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Best Design & Applied Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

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2023 Best Design & Applied Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

14 Colleges
$23,224 Avg Salary
$17,798 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Design & Applied Arts Associate Degree School for You

Out of all the majors we analyze each year, design and applied arts was ranked #36 in the country. In fact 36,301 degrees and certificates were handed out in 2020-2021.

With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

The Best Design & Applied Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 14 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which ones offered the best associate degree programs for students. Factors related to overall quality of the school, post-graduation earnings, average student debt, and more accumulated were considered when coming up with this list.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Design & Applied Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Design & Applied Arts Associate Degree Colleges.

Top 10 Best Design & Applied Arts Associate Degree Schools

Our analysis found Madison Area Technical College to be the best school for design and applied arts students who want to pursue a associate degree in the Great Lakes Region . Madison College is a fairly large public school located in the city of Madison.

The average amount in student loans that design majors at Madison College take out while working on their Associate Degree is $19,387.

Full Design & Applied Arts at Madison Area Technical College Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend The Modern College of Design. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Design & Applied Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. The Modern College of Design is a fairly small private for-profit school located in the city of Kettering.

While working on their Associate Degree, design majors at The Modern College of Design accumulate an average of around $8,516 in student debt. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $279, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at The Modern College of Design

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Waukesha County Technical College. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Design & Applied Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. WCTC is a moderately-sized public school located in the suburb of Pewaukee.

Design majors at WCTC take out an average of $18,801 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Full Design & Applied Arts at Waukesha County Technical College Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Macomb Community College. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Design & Applied Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Macomb Community College is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of Warren.

While working on their Associate Degree, design majors at Macomb Community College accumulate an average of around $10,363 in student debt.

Read More…

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Milwaukee Area Technical College. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Design & Applied Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the city of Milwaukee, MATC is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average amount in student loans that design majors at MATC take out while working on their Associate Degree is $19,061.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Milwaukee Area Technical College

#6

Western Technical College

La Crosse, WI

Western Technical College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for design and applied arts students to get a associate degree. It came in at #6 on the list. Western Technical College is a small public school located in the city of La Crosse.

While working on their Associate Degree, design majors at Western Technical College accumulate an average of around $18,046 in student debt.

Read More…

Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Design & Applied Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in the large city of Indianapolis, IUPUI is a public school with a very large student population.

Full Design & Applied Arts at Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis Report

#8

Ivy Tech Community College

Indianapolis, IN

Ivy Tech Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for design and applied arts students to get a associate degree. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the city of Indianapolis, Ivy Tech Community College is a public college with a very large student population.

While working on their Associate Degree, design majors at Ivy Tech Community College accumulate an average of around $17,560 in student debt.

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Sinclair Community College ranked #9 on this year’s Best Design & Applied Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the city of Dayton, Sinclair Community College is a public college with a fairly large student population.

After completing their Associate Degree, design graduates from Sinclair Community College carry an average student debtload of $14,806.

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With a ranking of #10, Gateway Technical College did quite well on this year’s best schools for design and applied arts students working on their associate degree. Located in the midsize suburb of Kenosha, Gateway Technical College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

After completing their Associate Degree, design graduates from Gateway Technical College carry an average student debtload of $17,916.

Read More…

Best Design & Applied Arts Colleges by State

Explore the best design and applied arts schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 1,011
Ohio 1,456
Illinois 979
Indiana 417
Wisconsin 717

Design & Applied Arts is one of 10 different types of programs to choose from.

Majors Similar to Design

Related Major Annual Graduates
Fine & Studio Arts 37,413
Music 25,910
Drama & Theater Arts 17,341
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 16,778
General Visual & Performing Arts 6,355

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 14 schools only.

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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