BFAMFAPhD... a collective that compiles information and data on Arts and Education finds the number not quite as bad. There were 2 million art school grads at the time the data was compiled in 2014. There were 1,200,000 artists whose primary source of income was as working artists. Of these, 200,000 were Art School graduates, meaning that only 1 in 6 working artists were also art school graduates. The real problem with art schools is student debt. 7 of the 10 most expensive institutions of higher learning in the US (when accounting for grants and other available aid) are Arts Schools. The proportion of school costs covered by student loans arts is quite a bit larger for students enrolled in arts schools vs non-arts schools. Graduates are likely to graduate with significant student loan debt, which makes working as an artist difficult, if not impossible. Only 16% of working artists have a BFA (bachelor's degree in the fine arts). 39% have no degree at all while the remaining 45% have degrees in a non-art field.