Best Fine Artist programs in Colorado, ranked by enrollment
Create original artwork using any of a wide variety of media and.
20 schools in Colorado run programs that feed this job, graduating 498 people a year. The job pays a median of $51,910 in Colorado across about 250 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Colorado that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
5 programs in Colorado that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Colorado (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Colorado page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fine/Studio Arts, Generalmain feeder CIP 50.0702In Colorado → | 426 | 85.5% | 16 | $24,447 | $25,294 |
| 2 | CIP 50.0101In Colorado → | 39 | 7.8% | 1 | $24,752 | $25,963 |
| 3 | Art/Art Studies, Generalmain feeder CIP 50.0701In Colorado → | 27 | 5.4% | 3 | $24,447 | $25,294 |
| 4 | Fine Arts and Art Studies, Othermain feeder CIP 50.0799In Colorado → | 5 | 1.0% | 1 | $24,447 | $25,294 |
| 5 | Intermedia/Multimediamain feeder CIP 50.0706In Colorado → | 1 | 0.2% | 1 | $24,447 | $25,294 |
Top 20 schools in Colorado
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 9 of the 20 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colorado State University - Fort Collins Fort Collins, CO Public · 1 feeder programs | 110 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | $30,143 | 67% | — | 89% |
| 2 | University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus Denver, CO Public · 1 feeder programs | 76 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | $31,144 | 46% | — | 75% |
| 3 | University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO Public · 2 feeder programs | 69 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | $17,501 | 74% | — | 78% |
| 4 | University of Northern Colorado Greeley, CO Public · 1 feeder programs | 44 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | $30,663 | 51% | — | 86% |
| 5 | University of Colorado Colorado Springs Colorado Springs, CO Public · 1 feeder programs | 39 | Visual and Performing Arts, General | $30,966 | 47% | — | 97% |
| 6 | Metropolitan State University of Denver Denver, CO Public · 1 feeder programs | 34 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | $26,102 | 32% | — | 99% |
| 7 | Fort Lewis College Durango, CO Public · 1 feeder programs | 24 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | $22,754 | 36% | — | 77% |
| 8 | Colorado Mesa University Grand Junction, CO Public · 1 feeder programs | 18 | Art/Art Studies, General | $27,136 | 41% | — | 82% |
| 9 | Front Range Community College Westminster, CO Public · 1 feeder programs | 14 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | — | 35% | — | — |
| 10 | Colorado College Colorado Springs, CO Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 13 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | — | 88% | $23,510 | 18% |
| 11 | University of Denver Denver, CO Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 12 | Art/Art Studies, General | $28,964 | 76% | $29,726 | 78% |
| 12 | Arapahoe Community College Littleton, CO Public · 1 feeder programs | 10 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | — | 29% | — | — |
| 13 | Western Colorado University Gunnison, CO Public · 1 feeder programs | 10 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | — | 50% | — | 100% |
| 14 | Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design Lakewood, CO Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 7 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | — | 32% | $28,500 | — |
| 15 | Adams State University Alamosa, CO Public · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | — | 39% | — | — |
| 16 | Red Rocks Community College Lakewood, CO Public · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | — | 32% | — | — |
| 17 | Colorado State University Pueblo Pueblo, CO Public · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | — | 40% | — | 95% |
| 18 | Pikes Peak State College Colorado Springs, CO Public · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | — | 21% | — | — |
| 19 | Regis University Denver, CO Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Art/Art Studies, General | — | 61% | $22,407 | 86% |
| 20 | Otero College La Junta, CO Public · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | — | 38% | — | — |
All 20 schools in Colorado
Every school in Colorado with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado State University - Fort Collins | Fort Collins | Public | 110 | 1 |
| University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus | Denver | Public | 76 | 1 |
| University of Colorado Boulder | Boulder | Public | 69 | 2 |
| University of Northern Colorado | Greeley | Public | 44 | 1 |
| University of Colorado Colorado Springs | Colorado Springs | Public | 39 | 1 |
| Metropolitan State University of Denver | Denver | Public | 34 | 1 |
| Fort Lewis College | Durango | Public | 24 | 1 |
| Colorado Mesa University | Grand Junction | Public | 18 | 1 |
| Front Range Community College | Westminster | Public | 14 | 1 |
| Colorado College | Colorado Springs | Private not-for-profit | 13 | 1 |
| University of Denver | Denver | Private not-for-profit | 12 | 2 |
| Arapahoe Community College | Littleton | Public | 10 | 1 |
| Western Colorado University | Gunnison | Public | 10 | 1 |
| Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design | Lakewood | Private for-profit | 7 | 1 |
| Adams State University | Alamosa | Public | 5 | 1 |
What fine artists, including painters, sculptors, and illustrators earn in Colorado
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $55,490. Colorado pays below the national figure.
Concentrated here: Colorado employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.
Metro areas in Colorado
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators page.
How to become a Fine Artist
Job zone 3 of 5 · SVP 6.0 to < 7.0- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
- On-the-job training
- Long-term on-the-job training
Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.
Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Colorado
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 12 majors mapped to Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators12 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 50.0101Visual and Performing Arts, General
- 50.0701Art/Art Studies, General
- 50.0702Fine/Studio Arts, General
- 50.0705Drawing
- 50.0706Intermedia/Multimedia
- 50.0708Painting
- 50.0709Sculpture
- 50.0710Printmaking
- 50.0711Ceramic Arts and Ceramics
- 50.0799Fine Arts and Art Studies, Other
- 50.1101Community/Environmental/Socially-Engaged Art
- 51.2703Medical Illustration/Medical Illustrator
Common questions
Answers for people weighing fine artists, including painters, sculptors, and illustrators programs in Colorado.
What degree do you need to become a Fine Artist?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Fine/Studio Arts, General, which awarded 426 degrees in Colorado in 2024-25, 85.5% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Fine Artist?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 5 programs to this occupation. The largest are Fine and Studio Arts, Visual and Performing Arts. Together they graduate about 498 people a year in Colorado.
How much do fine artists, including painters, sculptors, and illustrators earn in Colorado?+
The median is $51,910 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 6.5% below the U.S. median of $55,490. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for fine artists, including painters, sculptors, and illustrators growing?+
BLS projects a -1.2% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, decline, with roughly 2,200 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Colorado?+
20 institutions in Colorado reported graduates from at least one of the 5 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do fine artists, including painters, sculptors, and illustrators work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Artist, Painter, Sculptor, Fine Artist among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 27-1013.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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