Top Arts Colleges in Chennai 2021

Chennai, being the centre of the IT industry and informational services, provides great job opportunities. Along with this, there are numerous multinational companies in Chennai that offer competitive packages as compared to other cities. Thus, Chennai is one of the prominent regions for students who wish to pursue Arts courses. Arts / Humanities & Social Sciences comprise a wide variety of academic and professional disciplines, including English, Psychology, Political Science, History, Anthropology and Music. Arts graduates can pursue a wide variety of careers, including business, media, education, government, and non-profit work. They can choose from a variety of careers in Arts ranging from Assistant Administrative Officer to Content Editors to Librarian.

Some of the UG and PG courses offered in the field of Arts are mentioned below:

Based on the degree selected by the candidate, job openings can be found in:

• Public administration, such as local government, the Civil Service, Art institutions, NHS and Social Services
• Work where written communication plays a major part such as advertising, journalism, publishing and public relations
• Heritage and Museums
• Education
• Legal work
• Business, Banking, Retail, Hospitality and Travel sectors
• Human resources
• Charities and Campaigning Organisations
• Creative industries

Chennai is home to some of the top-rated colleges/ universities to pursue Arts courses like Madras Christian College (MCC), Loyola College, Stella Maris College, Women's Christian College, Ethiraj College for Women (Ethiraj), SDNB Vaishnav College For Women, Chevalier T Thomas Elizabeth College for Women, Hindustan College of Arts and Science, Guru Nanak College, Patrician College of Arts and Science, Presidency College, Nazareth College of Arts and Science, The New College, etc.

There are over 110 Arts colleges in Chennai that offer a full-time, part-time, distance-learning, virtual classroom and online mode of study. These colleges provide degree, diploma and certificate courses. Out of these the top 14 Arts colleges in Chennai ranked by India Today offer degree courses in a full-time mode of study.

The top-rated Arts colleges in Chennai offer different types of courses. Over 87 colleges offer BA, 54 offer MA and 13 offer certificate courses.

Some of the key skills required by an Arts professional are mentioned below:

• Creativity
• Analytical
• Research
• Communication
• Competency
• Presentation
• Problem-solving
• Ability to work independently
• Ability to work in a team 

Arts Courses Admission Eligibility Criteria

Arts courses can be pursued at UG, PG and PhD levels. The eligibility criteria differs as per the course selected by the candidate. However, given below is a broad eligibility criteria for UG, PG and PhD Arts courses for the reference of candidates:

• UG level: Candidates must have passed Class 12 and secured at least 55% aggregate score from a recognised board. The course is of four years duration.
• PG level: Candidates must have passed graduation preferably in the subject in which they wish to pursue masters with a minimum of 50% aggregate score. The course is of two years duration.
• PhD level: Candidate must have passed a Master's degree in either stream of Engineering, Technology, Arts, Science or Commerce with a minimum of 60% aggregate score. The course duration is three years.

Although there are plenty of Arts colleges in Chennai there a few top ones that have been listed by India Today.

Following is a list of top 10 Arts colleges in Chennai ranked by India Today under the Arts category:

Here is the list of some of the top private and public Arts colleges in Chennai:

Career Scope for Arts Students

Some of the common career fields for humanities and social science graduates, include Communications, English, Geography, History, Journalism, Library Science, Math, Music, Philosophy, Political Science, Social Science, Social Work, Sociology, Theology, etc. Contrary to the belief, careers in Social science are as lucrative and prestigious career options as their engineering and medical counterparts.

Some of the popular job profiles that candidates can consider selecting after completing the education in Arts are mentioned below:

• Archaeologist

• Cultural Anthropologist

• Editor

• Geologist

• Historian

• Linguistic Anthropologist

• Museum Curator

• Oceanographer

• Park Interpreter

• Statistician

• Teacher/ Professor

Graduates from below top 6 Arts college in Chennai can bag a median salary of Rs 2-3 LPA:

• Ethiraj College for Women (Ethiraj)
• MCC
• Stella Maris College
• Women's Christian College
• Loyola College
• Guru Nanak College

Graduates from below top 2 Arts college in Chennai can bag a median salary of Rs 1-2 LPA:

• Presidency College
• Nazareth College of Arts and Science

Refer to the infographic below to get a detailed overview of the median salary for Arts colleges in Chennai:

Note: Y-axis refers to the number of colleges in the above graph.

Top Recruiters for Arts Students

After completing Arts courses, candidates get several placement opportunities. The placement drives are conducted by the colleges. The colleges provide opportunities to enhance the student’s knowledge and gain real-time experience.

Below is the list of few top companies in Chennai that recruit Arts students along with their placement ratings:

How affordable is studying Arts Courses in Chennai?

Based on the below pie chart, it can be estimated that pursuing Arts courses in Chennai is economical as approximately 67% of the colleges have course/annual fees of less than Rs 1 lakh. Some of these colleges are:

• Women's Christian College
• Hindustan College of Arts and Science

Approximately 33% of Arts colleges have a fee structure that ranges from Rs 1-2 lakh. Some of these colleges are

• Ethiraj College for Women (Ethiraj)

Refer to the infographic below to get a detailed overview of the break-up of Arts Colleges in Chennai basis fees: