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Fine & Studio Arts
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
Acceptance rate · bar = degree-weighted earnings
By SAT median
Combined SAT composite median (submitters + non-submitters) · bar = degree-weighted earnings
Earnings by acceptance rate and institution category
Each dot = a college · y = degree-weighted earnings
Majors in this category
| Major | Colleges | Degrees ▼ | Male/Female | Intl | Earnings | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fine & Studio Arts | 949 | 25,260 | 24% / 76% | 4% | $45,710 | 92% |
| Studio Art | 491 | 8,112 | 24% / 76% | 5% | $44,048 | 92% |
| Art | 352 | 6,636 | 28% / 72% | 3% | $43,215 | 91% |
| Fine Arts | 115 | 2,286 | 25% / 75% | 4% | $42,997 | 90% |
| Illustration | 47 | 2,164 | 21% / 79% | 11% | $52,166 | 93% |
| Art/Art Studies | 26 | 1,017 | 27% / 73% | 1% | $44,457 | 90% |
| Art Education | 194 | 981 | 10% / 90% | 0% | $53,851 | 96% |
| Painting | 48 | 448 | 16% / 84% | 12% | $43,308 | 90% |
| Visual Communication Design | 37 | 420 | 37% / 63% | 5% | $51,485 | 96% |
| Visual Arts | 15 | 412 | 20% / 80% | 2% | $45,395 | 91% |
| Drawing | 14 | 284 | 23% / 77% | 4% | $42,725 | 90% |
| Communication Design | 7 | 269 | 25% / 75% | 4% | $64,235 | 95% |
| Art and Design | 3 | 255 | 18% / 82% | 7% | $59,822 | 93% |
| Sculpture | 34 | 166 | 26% / 74% | 13% | $42,550 | 90% |
| Art and Visual Communications | 1 | 164 | 20% / 80% | 0% | $58,694 | 88% |
| Studio Arts | 8 | 140 | 25% / 75% | 4% | $47,751 | 92% |
| Art Therapy | 37 | 125 | 2% / 98% | 2% | $56,248 | 95% |
| Art Studio | 4 | 109 | 18% / 82% | 5% | $43,798 | 88% |
| Art Practice | 3 | 92 | 22% / 78% | 15% | $46,722 | 91% |
| Integrated Design | 1 | 82 | 22% / 78% | 21% | $60,847 | 85% |
| Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences | 1 | 76 | 14% / 86% | 3% | $56,012 | 93% |
| Communication and Media Arts | 1 | 73 | 23% / 77% | 3% | $67,969 | 92% |
| Art (Studio Art) | 1 | 69 | 29% / 71% | 1% | $39,659 | 89% |
| Fine Arts and Art Studies | 3 | 60 | 43% / 57% | 0% | $45,800 | 89% |
| Art + Design | 1 | 60 | 33% / 67% | 2% | $50,841 | 90% |
| Art & Design | 1 | 56 | 27% / 73% | 0% | $36,359 | 89% |
| Art Practices | 1 | 55 | 27% / 73% | 0% | $43,499 | 93% |
| Ceramics | 16 | 53 | 11% / 89% | 2% | $41,741 | 91% |
| Visual Art | 3 | 51 | 25% / 75% | 8% | $54,956 | 95% |
| Art Studio and Design | 1 | 49 | 35% / 65% | 0% | $46,169 | 92% |
| Visual Arts (Studio) | 1 | 49 | 27% / 73% | 4% | $40,059 | 84% |
| Art Teacher Education | 41 | 47 | 13% / 87% | 0% | $53,731 | 96% |
| Traditional Building Crafts | 1 | 36 | 89% / 11% | 0% | $45,947 | |
| Fine Art | 2 | 31 | 29% / 71% | 16% | $35,648 | 88% |
| Craft Studies | 1 | 28 | 32% / 68% | 0% | $49,594 | |
| Integrated Studio Arts | 1 | 27 | 33% / 67% | 0% | $57,738 | 97% |
| Arts, Media, and Culture | 1 | 25 | 44% / 56% | 0% | $50,454 | 85% |
| Art: Studio Art | 1 | 24 | 21% / 79% | 0% | $49,787 | 85% |
| Visual Arts & Technology | 1 | 23 | 39% / 61% | 4% | $50,064 | |
| Crafts/Craft Design, Folk Art and Artisanry | 1 | 22 | 14% / 86% | 0% | $41,961 | 80% |
| Fine and Studio Arts | 12 | 21 | 33% / 67% | 0% | $44,863 | 90% |
| Art Studies | 9 | 16 | 38% / 62% | 0% | $44,955 | 94% |
| Interdisciplinary Arts | 1 | 16 | 50% / 50% | 0% | $49,367 | |
| Fine Arts Studio | 1 | 15 | 33% / 67% | 7% | $27,287 | 90% |
| Visual and Public Art | 1 | 15 | 27% / 73% | 0% | $38,806 | 100% |
| Art Education (Pre K-12) | 1 | 14 | 14% / 86% | 0% | $53,603 | 97% |
| Interdisciplinary Arts and Performance | 1 | 14 | 29% / 71% | 0% | $52,291 | 92% |
| Sonic Arts | 1 | 12 | 58% / 42% | 17% | $35,790 | 95% |
| Craft Design | 3 | 10 | 20% / 80% | 0% | $38,183 | 89% |
| Art (CCS) | 1 | 9 | 11% / 89% | 11% | $49,872 | 91% |
| Design Studies | 2 | 8 | 12% / 88% | 0% | $62,048 | 95% |
| Teacher Education: Art Education | 1 | 8 | 12% / 88% | 0% | $48,314 | 93% |
| Ceramic Arts | 4 | 7 | 14% / 86% | 0% | $45,802 | 87% |
| Arts | 2 | 7 | 71% / 29% | 0% | $47,472 | 100% |
| Design for Stage and Screen | 1 | 4 | 0% / 100% | 0% | $40,805 | 94% |
| Education (PreK-12): Art | 1 | 4 | 0% / 100% | 0% | $48,957 | |
| Community Arts | 3 | 2 | 0% / 100% | 0% | $47,200 | |
| Crafts/Folk Art | 2 | 2 | 0% / 100% | 0% | $45,672 | |
| Ceramic Arts and Ceramics | 2 | 0 | $38,664 | 93% |