diff --git a/python/ray/air/util/tensor_extensions/arrow.py b/python/ray/air/util/tensor_extensions/arrow.py
index 91b5daecbefe9..7412e2d30c23e 100644
--- a/python/ray/air/util/tensor_extensions/arrow.py
+++ b/python/ray/air/util/tensor_extensions/arrow.py
@@ -79,6 +79,11 @@ def shape(self):
         """
         return self._shape
 
+    @property
+    def scalar_type(self):
+        """Returns the type of the underlying tensor elements."""
+        return self.storage_type.value_type
+
     def to_pandas_dtype(self):
         """
         Convert Arrow extension type to corresponding Pandas dtype.
@@ -132,6 +137,48 @@ def __str__(self) -> str:
     def __repr__(self) -> str:
         return str(self)
 
+    @classmethod
+    def _need_variable_shaped_tensor_array(
+        cls,
+        array_types: Sequence[
+            Union["ArrowTensorType", "ArrowVariableShapedTensorType"]
+        ],
+    ) -> bool:
+        """
+        Whether the provided list of tensor types needs a variable-shaped
+        representation (i.e. `ArrowVariableShapedTensorType`) when concatenating
+        or chunking. If one or more of the tensor types in `array_types` are
+        variable-shaped and/or any of the tensor arrays have a different shape
+        than the others, a variable-shaped tensor array representation will be
+        required and this method will return True.
+
+        Args:
+            array_types: List of tensor types to check if a variable-shaped
+            representation is required for concatenation
+
+        Returns:
+            True if concatenating arrays with types `array_types` requires
+            a variable-shaped representation
+        """
+        shape = None
+        for arr_type in array_types:
+            # If at least one of the arrays is variable-shaped, we can immediately
+            # short-circuit since we require a variable-shaped representation.
+            if isinstance(arr_type, ArrowVariableShapedTensorType):
+                return True
+            if not isinstance(arr_type, ArrowTensorType):
+                raise ValueError(
+                    "All provided array types must be an instance of either "
+                    "ArrowTensorType or ArrowVariableShapedTensorType, but "
+                    f"got {arr_type}"
+                )
+            # We need variable-shaped representation if any of the tensor arrays have
+            # different shapes.
+            if shape is not None and arr_type.shape != shape:
+                return True
+            shape = arr_type.shape
+        return False
+
 
 if _arrow_extension_scalars_are_subclassable():
     # TODO(Clark): Remove this version guard once we only support Arrow 9.0.0+.
@@ -410,7 +457,8 @@ def _concat_same_type(
         of the tensor arrays have a different shape than the others, a variable-shaped
         tensor array will be returned.
         """
-        if cls._need_variable_shaped_tensor_array(to_concat):
+        to_concat_types = [arr.type for arr in to_concat]
+        if ArrowTensorType._need_variable_shaped_tensor_array(to_concat_types):
             # Need variable-shaped tensor array.
             # TODO(Clark): Eliminate this NumPy roundtrip by directly constructing the
             # underlying storage array buffers (NumPy roundtrip will not be zero-copy
@@ -432,7 +480,8 @@ def _chunk_tensor_arrays(
         """
         Create a ChunkedArray from multiple tensor arrays.
         """
-        if cls._need_variable_shaped_tensor_array(arrs):
+        arrs_types = [arr.type for arr in arrs]
+        if ArrowTensorType._need_variable_shaped_tensor_array(arrs_types):
             new_arrs = []
             for a in arrs:
                 if isinstance(a.type, ArrowTensorType):
@@ -442,31 +491,6 @@ def _chunk_tensor_arrays(
             arrs = new_arrs
         return pa.chunked_array(arrs)
 
-    @classmethod
-    def _need_variable_shaped_tensor_array(
-        cls, arrs: Sequence[Union["ArrowTensorArray", "ArrowVariableShapedTensorArray"]]
-    ) -> bool:
-        """
-        Whether the provided tensor arrays need a variable-shaped representation when
-        concatenating or chunking.
-
-        If one or more of the tensor arrays in arrs are variable-shaped and/or any of
-        the tensor arrays have a different shape than the others, a variable-shaped
-        tensor array representation will be required and this method will return True.
-        """
-        needs_variable_shaped = False
-        shape = None
-        for a in arrs:
-            a_type = a.type
-            if isinstance(a_type, ArrowVariableShapedTensorType) or (
-                shape is not None and a_type.shape != shape
-            ):
-                needs_variable_shaped = True
-                break
-            if shape is None:
-                shape = a_type.shape
-        return needs_variable_shaped
-
     def to_variable_shaped_tensor_array(self) -> "ArrowVariableShapedTensorArray":
         """
         Convert this tensor array to a variable-shaped tensor array.
@@ -529,6 +553,12 @@ def ndim(self) -> int:
         """Return the number of dimensions in the tensor elements."""
         return self._ndim
 
+    @property
+    def scalar_type(self):
+        """Returns the type of the underlying tensor elements."""
+        data_field_index = self.storage_type.get_field_index("data")
+        return self.storage_type[data_field_index].type.value_type
+
     def __reduce__(self):
         return (
             ArrowVariableShapedTensorType,
diff --git a/python/ray/data/_internal/arrow_ops/transform_pyarrow.py b/python/ray/data/_internal/arrow_ops/transform_pyarrow.py
index 2bb61e496090e..8a168e04cef15 100644
--- a/python/ray/data/_internal/arrow_ops/transform_pyarrow.py
+++ b/python/ray/data/_internal/arrow_ops/transform_pyarrow.py
@@ -45,6 +45,54 @@ def take_table(
     return table
 
 
+def unify_schemas(
+    schemas: List["pyarrow.Schema"],
+) -> "pyarrow.Schema":
+    """Version of `pyarrow.unify_schemas()` which also handles checks for
+    variable-shaped tensors in the given schemas."""
+    from ray.air.util.tensor_extensions.arrow import (
+        ArrowTensorType,
+        ArrowVariableShapedTensorType,
+    )
+
+    schemas_to_unify = []
+    schema_tensor_field_overrides = {}
+
+    if any(isinstance(type_, pyarrow.ExtensionType) for type_ in schemas[0].types):
+        # If we have pyarrow extension types that may potentially be variable shaped,
+        # examine the first schema to gather the columns that need type conversions.
+        for col_idx in range(len(schemas[0].types)):
+            tensor_array_types = [
+                s.types[col_idx]
+                for s in schemas
+                if isinstance(s.types[col_idx], pyarrow.ExtensionType)
+            ]
+            if ArrowTensorType._need_variable_shaped_tensor_array(tensor_array_types):
+                if isinstance(tensor_array_types[0], ArrowVariableShapedTensorType):
+                    new_type = tensor_array_types[0]
+                elif isinstance(tensor_array_types[0], ArrowTensorType):
+                    new_type = ArrowVariableShapedTensorType(
+                        dtype=tensor_array_types[0].scalar_type,
+                        ndim=len(tensor_array_types[0].shape),
+                    )
+                else:
+                    raise ValueError(
+                        "Detected need for variable shaped tensor representation, "
+                        f"but schema is not ArrayTensorType: {tensor_array_types[0]}"
+                    )
+                schema_tensor_field_overrides[col_idx] = new_type
+        # Go through all schemas and update the types of columns from the above loop.
+        for schema in schemas:
+            for col_idx, col_new_type in schema_tensor_field_overrides.items():
+                var_shaped_col = schema.field(col_idx).with_type(col_new_type)
+                schema = schema.set(col_idx, var_shaped_col)
+            schemas_to_unify.append(schema)
+    else:
+        schemas_to_unify = schemas
+    # Let Arrow unify the schema of non-tensor extension type columns.
+    return pyarrow.unify_schemas(schemas_to_unify)
+
+
 def _concatenate_chunked_arrays(arrs: "pyarrow.ChunkedArray") -> "pyarrow.ChunkedArray":
     """
     Concatenate provided chunked arrays into a single chunked array.
@@ -94,7 +142,6 @@ def concat(blocks: List["pyarrow.Table"]) -> "pyarrow.Table":
     if any(isinstance(type_, pyarrow.ExtensionType) for type_ in schema.types):
         # Custom handling for extension array columns.
         cols = []
-        schema_tensor_field_overrides = {}
         for col_name in schema.names:
             col_chunked_arrays = []
             for block in blocks:
@@ -111,28 +158,27 @@ def concat(blocks: List["pyarrow.Table"]) -> "pyarrow.Table":
                 col = ArrowTensorArray._chunk_tensor_arrays(
                     [chunk for ca in col_chunked_arrays for chunk in ca.chunks]
                 )
-                if schema.field(col_name).type != col.type:
-                    # Ensure that the field's type is properly updated in the schema if
-                    # a collection of homogeneous-shaped columns resulted in a
-                    # variable-shaped tensor column once concatenated.
-                    new_field = schema.field(col_name).with_type(col.type)
-                    field_idx = schema.get_field_index(col_name)
-                    schema_tensor_field_overrides[field_idx] = new_field
             else:
                 col = _concatenate_chunked_arrays(col_chunked_arrays)
             cols.append(col)
-        # Unify schemas.
-        schemas = []
-        for block in blocks:
-            schema = block.schema
-            # If concatenating uniform tensor columns results in a variable-shaped
-            # tensor columns, override the column type for all blocks.
-            if schema_tensor_field_overrides:
-                for idx, field in schema_tensor_field_overrides.items():
-                    schema = schema.set(idx, field)
-            schemas.append(schema)
-        # Let Arrow unify the schema of non-tensor extension type columns.
-        schema = pyarrow.unify_schemas(schemas)
+
+        # If the result contains pyarrow schemas, unify them
+        schemas_to_unify = [b.schema for b in blocks]
+        if pyarrow is not None and any(
+            isinstance(s, pyarrow.Schema) for s in schemas_to_unify
+        ):
+            schema = unify_schemas(schemas_to_unify)
+        else:
+            # Otherwise, if the resulting schemas are simple types (e.g. int),
+            # check that all blocks with valid schemas have the same type.
+            schema = schemas_to_unify[0]
+            if schema is not None:
+                for s in schemas_to_unify:
+                    if s is not None and s != schema:
+                        raise ValueError(
+                            "Found blocks with different types "
+                            f"in schemas: {schemas_to_unify}"
+                        )
         # Build the concatenated table.
         table = pyarrow.Table.from_arrays(cols, schema=schema)
         # Validate table schema (this is a cheap check by default).
diff --git a/python/ray/data/_internal/plan.py b/python/ray/data/_internal/plan.py
index 8a2648a937129..592abf3486bcc 100644
--- a/python/ray/data/_internal/plan.py
+++ b/python/ray/data/_internal/plan.py
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@
 )
 
 import ray
+from ray.data._internal.arrow_ops.transform_pyarrow import unify_schemas
 from ray.data._internal.block_list import BlockList
 from ray.data._internal.compute import (
     UDF,
@@ -261,14 +262,33 @@ def schema(
         metadata = blocks.get_metadata(fetch_if_missing=False)
         # Some blocks could be empty, in which case we cannot get their schema.
         # TODO(ekl) validate schema is the same across different blocks.
+
+        # First check if there are blocks with computed schemas, then unify
+        # valid schemas from all such blocks.
+        schemas_to_unify = []
         for m in metadata:
             if m.schema is not None and (m.num_rows is None or m.num_rows > 0):
-                return m.schema
+                schemas_to_unify.append(m.schema)
+        if schemas_to_unify:
+            # Check valid pyarrow installation before attempting schema unification
+            try:
+                import pyarrow as pa
+            except ImportError:
+                pa = None
+            # If the result contains PyArrow schemas, unify them
+            if pa is not None and any(
+                isinstance(s, pa.Schema) for s in schemas_to_unify
+            ):
+                return unify_schemas(schemas_to_unify)
+            # Otherwise, if the resulting schemas are simple types (e.g. int),
+            # return the first schema.
+            return schemas_to_unify[0]
         if not fetch_if_missing:
             return None
         # Synchronously fetch the schema.
         # For lazy block lists, this launches read tasks and fetches block metadata
-        # until we find valid block schema.
+        # until we find the first valid block schema. This is to minimize new
+        # computations when fetching the schema.
         for _, m in blocks.iter_blocks_with_metadata():
             if m.schema is not None and (m.num_rows is None or m.num_rows > 0):
                 return m.schema
diff --git a/python/ray/data/tests/test_dataset.py b/python/ray/data/tests/test_dataset.py
index fce280e59d3b8..b46de7d3ee59f 100644
--- a/python/ray/data/tests/test_dataset.py
+++ b/python/ray/data/tests/test_dataset.py
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
 
 import ray
 from ray._private.test_utils import wait_for_condition
+from ray.air.util.tensor_extensions.arrow import ArrowVariableShapedTensorType
 from ray.data._internal.stats import _StatsActor
 from ray.data._internal.arrow_block import ArrowRow
 from ray.data._internal.block_builder import BlockBuilder
@@ -5398,6 +5399,23 @@ def test_dataset_schema_after_read_stats(ray_start_cluster):
     assert schema == ds.schema()
 
 
+def test_ragged_tensors(ray_start_regular_shared):
+    """Test Arrow type promotion between ArrowTensorType and
+    ArrowVariableShapedTensorType when a column contains ragged tensors."""
+    import numpy as np
+
+    ds = ray.data.from_items(
+        [
+            {"spam": np.zeros((32, 32, 5))},
+            {"spam": np.zeros((64, 64, 5))},
+        ]
+    )
+    new_type = ds.schema().types[0].scalar_type
+    assert ds.schema().types == [
+        ArrowVariableShapedTensorType(dtype=new_type, ndim=3),
+    ]
+
+
 if __name__ == "__main__":
     import sys
 
diff --git a/python/ray/data/tests/test_transform_pyarrow.py b/python/ray/data/tests/test_transform_pyarrow.py
index 99c47c04bbc83..68b5a91594a0f 100644
--- a/python/ray/data/tests/test_transform_pyarrow.py
+++ b/python/ray/data/tests/test_transform_pyarrow.py
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
     ArrowTensorType,
     ArrowVariableShapedTensorType,
 )
-from ray.data._internal.arrow_ops.transform_pyarrow import concat
+from ray.data._internal.arrow_ops.transform_pyarrow import concat, unify_schemas
 
 
 def test_arrow_concat_empty():
@@ -176,6 +176,116 @@ def test_arrow_concat_tensor_extension_uniform_but_different():
     # fails for this case.
 
 
+def test_unify_schemas():
+    # Unifying a schema with the same schema as itself
+    tensor_arr_1 = pa.schema([("tensor_arr", ArrowTensorType((3, 5), pa.int32()))])
+    assert unify_schemas([tensor_arr_1, tensor_arr_1]) == tensor_arr_1
+
+    # Single columns with different shapes
+    tensor_arr_2 = pa.schema([("tensor_arr", ArrowTensorType((2, 1), pa.int32()))])
+    contains_diff_shaped = [tensor_arr_1, tensor_arr_2]
+    assert unify_schemas(contains_diff_shaped) == pa.schema(
+        [
+            ("tensor_arr", ArrowVariableShapedTensorType(pa.int32(), 2)),
+        ]
+    )
+
+    # Single columns with same shapes
+    tensor_arr_3 = pa.schema([("tensor_arr", ArrowTensorType((3, 5), pa.int32()))])
+    contains_diff_types = [tensor_arr_1, tensor_arr_3]
+    assert unify_schemas(contains_diff_types) == pa.schema(
+        [
+            ("tensor_arr", ArrowTensorType((3, 5), pa.int32())),
+        ]
+    )
+
+    # Single columns with a variable shaped tensor, same ndim
+    var_tensor_arr = pa.schema(
+        [
+            ("tensor_arr", ArrowVariableShapedTensorType(pa.int32(), 2)),
+        ]
+    )
+    contains_var_shaped = [tensor_arr_1, var_tensor_arr]
+    assert unify_schemas(contains_var_shaped) == pa.schema(
+        [
+            ("tensor_arr", ArrowVariableShapedTensorType(pa.int32(), 2)),
+        ]
+    )
+
+    # Single columns with a variable shaped tensor, different ndim
+    var_tensor_arr_1d = pa.schema(
+        [
+            ("tensor_arr", ArrowVariableShapedTensorType(pa.int32(), 1)),
+        ]
+    )
+    var_tensor_arr_3d = pa.schema(
+        [
+            ("tensor_arr", ArrowVariableShapedTensorType(pa.int32(), 3)),
+        ]
+    )
+    contains_1d2d = [tensor_arr_1, var_tensor_arr_1d]
+    assert unify_schemas(contains_1d2d) == pa.schema(
+        [
+            ("tensor_arr", ArrowVariableShapedTensorType(pa.int32(), 2)),
+        ]
+    )
+    contains_2d3d = [tensor_arr_1, var_tensor_arr_3d]
+    assert unify_schemas(contains_2d3d) == pa.schema(
+        [
+            ("tensor_arr", ArrowVariableShapedTensorType(pa.int32(), 3)),
+        ]
+    )
+
+    # Multi-column schemas
+    multicol_schema_1 = pa.schema(
+        [
+            ("col_int", pa.int32()),
+            ("col_fixed_tensor", ArrowTensorType((4, 2), pa.int32())),
+            ("col_var_tensor", ArrowVariableShapedTensorType(pa.int16(), 5)),
+        ]
+    )
+    multicol_schema_2 = pa.schema(
+        [
+            ("col_int", pa.int32()),
+            ("col_fixed_tensor", ArrowTensorType((4, 2), pa.int32())),
+            ("col_var_tensor", ArrowTensorType((9, 4, 1, 0, 5), pa.int16())),
+        ]
+    )
+    assert unify_schemas([multicol_schema_1, multicol_schema_2]) == pa.schema(
+        [
+            ("col_int", pa.int32()),
+            ("col_fixed_tensor", ArrowTensorType((4, 2), pa.int32())),
+            ("col_var_tensor", ArrowVariableShapedTensorType(pa.int16(), 5)),
+        ]
+    )
+
+    multicol_schema_3 = pa.schema(
+        [
+            ("col_int", pa.int32()),
+            ("col_fixed_tensor", ArrowVariableShapedTensorType(pa.int32(), 3)),
+            ("col_var_tensor", ArrowVariableShapedTensorType(pa.int16(), 5)),
+        ]
+    )
+    assert unify_schemas([multicol_schema_1, multicol_schema_3]) == pa.schema(
+        [
+            ("col_int", pa.int32()),
+            ("col_fixed_tensor", ArrowVariableShapedTensorType(pa.int32(), 3)),
+            ("col_var_tensor", ArrowVariableShapedTensorType(pa.int16(), 5)),
+        ]
+    )
+
+    # Unifying >2 schemas together
+    assert unify_schemas(
+        [multicol_schema_1, multicol_schema_2, multicol_schema_3]
+    ) == pa.schema(
+        [
+            ("col_int", pa.int32()),
+            ("col_fixed_tensor", ArrowVariableShapedTensorType(pa.int32(), 3)),
+            ("col_var_tensor", ArrowVariableShapedTensorType(pa.int16(), 5)),
+        ]
+    )
+
+
 if __name__ == "__main__":
     import sys