2023 Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools
Finding the Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor's Degree School for You
Design & Applied Arts is the #36 most popular major in the country with 36,301 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.
Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.
The Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 356 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best bachelor's degree programs for students. To come up with a school's ranking, we analyzed numerous factors related to post-graduation wages, the quality of education offered by the school, average accumulated student debt, and more.
View our full ranking methodology.
2023 Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the United States
The following schools top our list of the Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor's Degree Colleges.
Top 25 Top Schools for a Bachelor's in Design & Applied Arts
Our 2023 rankings named University of Notre Dame the best school in the United States for design and applied arts students working on their bachelor’s degree. Notre Dame is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Notre Dame.
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The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Carnegie Mellon University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best design and applied arts schools in the United States. Located in the city of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend The University of Texas at Austin. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. UT Austin is a very large public school located in the city of Austin.
Full Design & Applied Arts at The University of Texas at Austin Report
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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Virginia Tech is a great place for design and applied arts students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the city of Blacksburg, Virginia Tech is a public school with a very large student population.
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The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best design and applied arts schools in the United States. Located in the city of Atlanta, Georgia Tech is a public college with a fairly large student population.
While working on their Bachelor's Degree, design majors at Georgia Tech accumulate an average of around $22,206 in student debt.
Full Design & Applied Arts at Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus Report
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Lawrence Technological University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for design and applied arts students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #6 on the list. Located in the small city of Southfield, Lawrence Tech is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
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University of Wisconsin - Madison ranked #7 on this year’s Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. UW - Madison is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Madison.
While working on their Bachelor's Degree, design majors at UW - Madison accumulate an average of around $21,060 in student debt.
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With a ranking of #8, Washington University in St Louis did quite well on this year’s best schools for design and applied arts students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the suburb of Saint Louis, WUSTL is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
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University of Washington - Seattle Campus came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the large city of Seattle, UW Seattle is a public college with a very large student population.
After completing their Bachelor's Degree, design graduates from UW Seattle carry an average student debtload of $14,718.
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Sacred Heart University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree design and applied arts programs. Sacred Heart is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Fairfield.
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North Dakota State University - Main Campus landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree design and applied arts programs. Located in the medium-sized city of Fargo, North Dakota State University is a public college with a large student population.
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With a ranking of #12, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign did quite well on this year’s best schools for design and applied arts students working on their bachelor’s degree. UIUC is a very large public school located in the city of Champaign.
On average, design graduates from UIUC take out $21,307 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $501.
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Luther College ranked #13 on this year’s Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Luther is a small private not-for-profit school located in the remote town of Decorah.
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Texas Christian University landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree design and applied arts programs. Located in the city of Fort Worth, TCU is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.
While working on their Bachelor's Degree, design majors at TCU accumulate an average of around $21,441 in student debt.
Full Design & Applied Arts at Texas Christian University Report
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Drake University landed the #15 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree design and applied arts programs. Located in the midsize city of Des Moines, Drake is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
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Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute landed the #16 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree design and applied arts programs. Located in the city of Troy, RPI is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.
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Purdue University - Main Campus came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. Purdue is a fairly large public school located in the small city of West Lafayette.
The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $329, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.
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The Modern College of Design landed the #18 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree design and applied arts programs. Located in the small city of Kettering, The Modern College of Design is a private for-profit college with a fairly small student population.
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University of Cincinnati - Main Campus came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the large city of Cincinnati, UC is a public school with a very large student population.
The average amount in student loans that design majors at UC take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $24,382. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $365.
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University of Florida ranked #20 on this year’s Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. UF is a very large public school located in the medium-sized city of Gainesville.
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With a ranking of #21, Oklahoma State University - Main Campus did quite well on this year’s best schools for design and applied arts students working on their bachelor’s degree. OSU is a very large public school located in the distant town of Stillwater.
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Clemson University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for design and applied arts students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #22 on the list. Clemson is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Clemson.
The average amount in student loans that design majors at Clemson take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $22,814. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $346, based on a 10-year repayment plan.
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University of Pennsylvania came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. UPenn is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Philadelphia.
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Boston University landed the #24 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree design and applied arts programs. Boston U is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Boston.
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Southern Methodist University came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. SMU is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Dallas.
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Additional Award Winners
This section shows the rest of the schools awarded a Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools badge. Showing in this list means the school was ranked in the top 15% of the 356 different United States design and applied arts schools we analyzed.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 51 | University of Nebraska - Lincoln | Lincoln, NE |
| 52 | Auburn University | Auburn, AL |
| 53 | Messiah University | Mechanicsburg, PA |
Honorable Mentions
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 54 | Taylor University | Upland, IN |
| 55 | American University | Washington, DC |
| 56 | Cogswell College | San Jose, CA |
| 57 | Ohio State University - Main Campus | Columbus, OH |
| 58 | Baylor University | Waco, TX |
| 59 | Syracuse University | Syracuse, NY |
| 60 | Washington State University | Pullman, WA |
| 61 | Huntington University | Huntington, IN |
| 62 | University of Northern Iowa | Cedar Falls, IA |
| 63 | Kansas State University | Manhattan, KS |
| 64 | Miami University - Oxford | Oxford, OH |
| 65 | George Washington University | Washington, DC |
| 66 | The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga | Chattanooga, TN |
| 67 | Maryville University of Saint Louis | Saint Louis, MO |
| 68 | Otis College of Art and Design | Los Angeles, CA |
| 69 | Belmont University | Nashville, TN |
| 70 | University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point | Stevens Point, WI |
| 71 | University of Oklahoma Norman Campus | Norman, OK |
Design & Applied Arts by Region
View the Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
More Design & Applied Arts Rankings
Rankings in Majors Related to Design
One of 10 majors within the area of study, design and applied arts has other similar majors worth exploring.
Most Popular Majors Related 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 25 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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