Best Fine Artist programs in Massachusetts, ranked by enrollment
Create original artwork using any of a wide variety of media and.
48 schools in Massachusetts run programs that feed this job, graduating 806 people a year. The job pays a median of — in Massachusetts across about 140 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Massachusetts that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
10 programs in Massachusetts that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Massachusetts (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 Massachusetts page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Art/Art Studies, Generalmain feeder CIP 50.0701In Massachusetts → | 313 | 38.8% | 18 | $24,447 | $25,294 |
| 2 | Fine/Studio Arts, Generalmain feeder CIP 50.0702In Massachusetts → | 250 | 31.0% | 23 | $24,447 | $25,294 |
| 3 | CIP 50.0101In Massachusetts → | 71 | 8.8% | 8 | $24,752 | $25,963 |
| 4 | Paintingmain feeder CIP 50.0708In Massachusetts → | 46 | 5.7% | 5 | $24,447 | $25,294 |
| 5 | Fine Arts and Art Studies, Othermain feeder CIP 50.0799In Massachusetts → | 42 | 5.2% | 4 | $24,447 | $25,294 |
| 6 | Intermedia/Multimediamain feeder CIP 50.0706In Massachusetts → | 29 | 3.6% | 2 | $24,447 | $25,294 |
| 7 | Sculpturemain feeder CIP 50.0709In Massachusetts → | 21 | 2.6% | 4 | $24,447 | $25,294 |
| 8 | Ceramic Arts and Ceramicsmain feeder CIP 50.0711In Massachusetts → | 17 | 2.1% | 2 | $24,447 | $25,294 |
| 9 | Printmakingmain feeder CIP 50.0710In Massachusetts → | 15 | 1.9% | 3 | $24,447 | $25,294 |
| 10 | Drawingmain feeder CIP 50.0705In Massachusetts → | 2 | 0.2% | 1 | $24,447 | $25,294 |
Top 25 schools in Massachusetts
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 16 of the 48 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tufts University Medford, MA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 134 | Art/Art Studies, General | $17,154 | 94% | $23,570 | 11% |
| 2 | Massachusetts College of Art and Design Boston, MA Public · 6 feeder programs | 75 | Intermedia/Multimedia | $21,461 | 69% | — | 76% |
| 3 | University of Massachusetts - Amherst Amherst, MA Public · 1 feeder programs | 47 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | $18,072 | 83% | — | 60% |
| 4 | Williams College Williamstown, MA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 45 | Art/Art Studies, General | $34,560 | 94% | $10,747 | 8% |
| 5 | Harvard University Cambridge, MA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 42 | Visual and Performing Arts, General | — | 98% | $15,013 | 4% |
| 6 | Boston University Boston, MA Private not-for-profit · 4 feeder programs | 39 | Painting | $17,374 | 89% | $21,956 | 11% |
| 7 | Bridgewater State University Bridgewater, MA Public · 1 feeder programs | 34 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | $29,595 | 53% | — | 88% |
| 8 | Lesley University Cambridge, MA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 29 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | — | 58% | $30,837 | 97% |
| 9 | Hampshire College Amherst, MA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 23 | Art/Art Studies, General | — | 54% | $22,968 | 75% |
| 10 | University of Massachusetts - Lowell Lowell, MA Public · 1 feeder programs | 23 | Fine Arts and Art Studies, Other | $36,236 | 65% | — | 83% |
| 11 | University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth North Dartmouth, MA Public · 5 feeder programs | 20 | Ceramic Arts and Ceramics | $23,214 | 52% | — | 91% |
| 12 | Amherst College Amherst, MA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 17 | Art/Art Studies, General | — | 94% | $16,081 | 9% |
| 13 | Bristol Community College Fall River, MA Public · 2 feeder programs | 17 | Intermedia/Multimedia | — | 22% | — | — |
| 14 | Clark University Worcester, MA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 15 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | — | 77% | $23,332 | 40% |
| 15 | Mount Wachusett Community College Gardner, MA Public · 1 feeder programs | 15 | Art/Art Studies, General | — | 24% | — | — |
| 16 | Smith College Northampton, MA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 14 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | $20,171 | 89% | $17,183 | 21% |
| 17 | Mount Holyoke College South Hadley, MA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 13 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | $18,420 | 84% | $26,083 | 36% |
| 18 | University of Massachusetts - Boston Boston, MA Public · 1 feeder programs | 13 | Art/Art Studies, General | $36,980 | 49% | — | 84% |
| 19 | Westfield State University Westfield, MA Public · 1 feeder programs | 13 | Art/Art Studies, General | $33,440 | 54% | — | 81% |
| 20 | Berkshire Community College Pittsfield, MA Public · 2 feeder programs | 12 | Visual and Performing Arts, General | — | 20% | — | — |
| 21 | Bunker Hill Community College Boston, MA Public · 1 feeder programs | 12 | Fine Arts and Art Studies, Other | — | 13% | — | — |
| 22 | Wheaton College (Massachusetts) Norton, MA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 12 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | $28,574 | 73% | $26,445 | 68% |
| 23 | Framingham State University Framingham, MA Public · 1 feeder programs | 11 | Art/Art Studies, General | $28,843 | 48% | — | 84% |
| 24 | Montserrat College of Art Beverly, MA Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 11 | Painting | $21,543 | 53% | $34,176 | — |
| 25 | Suffolk University Boston, MA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 10 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | — | 61% | $28,895 | 82% |
All 48 schools in Massachusetts
Every school in Massachusetts 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tufts University | Medford | Private not-for-profit | 134 | 1 |
| Massachusetts College of Art and Design | Boston | Public | 75 | 6 |
| University of Massachusetts - Amherst | Amherst | Public | 47 | 1 |
| Williams College | Williamstown | Private not-for-profit | 45 | 1 |
| Harvard University | Cambridge | Private not-for-profit | 42 | 1 |
| Boston University | Boston | Private not-for-profit | 39 | 4 |
| Bridgewater State University | Bridgewater | Public | 34 | 1 |
| Lesley University | Cambridge | Private not-for-profit | 29 | 2 |
| Hampshire College | Amherst | Private not-for-profit | 23 | 1 |
| University of Massachusetts - Lowell | Lowell | Public | 23 | 1 |
| University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth | North Dartmouth | Public | 20 | 5 |
| Amherst College | Amherst | Private not-for-profit | 17 | 1 |
| Bristol Community College | Fall River | Public | 17 | 2 |
| Clark University | Worcester | Private not-for-profit | 15 | 1 |
| Mount Wachusett Community College | Gardner | Public | 15 | 1 |
What fine artists, including painters, sculptors, and illustrators earn in Massachusetts
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Massachusetts, by employment
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 Massachusetts
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 Massachusetts.
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 Art/Art Studies, General, which awarded 313 degrees in Massachusetts in 2024-25, 38.8% 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 10 programs to this occupation. The largest are Fine and Studio Arts, Visual and Performing Arts. Together they graduate about 806 people a year in Massachusetts.
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 Massachusetts?+
48 institutions in Massachusetts reported graduates from at least one of the 10 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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