduation, alumni go on to earn about $94,000 per year, which is 126% over the national median.
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Stanford, CA
www.stanford.edu/
A+
Rating
4%
Acceptance
20,993
Students
# 2
Ranking
$52,857
Tuition
#3 Best Colleges for Fine Art
Harvard University is a very large private university located in Cambridge, MA ranked 3rdin the United States. It has a total of 14,467 full-time undergraduate students and is highly competitive, with a 4.64% acceptance rate. Harvard University offers 375 different majors and is best known for its history, social sciences, and natural sciences programs, which are all nationally ranked 1st. With a tuition cost of $47,730 per year, Harvard University is exceptionally high-priced. 77.7% of students graduate ready to the next chapter of their lives, working. After graduation, alumni go on to earn about $89,700 per year, which is 116% greater than the national median.
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Cambridge, MA
www.harvard.edu
A+
Rating
5%
Acceptance
41,987
Students
# 3
Ranking
$47,730
Tuition
#4 Best Colleges for Fine Art
University of Pennsylvania is a very large private university located in Philadelphia, PA ranked 8thin the US. It has a total of 14,000 full-time undergraduate students and is highly competitive, accepting 7.66% of applicants. University of Pennsylvania offers 355 different majors and is best known for its finance, management sciences and quantitative methods, and philosophy programs, which are all nationally ranked 1st. With a tuition cost of $51,156 per year, University of Pennsylvania is exceptionally costly. 81.13% of students graduate starting the next chapter of their lives, entering the labor market. After graduation, alumni go on to earn about $85,900 per year, which is 107% over the national median.
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Philadelphia, PA
www.upenn.edu
A+
Rating
8%
Acceptance
29,813
Students
# 8
Ranking
$51,156
Tuition
#5 Best Colleges for Fine Art
Cornell University is a very large private university located in Ithaca, NY ranked 11thin the United States. It has a total of 15,464 full-time undergraduate students and is quite competitive, with a 10.85% acceptance rate. Cornell University offers 323 different majors and is best known for its human resources, agricultural business and management, and agriculture programs, which are all nationally ranked 1st. With a tuition cost of $56,550 per year, Cornell University is exceptionally pricey. 89.35% of students graduate moving on to the next chapter of their lives, employment. After graduation, alumni go on to earn about $77,200 per year, which is 86% above the national median.
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Ithaca, NY
www.cornell.edu
A+
Rating
11%
Acceptance
24,189
Students
# 11
Ranking
$56,550
Tuition
#6 Best Colleges for Fine Art
Washington University in St Louis is a large private university located in Saint Louis, MO ranked 15thin America. It has a total of 8,774 full-time undergraduate students and is quite competitive, accepting 13.85% of applicants. Washington University in St Louis offers 291 different majors and is best known for its anthropology, design and visual communications, and environmental biology programs, which are all nationally ranked 2nd. With a tuition cost of $54,250 per year, Washington University in St Louis is extremely high-priced. 88.9% of students graduate starting the next phase of their lives, employment. After graduation, alumni go on to earn about $70,100 per year, which is 69% greater than the national median.
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Saint Louis, MO
www.wustl.edu
A+
Rating
14%
Acceptance
17,794
Students
# 15
Ranking
$54,250
Tuition
#7 Best Colleges for Fine Art
Dartmouth College is a mid-sized private university located in Hanover, NH ranked 14thin the United States. It has a total of 4,797 full-time undergraduate students and is highly competitive, accepting 7.93% of applicants. Dartmouth College offers 113 different majors and is best known for its engineering science, latin american studies, and native american studies programs (nationally ranked 1st, 1st, and 2nd respectively). With a tuition cost of $55,605 per year, Dartmouth College is extremely pricey. 90.38% of students graduate ready to the next chapter of their lives, joining the labor market. After graduation, alumni go on to earn about $75,500 per year, which is 82% above the national median.
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Hanover, NH
www.dartmouth.edu
A+
Rating
8%
Acceptance
7,081
Students
# 14
Ranking
$55,605
Tuition
#8 Best Colleges for Fine Art
Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art is a very small private school of engineering and technology located in New York, NY ranked 58thin America. It has a total of 893 full-time undergraduate students and is quite competitive, accepting 15.45% of applicants. Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art offers 12 different majors and is best known for its civil engineering, fine art, and electrical and electronics engineering programs (nationally ranked 6th, 8th, and 16th respectively). With a tuition cost of $44,550 per year, Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art is rather expensive. 72% of students graduate ready to the next chapter of their lives, joining the labor market. After graduation, alumni go on to earn about $64,900 per year, which is 56% over the national median.
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New York, NY
www.cooper.edu
A+
Rating
15%
Acceptance
1,000
Students
# 54
Ranking
$44,550
Tuition
#9 Best Colleges for Fine Art
Vanderbilt University is a large private university located in Nashville, TN ranked 17thin the US. It has a total of 6,974 full-time undergraduate students and is highly competitive, accepting 9.12% of applicants. Vanderbilt University offers 245 different majors and is best known for its teacher education and professional development, secondary education and teaching, and social sciences programs (nationally ranked 1st, 1st, and 2nd respectively). With a tuition cost of $50,800 per year, Vanderbilt University is exceptionally pricey. 86.73% of students graduate ready to the next chapter of their lives, employment. After graduation, alumni go on to earn about $69,000 per year, which is 66% over the national median.
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Nashville, TN
www.vanderbilt.edu
A+
Rating
9%
Acceptance
13,634
Students
# 17
Ranking
$50,800
Tuition
#10 Best Colleges for Fine Art
New York University is a very large private university located in New York, NY ranked 25thin the nation. It has a total of 29,902 full-time undergraduate students and is quite competitive, accepting more or less 1 in 6 applicants. New York University offers 564 different majors and is best known for its drama, radio television and digital communication, and management information systems programs, which are all nationally ranked 1st. With a tuition cost of $50,684 per year, New York University is very pricey. 73.93% of students graduate ready to the next phase of their lives, employment. After graduation, alumni go on to earn about $61,900 per year, which is 49% greater than the national median.
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New York, NY
www.nyu.edu
A+
Rating
16%
Acceptance
58,091
Students
# 25
Ranking
$50,684
Tuition
#11 Best Colleges for Fine Art
Swarthmore College is a small private liberal arts college located in Swarthmore, PA ranked 27thin the United States. It has a total of 1,660 full-time undergraduate students and is highly competitive, with a 8.93% acceptance rate. Swarthmore College offers 89 different majors and is best known for its peace studies and conflict resolution, classical and ancient studies, and mathematics programs (nationally ranked 5th, 7th, and 8th respectively). With a tuition cost of $54,256 per year, Swarthmore College is very pricey. 88.55% of students graduate ready to the next stage of their lives, working. After graduation, alumni go on to earn about $56,700 per year, which is 37% above the national median.
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Swarthmore, PA
www.swarthmore.edu
A+
Rating
9%
Acceptance
1,660
Students
# 27
Ranking
$54,256
Tuition
#12 Best Colleges for Fine Art
University of Southern California is a very large private university located in Los Angeles, CA ranked 24thin the nation. It has a total of 21,909 full-time undergraduate students and is quite competitive, with a 11.42% acceptance rate. University of Southern California offers 527 different majors and is best known for its communication and media studies, film, and gerontology programs, which are all nationally ranked 1st. With a tuition cost of $57,256 per year, University of Southern California is extremely costly. 87.78% of students graduate beginning the next chapter of their lives, employment. After graduation, alumni go on to earn about $74,000 per year, which is 78% over the national median.
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Los Angeles, CA
www.usc.edu/
A+
Rating
11%
Acceptance
53,186
Students
# 24
Ranking
$57,256
Tuition
#13 Best Colleges for Fine Art
Colby College is a small private liberal arts college located in Waterville, ME ranked 32ndin the United States. It has a total of 2,150 full-time undergraduate students and is highly competitive, accepting 9.67% of applicants. Colby College offers 45 different majors and is best known for its latin american studies, global studies, and physiological psychology programs (nationally ranked 4th, 5th, and 5th respectively). With a tuition cost of $54,870 per year, Colby College is exceptionally expensive. 89.63% of students graduate starting the next chapter of their lives, working. After graduation, alumni go on to earn about $58,100 per year, which is 40% greater than the national median.
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Waterville, ME
www.colby.edu
A+
Rating
10%
Acceptance
2,150
Students
# 32
Ranking
$54,870
Tuition
#14 Best Colleges for Fine Art
Carleton College is a small private liberal arts college located in Northfield, MN ranked 38thin the United States. It has a total of 2,129 full-time undergraduate students and is quite competitive, with a 19.13% acceptance rate. Carleton College offers 35 different majors and is best known for its international relations and affairs, religious studies, and fine art programs (nationally ranked 11th, 14th, and 14th respectively). With a tuition cost of $56,778 per year, Carleton College is very costly. 89.73% of students graduate ready to the next stage of their lives, joining the workforce. After graduation, alumni go on to earn about $54,200 per year, which is 30% over the national median.
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Northfield, MN
https://www.carleton.edu
A+
Rating
19%
Acceptance
2,129
Students
# 36
Ranking
$56,778
Tuition
#15 Best Colleges for Fine Art
Hamilton College is a small private liberal arts college located in Clinton, NY ranked 44thin the United States. It has a total of 2,083 full-time undergraduate students and is quite competitive, with a 16.39% acceptance rate. Hamilton College offers 42 different majors and is best known for its literature, chinese language and literature, and creative writing programs (nationally ranked 2nd, 7th, and 8th respectively). With a tuition cost of $55,970 per year, Hamilton College is exceptionally expensive. 92.82% of students graduate beginning the next chapter of their lives, working. After graduation, alumni go on to earn about $60,200 per year, which is 45% greater than the national median.
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Clinton, NY
www.hamilton.edu
A+
Rating
16%
Acceptance
2,083
Students
# 42
Ranking
$55,970
Tuition
#16 Best Colleges for Fine Art
Middlebury College is a small private liberal arts college located in Middlebury, VT ranked 39thin America. It has a total of 3,931 full-time undergraduate students and is quite competitive, with a 15.36% acceptance rate. Middlebury College offers 65 different majors and is best known for its european studies, spanish language and literature, and chinese language and literature programs (nationally ranked 1st, 2nd, and 3rd respectively). With a tuition cost of $55,790 per year, Middlebury College is exceptionally expensive. 85.77% of students graduate moving on to the next phase of their lives, working. After graduation, alumni go on to earn about $58,200 per year, which is 40% above the national median.
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Middlebury, VT
www.middlebury.edu
A+
Rating
15%
Acceptance
4,751
Students
# 37
Ranking
$55,790
Tuition
#17 Best Colleges for Fine Art
Wesleyan University is a small private liberal arts college located in Middletown, CT ranked 48thin the US. It has a total of 3,261 full-time undergraduate students and is quite competitive, with a 16.48% acceptance rate. Wesleyan University offers 85 different majors and is best known for its italian studies, american studies, and physiological psychology programs (nationally ranked 1st, 2nd, and 3rd respectively). With a tuition cost of $56,704 per year, Wesleyan University is extremely expensive. 89.47% of students graduate moving on to the next stage of their lives, entering the workforce. After graduation, alumni go on to earn about $54,700 per year, which is 32% over the national median.
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Middletown, CT
www.wesleyan.edu
A+
Rating
16%
Acceptance
3,524
Students
# 45
Ranking
$56,704
Tuition
#18 Best Colleges for Fine Art
University of California-Berkeley is a very large public university located in Berkeley, CA ranked 68thin the nation. It has a total of 32,700 full-time undergraduate students and is quite competitive, accepting 16.25% of applicants. University of California-Berkeley offers 315 different majors and is best known for its cellular biology and anatomical sciences, natural resources and conservation, and environmental studies programs, which are all nationally ranked 1st. With a tuition cost of $11,442 for in-state students and $41,196 for those from out-of-state, University of California-Berkeley is rather costly. 58.68% of students graduate moving on to the next stage of their lives, employment. After graduation, alumni go on to earn about $64,700 per year, which is 56% over the national median.
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Berkeley, CA
www.berkeley.edu
A+
Rating
16%
Acceptance
45,183
Students
# 7
Ranking
$41,196
Tuition
#19 Best Colleges for Fine Art
Boston College is a large private university located in Chestnut Hill, MA ranked 40thin the US. It has a total of 10,369 full-time undergraduate students and is relatively competitive, accepting 27.22% of applicants. Boston College offers 176 different majors and is best known for its applied psychology, operations management and supervision, and theological and ministerial studies programs (nationally ranked 1st, 1st, and 2nd respectively). With a tuition cost of $56,780 per year, Boston College is extremely costly. 89.53% of students graduate starting the next chapter of their lives, employment. After graduation, alumni go on to earn about $72,500 per year, which is 75% above the national median.
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Chestnut Hill, MA
www.bc.edu
A+
Rating
27%
Acceptance
15,981
Students
# 38
Ranking
$56,780
Tuition
#20 Best Colleges for Fine Art
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a very large public university located in Chapel Hill, NC ranked 64thin America. It has a total of 19,957 full-time undergraduate students and is relatively competitive, with a 22.63% acceptance rate. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill offers 232 different majors and is best known for its health and fitness, peace studies and conflict resolution, and environmental science programs, which are all nationally ranked 1st. With a tuition cost of $7,019 for in-state students and $34,198 for those from out-of-state, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is somewhat moderately high-priced. 84.25% of students graduate ready to the next stage of their lives, working. After graduation, alumni go on to earn about $55,600 per year, which is 34% above the national median.
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Chapel Hill, NC
www.unc.edu
A+
Rating
23%
Acceptance
32,346
Students
# 5
Ranking
$34,198
Tuition
#21 Best Colleges for Fine Art
University of Florida is a very large public university located in Gainesville, FL ranked 78thin the United States. It has a total of 38,645 full-time undergraduate students and is somewhat competitive, accepting 36.58% of applicants. University of Florida offers 433 different majors and is best known for its exercise physiology, microbiological sciences and immunology, and family and community services programs, which are all nationally ranked 1st. With a tuition cost of $4,477 for students from Florida and $25,694 for those from out-of-state, University of Florida is reasonably costly. 85.38% of students graduate starting the next chapter of their lives, employment. After graduation, alumni go on to earn about $56,000 per year, which is 35% over the national median.
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Gainesville, FL
www.ufl.edu/
A+
Rating
37%
Acceptance
58,749
Students
# 8
Ranking
$25,694
Tuition
#22 Best Colleges for Fine Art
Grinnell College is a small private liberal arts college located in Grinnell, IA ranked 54thin the nation. It has a total of 1,770 full-time undergraduate students and is relatively competitive, accepting a shade above two ninths of applicants. Grinnell College offers 27 different majors and is best known for its russian language and literature, slavic baltic and albanian languages literatures and linguistics, and french language and literature programs (nationally ranked 1st, 3rd, and 11th respectively). With a tuition cost of $53,872 per year, Grinnell College is very costly. 86.21% of students graduate ready to the next chapter of their lives, working. After graduation, alumni go on to earn about $49,100 per year, which is 18% greater than the national median.
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Grinnell, IA
www.grinnell.edu
A+
Rating
23%
Acceptance
1,770
Students
# 50
Ranking
$53,872
Tuition
#23 Best Colleges for Fine Art
Washington and Lee University is a small private liberal arts college located in Lexington, VA ranked 52ndin the United States. It has a total of 1,848 full-time undergraduate students and is quite competitive, accepting 18.57% of applicants. Washington and Lee University offers 38 different majors and is best known for its accounting and business management, german language and literature, and journalism programs (nationally ranked 1st, 6th, and 19th respectively). With a tuition cost of $53,730 per year, Washington and Lee University is very pricey. 87.97% of students graduate beginning the next phase of their lives, working. After graduation, alumni go on to earn about $76,100 per year, which is 83% greater than the national median.
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Lexington, VA
www.wlu.edu/
A+
Rating
19%
Acceptance
2,243
Students
# 48
Ranking
$53,730
Tuition
#24 Best Colleges for Fine Art
University of California-San Diego is a very large public university located in La Jolla, CA ranked 66thin America. It has a total of 31,840 full-time undergraduate students and is somewhat competitive, accepting 31.48% of applicants. University of California-San Diego offers 228 different majors and is best known for its biological and biomedical sciences, global studies, and cognitive science programs, which are all nationally ranked 1st. With a tuition cost of $11,442 for students from California and $41,196 for those from out-of-state, University of California-San Diego is rather high-priced. 78.44% of students graduate beginning the next chapter of their lives, employment. After graduation, alumni go on to earn about $59,900 per year, which is 44% above the national median.
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La Jolla, CA
www.ucsd.edu
A+
Rating
31%
Acceptance
39,811
Students
# 6
Ranking
$41,196
Tuition
#25 Best Colleges for Fine Art
Wake Forest University is a mid-sized private university located in Winston-Salem, NC ranked 62ndin America. It has a total of 5,399 full-time undergraduate students and is relatively competitive, with a 29.6% acceptance rate. Wake Forest University offers 100 different majors and is best known for its french studies, general studies, and elementary education and teaching programs (nationally ranked 1st, 7th, and 8th respectively). With a tuition cost of $54,430 per year, Wake Forest University is exceptionally costly. 85.68% of students graduate moving on to the next phase of their lives, employment. After graduation, alumni go on to earn about $63,800 per year, which is 54% above the national median.
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Winston-Salem, NC
www.wfu.edu
A+
Rating
30%
Acceptance
9,032
Students
# 58
Ranking
$54,430
Tuition