### SUMMARY

 A degree in Fine Art is not only a valuable choice, but naturally a required first step for undergraduates aspiring to pursue a career as a forensic artist, a commercial art gallery manager, or a music director. In fact, fine art is of average popularity ranking as the 49th most popular area of study. Last academic year alone, there were 9,409 fine art graduates. In-state tuition for fine art at private universities is, on average, 4.4 times more spendy than their public equivalents.

 There are 572 colleges that offer fine art. 572 schools is on par with other majors offered in the United States. If you're looking to surround yourself with other fine art undergraduates, look at colleges in California which have the most undergrads admitted to fine art annually. Zooming out, the best region to pursue fine art is in the Southeast region with [University of Central Florida](/colleges/university-of-central-florida), [Florida State University](/colleges/florida-state-university), and [East Carolina University](/colleges/east-carolina-university) best representing the region. Interestingly, our selection of the top conference to study fine art is the Big West Conference with [California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo](/colleges/california-polytechnic-state-university-san-luis-obispo), [California State University-Fullerton](/colleges/california-state-university-fullerton), and [California State University-Long Beach](/colleges/california-state-university-long-beach) representing the conference. Based on our comprehensive list on the [best colleges](/rankings/best-colleges), our choice for the best university for fine art is [Stanford University](/colleges/stanford-university).

 The overall best school is not necessarily the best school for you. There might be lots of angels to weigh when deciding on institution. Features such as campus amenities, transportation services, and food would definitely affect your inclinations of where to go to school. At Authority, we weighed the pros and cons for you. If, as an example, you are interested in which fine art university has the best campus, the answer is [Harvard University](/colleges/harvard-university). If you are very interested in which college has the finest campus, we have an entire page [dedicated to that](/rankings/best-college-campuses). We have carefully pored through government databases, student reviews, professor reviews, and more in order to evaluate every major in the United States in an unbiased and informative way. You can find our comprehensive list for the colleges with the [best student life](/rankings/best-student-life)&nbsphere and our pick for the school with the best student life for fine art is [Cornell University](/colleges/cornell-university). Curious why? Keep scrolling to learn more about our top choices. Some of our picks might shock you.

 If price is a primary influence in your choice of where you attend university, you might be cautious about [University of Southern California](/colleges/university-of-southern-california). [University of Southern California](/colleges/university-of-southern-california)&nbspappears to be our most expensive school for fine art, at least for out of state students. That being said, we have a list of the [most expensive](/rankings/most-expensive-colleges)&nbspuniversities that could put the cost of [University of Southern California](/colleges/university-of-southern-california)&nbspinto perspective. You may also want to know that fine art is the 27th most expensive major in America, with an average cost of $52,900. On a broader scale, the most costly state for fine art on our list is District of Columbia with expenses at the main two universities American University and George Washington University of $49,070 and $54,453 respectively. Even more broadly, the most costly region of the country for fine art is the New England region which is best demonstrated with [Wesleyan University](/colleges/wesleyan-university) with a cost of $56,704, [Boston College](/colleges/boston-college) with a cost of $56,780, and [Landmark College](/colleges/landmark-college) with a cost of $59,100.

 Our cheapest region for fine art is the Rocky Mountains region which is represented by [Adams State University](/colleges/adams-state-university) with a cost of $17,160, [Fort Lewis College](/colleges/fort-lewis-college) with a cost of $17,712, and [Brigham Young University-Provo](/colleges/brigham-young-university-provo) with a cost of $5,790. On the bright side, the most affordable university for fine art is [University of Florida](/colleges/university-of-florida). Authority's comprehensive list of the most affordable universities can be explored [here](/rankings/most-affordable-colleges).

 In-state learners can anticipate paying in the neighborhood of $9,800 for a degree in fine art. That price inflates significantly to a median of $22,500 for an out-of-state public-school student. Our selection for the school constituting the best value for fine art: [Stanford University](/colleges/stanford-university). On this page you can find our comprehensive list of the schools we believe to be the [best value](/rankings/best-value-colleges)&nbspoverall. With that said, this idea is based on out-of-state tuition costs. A discussion of value changes when it comes to in-state tuition, but as we do not know what state(s) you might qualify for in-state tuition, we are approaching this discussion through out-of-state tuition costs.

 Earnings for fine art students differ a lot, but two-years after graduation graduates will often earn around $49,000. While there can be much variation in earnings potential; top earners can rake in up to $89,700. Even straight out of university, the lowest end positions within the fine art field earn $26,900, which isn't that bad. The top earning grads from fine art graduated from [Stanford University](/colleges/stanford-university)&nbspand if you want to find the colleges with all of the [highest earning graduates](/rankings/highest-earning-graduates), we have that too.

 The all-around diversity of fine art ranks quite high, falling within the 86th percentile of majors nationally. The college with the highest composite diversity for fine art is [Swarthmore College](/colleges/swarthmore-college)&nbspand here you can find our comprehensive list of the schools with the [most diversity](/rankings/most-diverse-colleges). The financial diversity of Fine Art only ranks within the 41st percentile compared to all other majors. Racial diversity is actually greater, in the 86th percentile. White undergraduates compose the largest share, 50%, of those studying fine art. Additionally, 72% of undergrads pursuing a fine art major are women.

 The median ranking of fine art professors is 4.4 stars, a ranking which is 10% higher than the average across every major; which is a fairly good score. If you want to find the most popular fine art instructor in the nation, consider looking up Patrick Trimble at [Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus](/colleges/pennsylvania-state-university-main-campus). This may come as a shock, but the best ranked professors for fine art by student are found at [University of Houston-Downtown](/colleges/university-of-houston-downtown). As we including data other than just rankings it becomes clear that the university with the best professors for fine art is [Stanford University](/colleges/stanford-university). One can find more detail on our evolving ranking methodology for the [best overall professors here](/rankings/best-professors), along with some of the finest professors nationwide.

 Finally, the hardest college to get into for fine art is [Stanford University](/colleges/stanford-university). While we think of this list more as a novelty, we have a general list for the [hardest colleges to get into](/rankings/hardest-colleges-to-get-into). But, we hope you believe that looking at the higher education world with context only derived from superlatives can cause problems. We at Authority encourage you to look at some of our other pages on different schools and peruse some of our informative background pages on important things to consider as your school search continues.



 ### POPULARITY

 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](/rankings/best-colleges-for-drama), and narrowly lost to #48 [International Relations and Affairs](/rankings/best-colleges-for-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 Colleges](/rankings/best-colleges) in 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 region of one out of every two 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](/colleges/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-Fullerton](/colleges/california-state-university-fullerton) and [California State University-Long Beach](/colleges/california-state-university-long-beach).

 All that being said, no individual school produces more fine art graduates than [Arizona Western College](/colleges/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 Chicago](/colleges/school-of-the-art-institute-of-chicago) than any other college.



 ### COST

 Fine art is the 27th most expensive major in the United States, with a median cost of $52,928 for the top 50 programs (just ahead of #28, [Spanish Language and Literature](rankings/best-colleges-for-spanish-language-and-literature), with a median cost of $52,732).

 New England has the most expensive colleges with top 50 fine art programs predominantly led by [Wesleyan University](/colleges/wesleyan-university) with an annual cost of $56,704. The most expensive state for fine art is District of Columbia led by [American University](/colleges/american-university) and [George Washington University](/colleges/george-washington-university).

 Public schools with good programs by and large charge 77.15% less than private schools for in-state students. When looking at out-of-state tuition however, the median top 50 Public school charges 47.7% less than your average private school. So be sure to look into public shools in your state sooner rather than later.

 The most pricey option in the top 25 is [University of Southern California](/colleges/university-of-southern-california), which is the 14th most expensive college in America. The most affordable option in the top 100 is [Brigham Young University-Provo](/colleges/brigham-young-university-provo). It costs just $5,790 per year, but it's ranked 97th for its fine art program. If you’re looking for the least expensive option in the top 25, [University of Florida](/colleges/university-of-florida)  is probably for you, ranked #21 with an in-state cost of just $4,477. Another more affordable pick would be #20, [University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill](/colleges/university-of-north-carolina-at-chapel-hill) in Orange County, NC with a cost of $7,019 for in-state students and $34,198 for out-of-state students.



### SALARY

 College is a large investment for most people. It is critical to make sure you are equipped to payback your investment. We aim for the following earnings and career insights to support you in making an intelligent decision when picking your focus.

 Right out of college, Fine Art graduates draw $25,864 per annum on average (bottom 7%). Further into their vocations, they can generate as much as $89,718 a year to as little as $26,889, but average more or less $49,022. For context, that's 27% higher than average.

 The most popular job title for a Fine Art graduate is Account Executive, which typically make roughly $36,000; next are Sales Consultant and Consultant, which ordinarily make about $36,000 and $56,000 respectively.

 The highest earning region for Fine Art graduates is The Rocky Mountains. WY has the most well paid Fine Art graduates of any state. The best paid conference for Fine Art graduates is Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference.



### PROFESSORS

 Fast Facts for Fine Art: Median Professor Rating: 4.4 / 5, which is Top 50.

 Instructors frequently play a crucial role in shaping your college experience, no matter what you study. A thought-provoking professor might provide inspiration and even make a difficult subject seem fun. Alternatively, a poor professor can mess up your education or even worse... fail you!

 Professors of Fine Art boast a median student rating of 4.4 out of 5, putting these professors in 49th place in the US grounded in overall professor quality. For context that's 10% over the national median professor rating for all subjects. Professors of Fine Art just out-ranked those from ["Middle Eastern and Semitic Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics"](/rankings/best-colleges-for-middle-eastern-and-semitic-languages-literatures-and-linguistics), whereas ["Arabic Language and Literature"](/rankings/best-colleges-for-arabic-language-and-literature)&nbspprofessors ranked one slot above Fine Art.

 Now for some statistics about Fine Art professors. Colleges located in distant towns tend to have the best Fine Art professors. The Little East Conference has the highest rated Fine Art professors. The New England region has the highest rated Fine Art professors. Public schools tend to have higher rated Fine Art professors than private institutions. Finally, Maine has the highest rated Fine Art professors in America.

 Patrick Trimble, instructor at [Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus](/colleges/pennsylvania-state-university-main-campus)&nbspin University Park, PA is the most popular Fine Art professor in the United States. Ali Alibhai, professor at [The University of Texas at Dallas](/colleges/the-university-of-texas-at-dallas)&nbspin Richardson, TX is the highest rated Fine Art professor in the US, with a rating of 5 / 5.

 Find out which schools have the [Best Professors](/rankings/best-professors)!



### STUDENTS

 College is an exceedingly consequential time of one's life; it's a time for individual progress and maturation. Scholars begin to learn what they hope to do with their lives and build many of the underlying skills to become a successful member of society. But learning isn't confined to a classroom - the campus dialogue, the funny story learned from an old professor, the exposure to a different view. Therefore, attending a diverse college tremendously enriches what you gain from your time in college.

 Fine Art is a more ethnically diverse major than average\*. 50% of America's Fine Art majors are white students, followed by latino students (18%), students of other races\*\*(15%), and asian students (12%). The most racially diverse college\* in the top 100 is [Brandeis University](/colleges/brandeis-university) located in Waltham, MA.

 In addition, Fine Art significatly skews female, with 72% of students majoring in Fine Art identifying as women. The most gender balanced school in the top 100 is [Vanderbilt University](/colleges/vanderbilt-university) in Nashville, TN.

 Another important type of diversity is wealth diversity. Fine Art ranks somewhere around the middle of the pack for income diversity (59th percentile). 30% of its students come from homes that take home north of $110,000 per year, 16% are from mid-income homes, and 24% grew up in households making under $30,000 a year. [University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill](/colleges/university-of-north-carolina-at-chapel-hill) has the most socioeconomically diverse students in the top 100.

 Considering each type of diversity, overall CA is the most diverse state for Fine Art. The Far West is the most diverse region, and the California Collegiate Athletic Association is the most diverse conference.

   \* diversity calculations and comparisons are based on [Simpson's Diversity Index](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diversity_index)   
  \*\* other races is used to refer to non asian, black, latino, or white

  #### Diversity Statistics

  ##### Racial Diversity

 * Asian: 12%
* Black: 4%
* Latino: 18%
* White: 50%
* Other: 15%
  ##### Gender Diversity

 * Male: 28%
* Female: 72%
  ##### Socioeconomic Diversity (By Household Income)

 * Under 30k: 24%
* 30k - 48k: 15%
* 48k - 75k: 16%
* 75k - 110k: 15%
* Over 110k: 30%
  ##### Geographic Diversity

 * In State: 63%
* Out of State: 30%
* International: 7%


2023 Fine Art Salary

There are about 37,266 students enrolled in Fine Art in the USA.

SALARY