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Best Schools for Visual and Performing Arts, General in 2026

59 schools ranked by DegreeWorth Score · Updated 2026

These are the top schools offering Visual and Performing Arts, General, ranked by DegreeWorth Score. The score combines graduate earnings, AI automation resilience, job market demand, and return on tuition investment. The average Visual and Performing Arts, General graduate earns $25,525/yr across 59 schools.

Programs Ranked

Avg Earnings

$25,525/yr

Avg DW Score

25/100

AI Risk

High

40% task exposure

All Visual and Performing Arts, General Programs Ranked

Click any row for full AI scenario analysis, earnings projections, and career path breakdown.

#	School	DW Score	Earnings	ROI
1	University of Central Florida Orlando, FL · Public	47 42–47	$28,878/yr	25.9x
2	University of Florida-Online Gainesville, FL · Public	39 34–40	$30,629/yr	18.8x
3	Kennesaw State University Kennesaw, GA · Public	38 34–39	$27,636/yr	19.9x
4	Drexel University Philadelphia, PA · Private nonprofit	37 31–37	$51,248/yr	1.1x
5	George Mason University Fairfax, VA · Public	35 29–35	$31,941/yr	8.5x
6	University of Florida Gainesville, FL · Public	34 29–35	$30,629/yr	11.0x
7	Albany State University Albany, GA · Public	34 29–34	$29,798/yr	11.6x
8	Fordham University Bronx, NY · Private nonprofit	32 26–32	$41,165/yr	0.7x
9	Longwood University Farmville, VA · Public	32 26–32	$34,812/yr	6.5x
10	University of North Carolina Asheville Asheville, NC · Public	31 28–31	$23,023/yr	14.1x
11	California State University-San Marcos San Marcos, CA · Public	31 26–31	$27,741/yr	12.3x
12	University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Whitewater, WI · Public	30 26–31	$28,226/yr	11.5x
13	Mississippi State University Mississippi State, MS · Public	29 26–30	$24,752/yr	10.8x
14	SUNY Oneonta Oneonta, NY · Public	29 27–29	$19,135/yr	12.6x
15	The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX · Public	29 24–29	$29,707/yr	8.2x
16	University of Missouri-Columbia Columbia, MO · Public	28 23–29	$29,775/yr	4.3x
17	The University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, TX · Public	28 23–28	$28,494/yr	7.1x
18	University of Colorado Colorado Springs Colorado Springs, CO · Public	27 21–27	$30,966/yr	7.3x
19	University of New Mexico-Main Campus Albuquerque, NM · Public	27 24–28	$25,286/yr	11.0x
20	Siena College Loudonville, NY · Private nonprofit	27 21–27	$34,017/yr	0.9x
21	Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ · Public	26 23–27	$22,817/yr	8.9x
22	Delta State University Cleveland, MS · Public	26 22–26	$24,839/yr	6.2x
23	University of Toledo Toledo, OH · Public	26 22–26	$26,625/yr	4.4x
24	University of Kentucky Lexington, KY · Public	25 21–26	$26,343/yr	4.0x
25	Jackson State University Jackson, MS · Public	25 22–25	$23,555/yr	9.9x
26	University of Advancing Technology Tempe, AZ · Private for-profit	25 20–25	$27,824/yr	2.6x
27	University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth North Dartmouth, MA · Public	24 20–24	$25,753/yr	3.2x
28	The University of Tennessee-Martin Martin, TN · Public	24 20–25	$25,660/yr	8.2x
29	University of Mary Washington Fredericksburg, VA · Public	24 19–24	$29,130/yr	4.8x
30	Otis College of Art and Design Los Angeles, CA · Private nonprofit	23 21–23	$21,558/yr	2.3x
31	State University of New York at New Paltz New Paltz, NY · Public	23 21–23	$19,893/yr	9.8x
32	SUNY at Purchase College Purchase, NY · Public	23 21–24	$22,024/yr	5.1x
33	East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania East Stroudsburg, PA · Public	23 20–23	$22,349/yr	4.1x
34	Arizona State University Digital Immersion Scottsdale, AZ · Public	23 21–24	$22,817/yr	—
35	Grand Canyon University Phoenix, AZ · Private for-profit	22 19–23	$24,691/yr	5.2x
36	University of Saint Francis-Fort Wayne Fort Wayne, IN · Private nonprofit	22 18–22	$27,684/yr	1.0x
37	Salem State University Salem, MA · Public	22 18–22	$24,699/yr	6.5x
38	Southeast Missouri State University Cape Girardeau, MO · Public	22 18–23	$26,668/yr	6.2x
39	Academy of Art University San Francisco, CA · Private for-profit	21 16–21	$28,494/yr	2.5x
40	Northeastern University Boston, MA · Private nonprofit	21 17–22	$27,246/yr	0.1x
41	New Mexico State University-Main Campus Las Cruces, NM · Public	21 19–22	$18,470/yr	9.5x
42	Pacific Northwest College of Art Portland, OR · Private nonprofit	21 19–21	$13,895/yr	-0.3x
43	Moore College of Art and Design Philadelphia, PA · Private nonprofit	21 17–22	$27,107/yr	0.3x
44	University of Louisiana at Lafayette Lafayette, LA · Public	20 18–20	$16,871/yr	3.0x
45	Stockton University Galloway, NJ · Public	20 18–21	$20,705/yr	5.7x
46	University of Houston-Downtown Houston, TX · Public	20 18–20	$19,527/yr	8.2x
47	Champlain College Burlington, VT · Private nonprofit	20 15–20	$30,138/yr	1.4x
48	Christopher Newport University Newport News, VA · Public	20 17–20	$23,656/yr	4.5x
49	Full Sail University Winter Park, FL · Private for-profit	19 16–19	$22,439/yr	1.1x
50	Wichita State University Wichita, KS · Public	19 17–20	$20,013/yr	7.2x
51	Bowling Green State University-Main Campus Bowling Green, OH · Public	19 17–19	$18,819/yr	5.9x
52	LaGrange College Lagrange, GA · Private nonprofit	18 16–18	$21,824/yr	0.6x
53	The College of Westchester White Plains, NY · Private for-profit	18 16–18	$20,163/yr	1.0x
54	Southern Oregon University Ashland, OR · Public	18 17–19	$17,228/yr	6.3x
55	Stetson University DeLand, FL · Private nonprofit	17 12–17	$26,913/yr	1.0x
56	Lesley University Cambridge, MA · Private nonprofit	17 15–18	$20,600/yr	0.6x
57	Temple University Philadelphia, PA · Public	17 15–18	$20,667/yr	3.5x
58	Bennington College Bennington, VT · Private nonprofit	17 15–18	$20,809/yr	-0.2x
59	Bloomfield College Bloomfield, NJ · Private nonprofit	15 13–15	$17,625/yr	2.4x

Methodology

Programs are ranked by DegreeWorth Score, which combines four equally weighted factors: graduate earnings (Year 1 after graduation), AI automation resilience (based on OpenAI and academic research), job market size (BLS annual openings), and earnings-to-tuition multiple (10-year projected earnings vs. 4-year tuition).

Earnings data comes from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, which reports actual median earnings of graduates — not self-reported surveys.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best school for Visual and Performing Arts, General?

Based on our DegreeWorth Score, University of Central Florida ranks #1 for Visual and Performing Arts, General with a score of 47/100 and graduate earnings of $28,878/yr.

How much do Visual and Performing Arts, General graduates earn?

Across 59 schools, Visual and Performing Arts, General graduates earn an average of $25,525/yr in their first year. The highest-earning program reports $51,248/yr.

Is Visual and Performing Arts, General a good major for AI resistance?

Visual and Performing Arts, General has an average AI task exposure of 40%, rated "High". This field has moderate AI exposure — some career paths are more resilient than others.

Data: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (earnings, debt), Bureau of Labor Statistics 2024–2034 (employment projections), OpenAI GPTs-are-GPTs research (AI task exposure), Felten et al. AIOE. Last updated 2025.