If you took home a diploma for a four-year degree in the visual or performing arts last weekend, you’re not alone: in the U.S., more than 91,000 college graduates are venturing out into the world with BFAs or their equivalent in hand. They are more likely to be from upper and middle class households than grads from other majors, with an average family income of $94,381. Only about 10% of them, if one report is to be believed, will actually become full-time professional artists.
In “the real world,” 84% of working artists—defined by BFAMFAPhD’s controversial “Artists Report Back” study as people who make their primary living from their artwork—do not have degrees in the arts, and 40% have no college degree at all. (It’s important to note that due to data limitations, these figures exclude artists with master’s degrees or beyond in any field; however, the number of artists affected is relatively small.) If arts training programs continue to climb in popularity while budding artists from less affluence are deciding against studying the arts in college, does that mean the college-to-career trajectory is a myth? Has the arts degree become a luxury, or are artists from less advantaged backgrounds missing out on something?