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Fine & Studio Arts

Colleges offering this major Rankings Trends

What you'll do in college

You will live in the studio, smell perpetually of turpentine or wet clay, and survive on black coffee. Critique sessions are your battlefield, where you will defend your work against peers who casually drop words like "juxtaposition" and "liminal space."

You'll spend hours agonizing over a single brushstroke and learning how to stretch your own canvases.

What you'll do after college

The post-grad hustle is real. Grads become working artists, studio assistants, fabricators, or art teachers. Many take day jobs to fund their studio practice while fighting for gallery representation, grants, and residencies.

It's a portfolio-driven world where grit matters as much as talent. A large chunk of students eventually pursue an MFA to deepen their practice or teach at the university level.

Famous graduates

  • Kara Walker — Contemporary artist known for room-size silhouette tableaus; B.F.A. from Atlanta College of Art
  • Jeff Koons — Highly controversial/profitable pop-sculptor; B.F.A. from Maryland Institute College of Art
  • Kehinde Wiley — Portrait painter of Barack Obama; B.F.A. from San Francisco Art Institute

Selectivity vs. earnings

By acceptance rate

$40,137
1,018
100–85%
$44,325
2,053
85–75%
$44,472
3,090
73–72%
$43,718
3,865
72–55%
$48,467
4,336
55–55%
$44,651
3,042
55–40%
$42,806
2,043
40–24%
$47,934
1,044
23–0%
Acceptance rate · bar = degree-weighted adjusted 5-year earnings

By SAT median

$40,313
677
400–1030
$43,790
1,312
1030–1075
$43,586
1,999
1075–1120
$45,366
2,639
1120–1180
$46,263
2,659
1185–1265
$47,045
2,001
1265–1355
$47,194
1,328
1365–1460
$54,685
658
1463–1600
Median SAT · bar = degree-weighted adjusted 5-year earnings

Majors in this category

Major Colleges Degrees ▼ Male/Female Intl 5yr Earn
Fine & Studio Arts 975 24,965 25% / 75% 5% $44,059
Studio Art 468 7,093 25% / 75% 6% $42,051
Art 331 5,949 28% / 72% 3% $41,247
Illustration 51 2,389 20% / 80% 16% $51,060
Fine Arts 119 2,099 25% / 75% 5% $41,013
Fine/Studio Arts 60 1,950 27% / 73% 3% $42,789
Art/Art Studies 28 1,087 28% / 72% 2% $42,685
Art Education 177 1,001 10% / 90% 1% $55,957
Painting 48 441 24% / 76% 7% $39,262
Visual Communication Design 39 388 36% / 64% 3% $53,322
Visual Arts 12 292 25% / 75% 3% $38,732
Communication Design 7 245 27% / 73% 3% $70,261
Art and Design 3 220 18% / 82% 2% $58,401
Drawing 15 214 27% / 73% 1% $37,779
Art Therapy 39 166 8% / 92% 1% $57,842
Sculpture 34 161 29% / 71% 10% $39,044
Studio Arts 6 149 28% / 72% 3% $46,311
Art and Visual Communications 1 140 29% / 71% 1% $48,293
Entertainment Design 1 95 44% / 56% 46%
Art Practice 3 89 17% / 83% 21% $45,237
Art Studio 2 79 25% / 75% 5% $40,022
Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences 1 77 16% / 84% 4% $48,719
Communication and Media Arts 1 61 44% / 56% 8% $55,179
Ceramics 15 60 20% / 80% 5% $37,918
Visual Art 2 50 22% / 78% 4% $50,940
Integrated Design 1 50 28% / 72% 18% $63,366
Fine Arts and Art Studies 3 48 35% / 65% 4% $47,820
Visual Arts (Studio) 1 43 30% / 70% 12% $39,862
Integrated Studio Arts 1 35 11% / 89% 3% $61,412
Arts, Media, and Culture 1 31 19% / 81% 0% $35,504
Art Studies 9 27 26% / 74% 4% $39,423
Crafts/Craft Design, Folk Art and Artisanry 1 27 0% / 100% 4% $32,878
Art Teacher Education 45 23 17% / 83% 0% $51,637
Art: Studio Art 1 23 30% / 70% 0% $50,800
Fine Art 2 20 40% / 60% 25% $43,294
Traditional Building Crafts 1 18 89% / 11% 0%
Interdisciplinary Arts 1 14 50% / 50% 14%
Craft Studies 1 13 31% / 69% 0%
Interdisciplinary Arts and Performance 1 13 23% / 77% 0% $47,019
Visual and Public Art 1 13 8% / 92% 8% $38,273
Sonic Arts 1 12 92% / 8% 8% $37,830
Teacher Education: Art Education 1 12 0% / 100% 0% $55,501
Craft Design 3 11 18% / 82% 0% $45,261
Arts 2 9 56% / 44% 22%
Design Studies 2 9 22% / 78% 0% $54,546
Fine Arts Studio 1 7 14% / 86% 29%
Art (CCS) 1 4 0% / 100% 0% $42,994
Community Arts 2 3 0% / 100% 0%
Design for Stage and Screen 1 3 0% / 100% 0%
Ceramic Arts and Ceramics 2 2 0% / 100% 0% $49,174