Best Colleges for Visual & Performing Arts

1,295 four-year colleges offer visual & performing arts programs. These rank highest by graduate earnings, using official federal data.

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#1A+

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Cambridge, MA · Private nonprofit

Highly SelectiveTop Earnings

$20,111
Net price: 5%
Admit rate: 4,535
Enrolled

#2A+

Stanford University

Stanford, CA · Private nonprofit

Highly SelectiveTop Earnings

$13,807
Net price: 4%
Admit rate: 7,554
Enrolled

#3A+

Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, PA · Private nonprofit

Highly SelectiveTop Earnings

$31,944
Net price: 12%
Admit rate: 7,304
Enrolled

#4A+

Gnomon

North Hollywood, CA · Private for-profit

Top EarningsHigh Grad Rate

$51,949
Net price: 42%
Admit rate: 294
Enrolled

#5A+

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA · Private nonprofit

Highly SelectiveTop Earnings

$28,699
Net price: 5%
Admit rate: 10,650
Enrolled

#6A+

Princeton University

Princeton, NJ · Private nonprofit

Highly SelectiveTop Earnings

$6,128
Net price: 5%
Admit rate: 5,709
Enrolled

#7A+

Santa Clara University

Santa Clara, CA · Private nonprofit

Top EarningsHigh Grad Rate

$50,062
Net price: 48%
Admit rate: 6,552
Enrolled

#8A+

Stevens Institute of Technology

Hoboken, NJ · Private nonprofit

Top EarningsHigh Grad Rate

$41,346
Net price: 48%
Admit rate: 4,222
Enrolled

#9A+

Lehigh University

Bethlehem, PA · Private nonprofit

Top EarningsHigh Grad Rate

$36,931
Net price: 26%
Admit rate: 5,898
Enrolled

#10A+

Claremont McKenna College

Claremont, CA · Private nonprofit

Highly SelectiveTop Earnings

$28,849
Net price: 10%
Admit rate: 1,388
Enrolled

#11A+

Cornell University

Ithaca, NY · Private nonprofit

Highly SelectiveTop Earnings

$28,690
Net price: 9%
Admit rate: 15,995
Enrolled

#12A+

Boston College

Chestnut Hill, MA · Private nonprofit

Highly SelectiveTop Earnings

$41,704
Net price: 16%
Admit rate: 10,085
Enrolled

#13A+

Georgetown University

Washington, DC · Private nonprofit

Highly SelectiveTop Earnings

$40,815
Net price: 13%
Admit rate: 7,569
Enrolled

#14A

Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Worcester, MA · Private nonprofit

Top EarningsHigh Grad Rate

$43,071
Net price: 60%
Admit rate: 5,447
Enrolled

#15A+

Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY · Private nonprofit

Highly SelectiveTop Earnings

$21,590
Net price: 4%
Admit rate: 8,973
Enrolled

#16A

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Troy, NY · Private nonprofit

Top EarningsHigh Grad Rate

$36,228
Net price: 63%
Admit rate: 5,714
Enrolled

#17A+

Harvard University

Cambridge, MA · Private nonprofit

Highly SelectiveTop Earnings

$19,066
Net price: 4%
Admit rate: 7,601
Enrolled

#18A+

Yale University

New Haven, CT · Private nonprofit

Highly SelectiveTop Earnings

$23,777
Net price: 4%
Admit rate: 6,758
Enrolled

#19A+

Villanova University

Villanova, PA · Private nonprofit

Top EarningsHigh Grad Rate

$43,756
Net price: 27%
Admit rate: 6,938
Enrolled

#20A+

University of Notre Dame

Notre Dame, IN · Private nonprofit

Highly SelectiveTop Earnings

$26,780
Net price: 11%
Admit rate: 8,818
Enrolled

#21A+

Duke University

Durham, NC · Private nonprofit

Highly SelectiveTop Earnings

$29,612
Net price: 6%
Admit rate: 6,442
Enrolled

#22A+

Dartmouth College

Hanover, NH · Private nonprofit

Highly SelectiveTop Earnings

$29,519
Net price: 5%
Admit rate: 4,541
Enrolled

#23A+

Washington and Lee University

Lexington, VA · Private nonprofit

Highly SelectiveTop Earnings

$23,781
Net price: 14%
Admit rate: 1,881
Enrolled

#24A+

Bucknell University

Lewisburg, PA · Private nonprofit

Top EarningsHigh Grad Rate

$40,766
Net price: 29%
Admit rate: 3,876
Enrolled

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