Best Fine Artist programs in Michigan, ranked by enrollment
Create original artwork using any of a wide variety of media and.
45 schools in Michigan run programs that feed this job, graduating 751 people a year. The job pays a median of $38,650 in Michigan across about 220 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Michigan that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
10 programs in Michigan that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Michigan (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 Michigan page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Art/Art Studies, Generalmain feeder CIP 50.0701In Michigan → | 435 | 57.9% | 22 | $24,447 | $25,294 |
| 2 | Fine/Studio Arts, Generalmain feeder CIP 50.0702In Michigan → | 242 | 32.2% | 24 | $24,447 | $25,294 |
| 3 | Fine Arts and Art Studies, Othermain feeder CIP 50.0799In Michigan → | 24 | 3.2% | 2 | $24,447 | $25,294 |
| 4 | CIP 50.0101In Michigan → | 17 | 2.3% | 5 | $24,752 | $25,963 |
| 5 | Ceramic Arts and Ceramicsmain feeder CIP 50.0711In Michigan → | 10 | 1.3% | 2 | $24,447 | $25,294 |
| 6 | Paintingmain feeder CIP 50.0708In Michigan → | 7 | 0.9% | 2 | $24,447 | $25,294 |
| 7 | Printmakingmain feeder CIP 50.0710In Michigan → | 7 | 0.9% | 1 | $24,447 | $25,294 |
| 8 | Sculpturemain feeder CIP 50.0709In Michigan → | 6 | 0.8% | 2 | $24,447 | $25,294 |
| 9 | Drawingmain feeder CIP 50.0705In Michigan → | 2 | 0.3% | 2 | $24,447 | $25,294 |
| 10 | CIP 51.2703In Michigan → | 1 | 0.1% | 1 | $47,775 | $25,000 |
Top 25 schools in Michigan
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 11 of the 45 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 192 | Art/Art Studies, General | $31,367 | 93% | — | 16% |
| 2 | Grand Valley State University Allendale, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 72 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | $24,135 | 67% | — | 83% |
| 3 | Northern Michigan University Marquette, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 53 | Art/Art Studies, General | $23,786 | 52% | — | 84% |
| 4 | Wayne State University Detroit, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 44 | Art/Art Studies, General | $20,948 | 58% | — | 81% |
| 5 | Eastern Michigan University Ypsilanti, MI Public · 2 feeder programs | 43 | Art/Art Studies, General | $28,890 | 46% | — | 80% |
| 6 | Grand Rapids Community College Grand Rapids, MI Public · 2 feeder programs | 33 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | — | 21% | — | — |
| 7 | Cranbrook Academy of Art Bloomfield Hills, MI Private not-for-profit · 4 feeder programs | 27 | Ceramic Arts and Ceramics | — | — | — | — |
| 8 | Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, MI Public · 3 feeder programs | 24 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | $21,773 | 58% | — | 85% |
| 9 | Ferris State University Big Rapids, MI Public · 4 feeder programs | 22 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | $24,540 | 47% | — | 91% |
| 10 | Michigan State University East Lansing, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 20 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | $19,566 | 81% | — | 85% |
| 11 | Delta College University Center, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 19 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | — | 27% | — | — |
| 12 | Schoolcraft Community College District Livonia, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 14 | Fine Arts and Art Studies, Other | — | 18% | — | — |
| 13 | College for Creative Studies Detroit, MI Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 13 | Fine Arts and Art Studies, Other | — | 71% | $32,153 | 92% |
| 14 | Kalamazoo College Kalamazoo, MI Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 13 | Art/Art Studies, General | — | 76% | $19,279 | 75% |
| 15 | Washtenaw Community College Ann Arbor, MI Public · 2 feeder programs | 13 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | — | 33% | — | — |
| 16 | Hillsdale College Hillsdale, MI Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 11 | Art/Art Studies, General | — | 90% | — | 21% |
| 17 | Mott Community College Flint, MI Public · 2 feeder programs | 11 | Visual and Performing Arts, General | — | 32% | — | — |
| 18 | Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI Public · 2 feeder programs | 11 | Art/Art Studies, General | $28,289 | 48% | — | 72% |
| 19 | Lansing Community College Lansing, MI Public · 2 feeder programs | 10 | Art/Art Studies, General | — | 25% | — | — |
| 20 | Central Michigan University Mount Pleasant, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 9 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | $18,117 | 59% | — | 90% |
| 21 | Oakland University Rochester Hills, MI Public · 2 feeder programs | 9 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | $22,840 | 58% | — | 88% |
| 22 | Albion College Albion, MI Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 8 | Art/Art Studies, General | — | 62% | $16,537 | 81% |
| 23 | Alma College Alma, MI Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 7 | Art/Art Studies, General | — | 63% | $22,790 | 57% |
| 24 | Jackson College Jackson, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 7 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | — | 16% | — | — |
| 25 | Southwestern Michigan College Dowagiac, MI Public · 1 feeder programs | 7 | Art/Art Studies, General | — | 38% | — | — |
All 45 schools in Michigan
Every school in Michigan 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Michigan - Ann Arbor | Ann Arbor | Public | 192 | 1 |
| Grand Valley State University | Allendale | Public | 72 | 1 |
| Northern Michigan University | Marquette | Public | 53 | 1 |
| Wayne State University | Detroit | Public | 44 | 1 |
| Eastern Michigan University | Ypsilanti | Public | 43 | 2 |
| Grand Rapids Community College | Grand Rapids | Public | 33 | 2 |
| Cranbrook Academy of Art | Bloomfield Hills | Private not-for-profit | 27 | 4 |
| Western Michigan University | Kalamazoo | Public | 24 | 3 |
| Ferris State University | Big Rapids | Public | 22 | 4 |
| Michigan State University | East Lansing | Public | 20 | 1 |
| Delta College | University Center | Public | 19 | 1 |
| Schoolcraft Community College District | Livonia | Public | 14 | 1 |
| College for Creative Studies | Detroit | Private not-for-profit | 13 | 2 |
| Kalamazoo College | Kalamazoo | Private not-for-profit | 13 | 1 |
| Washtenaw Community College | Ann Arbor | Public | 13 | 2 |
What fine artists, including painters, sculptors, and illustrators earn in Michigan
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $55,490. Michigan pays below the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Michigan
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 Michigan
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 Michigan.
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 435 degrees in Michigan in 2024-25, 57.9% 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, Medical Illustration and Informatics. Together they graduate about 751 people a year in Michigan.
How much do fine artists, including painters, sculptors, and illustrators earn in Michigan?+
The median is $38,650 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 30.3% 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 Michigan?+
45 institutions in Michigan 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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