Best Artist programs in Missouri, ranked by enrollment
All artists and related workers not listed.
31 schools in Missouri run programs that feed this job, graduating 566 people a year. The job pays a median of $63,130 in Missouri across about 100 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Missouri that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
7 programs in Missouri that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Missouri (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 Missouri page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 50.0409In Missouri → | 137 | 24.2% | 14 | $31,611 | $26,000 |
| 2 | CIP 50.0702In Missouri → | 129 | 22.8% | 14 | $24,447 | $25,294 |
| 3 | CIP 50.0101In Missouri → | 98 | 17.3% | 3 | $24,752 | $25,963 |
| 4 | CIP 50.0402In Missouri → | 86 | 15.2% | 4 | $31,611 | $26,000 |
| 5 | CIP 50.0102In Missouri → | 55 | 9.7% | 4 | $24,752 | $25,963 |
| 6 | CIP 50.0410In Missouri → | 39 | 6.9% | 2 | $31,611 | $26,000 |
| 7 | CIP 50.0799In Missouri → | 22 | 3.9% | 2 | $24,447 | $25,294 |
Top 25 schools in Missouri
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 13 of the 31 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Missouri - Columbia Columbia, MO Public · 4 feeder programs | 77 | Digital Arts | $29,775 | 75% | — | 78% |
| 2 | Southeast Missouri State University Cape Girardeau, MO Public · 1 feeder programs | 74 | Visual and Performing Arts, General | $26,668 | 58% | — | 74% |
| 3 | Kansas City Art Institute Kansas City, MO Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 46 | Illustration | $29,513 | 58% | $29,039 | 55% |
| 4 | University of Central Missouri Warrensburg, MO Public · 2 feeder programs | 37 | Commercial and Advertising Art | $33,921 | 54% | — | 64% |
| 5 | St Charles Community College Cottleville, MO Public · 1 feeder programs | 33 | Commercial and Advertising Art | — | 25% | — | — |
| 6 | Saint Louis Community College Bridgeton, MO Public · 1 feeder programs | 32 | Graphic Design | $25,929 | 21% | — | — |
| 7 | Webster University Saint Louis, MO Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 31 | Graphic Design | $20,257 | 64% | $25,090 | 86% |
| 8 | Metropolitan Community College - Kansas City Kansas City, MO Public · 1 feeder programs | 24 | Commercial and Advertising Art | — | 34% | — | — |
| 9 | Washington University in St Louis St. Louis, MO Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 22 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | — | 94% | $14,126 | 12% |
| 10 | University of Missouri - St Louis Saint Louis, MO Public · 1 feeder programs | 21 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | $32,224 | 57% | — | 63% |
| 11 | Missouri State University - Springfield Springfield, MO Public · 2 feeder programs | 18 | Visual and Performing Arts, General | — | 58% | — | 91% |
| 12 | Maryville University of Saint Louis Saint Louis, MO Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 15 | Graphic Design | $39,623 | 66% | $24,921 | 95% |
| 13 | East Central College Union, MO Public · 1 feeder programs | 14 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | — | 48% | — | — |
| 14 | Drury University Springfield, MO Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 13 | Graphic Design | — | 62% | $20,482 | 58% |
| 15 | Jefferson College Hillsboro, MO Public · 1 feeder programs | 12 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | — | 38% | — | — |
| 16 | Missouri Southern State University Joplin, MO Public · 2 feeder programs | 12 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | $29,309 | 42% | — | 97% |
| 17 | Park University Parkville, MO Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 11 | Graphic Design | $46,340 | 38% | $16,013 | — |
| 18 | Northwest Missouri State University Maryville, MO Public · 2 feeder programs | 10 | Graphic Design | — | 54% | — | 86% |
| 19 | University of Missouri - Kansas City Kansas City, MO Public · 1 feeder programs | 10 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | $25,476 | 55% | — | 72% |
| 20 | State Fair Community College Sedalia, MO Public · 1 feeder programs | 9 | Visual and Performing Arts, General | — | 44% | — | — |
| 21 | Truman State University Kirksville, MO Public · 1 feeder programs | 7 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | $15,998 | 69% | — | 84% |
| 22 | Columbia College Columbia, MO Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Graphic Design | — | 42% | $23,247 | — |
| 23 | Missouri Western State University Saint Joseph, MO Public · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Graphic Design | $37,200 | 39% | — | — |
| 24 | Saint Louis University Saint Louis, MO Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Fine/Studio Arts, General | — | 80% | $24,886 | 75% |
| 25 | Southwest Baptist University Bolivar, MO Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Commercial and Advertising Art | — | 55% | $20,939 | 68% |
All 31 schools in Missouri
Every school in Missouri 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 Missouri - Columbia | Columbia | Public | 77 | 4 |
| Southeast Missouri State University | Cape Girardeau | Public | 74 | 1 |
| Kansas City Art Institute | Kansas City | Private not-for-profit | 46 | 2 |
| University of Central Missouri | Warrensburg | Public | 37 | 2 |
| St Charles Community College | Cottleville | Public | 33 | 1 |
| Saint Louis Community College | Bridgeton | Public | 32 | 1 |
| Webster University | Saint Louis | Private not-for-profit | 31 | 3 |
| Metropolitan Community College - Kansas City | Kansas City | Public | 24 | 1 |
| Washington University in St Louis | St. Louis | Private not-for-profit | 22 | 1 |
| University of Missouri - St Louis | Saint Louis | Public | 21 | 1 |
| Missouri State University - Springfield | Springfield | Public | 18 | 2 |
| Maryville University of Saint Louis | Saint Louis | Private not-for-profit | 15 | 1 |
| East Central College | Union | Public | 14 | 1 |
| Drury University | Springfield | Private not-for-profit | 13 | 2 |
| Jefferson College | Hillsboro | Public | 12 | 1 |
What artists and related workers, all other earn in Missouri
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $71,240. Missouri pays below the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
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 Artists and Related Workers, All Other page.
How to become a Artist
- Typical entry education
- No formal educational credential
- On-the-job training
- Long-term on-the-job training
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Missouri
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 9 majors mapped to Artists and Related Workers, All Other9 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 50.0101Visual and Performing Arts, General
- 50.0102Digital Arts
- 50.0201Crafts/Craft Design, Folk Art and Artisanry
- 50.0402Commercial and Advertising Art
- 50.0409Graphic Design
- 50.0410Illustration
- 50.0702Fine/Studio Arts, General
- 50.0799Fine Arts and Art Studies, Other
- 50.1101Community/Environmental/Socially-Engaged Art
Common questions
Answers for people weighing artists and related workers, all other programs in Missouri.
What degree do you need to become an Artist?+
No formal educational credential is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Graphic Design, which awarded 137 degrees in Missouri in 2024-25, 24.2% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming an Artist?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 7 programs to this occupation. The largest are Design and Applied Arts, Visual and Performing Arts, Fine and Studio Arts. Together they graduate about 566 people a year in Missouri.
How much do artists and related workers, all other earn in Missouri?+
The median is $63,130 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 11.4% below the U.S. median of $71,240. 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 artists and related workers, all other growing?+
BLS projects a +0.8% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, little or no change, with roughly 1,200 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Missouri?+
31 institutions in Missouri reported graduates from at least one of the 7 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.
Do you need training or experience beyond a degree?+
BLS lists 'None' for related work experience and 'Long-term on-the-job training' for on-the-job training typically needed to reach competency.
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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