2023 Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Region
Finding the Best Design & Applied Arts 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.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Region to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 81 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which programs offered the best educational experiences for students.
View our full ranking methodology.
2023 Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Region
The colleges and universities below are the best for design majors pursuing a .
Top 15% Best Design & Applied Arts Schools
Our analysis found University of Notre Dame to be the best school for design and applied arts students who want to pursue a degree in the Great Lakes Region . Located in the large suburb of Notre Dame, Notre Dame is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.
While working on their degree, design majors at Notre Dame accumulate an average of around $19,000 in student debt.
Full Design & Applied Arts at University of Notre Dame Report
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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Illinois Institute of Technology is a great place for design and applied arts students. Located in the large city of Chicago, Illinois Tech is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.
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Out of the 81 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Lawrence Technological University landed the # 3 spot on the list. Lawrence Tech is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Southfield.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Madison Area Technical College. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Madison College is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Madison.
The average amount in student loans that design majors at Madison College take out is $14,374.
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The excellent programs at The Modern College of Design helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best design and applied arts schools in the Great Lakes Region . The Modern College of Design is a small private for-profit school located in the small city of Kettering.
The average amount in student loans that design majors at The Modern College of Design take out is $5,500. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $279, based on a 10-year repayment plan.
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University of Wisconsin - Madison landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best design and applied arts programs. Located in the large city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public school with a very large student population.
Design majors at UW - Madison take out an average of $23,854 in student loans while working on their egree.
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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for design and applied arts students. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the city of Champaign, UIUC is a public school with a very large student population.
While working on their degree, design majors at UIUC accumulate an average of around $22,407 in student debt. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $501, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.
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Purdue University - Main Campus did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for design and applied arts students. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the small city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public college with a very large student population.
While working on their degree, design majors at Purdue accumulate an average of around $23,266 in student debt. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $329.
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University of Cincinnati - Main Campus did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for design and applied arts students. It came in at #9 on the list. UC is a very large public school located in the city of Cincinnati.
The average amount in student loans that design majors at UC take out is $25,333. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $365, based on a 10-year repayment plan.
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University of Wisconsin - Stout ranked #10 on this year’s Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. UW - Stout is a moderately-sized public school located in the town of Menomonie.
While working on their degree, design majors at UW - Stout accumulate an average of around $27,000 in student debt. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $131, based on a 10-year repayment plan.
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With a ranking of #11, Michigan State University did quite well on this year’s best schools for design and applied arts students. Michigan State is a fairly large public school located in the small city of East Lansing.
On average, design graduates from Michigan State take out $29,812 in student loans while working on their degree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $433.
Full Design & Applied Arts at Michigan State University Report
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With a ranking of #12, Northwestern University did quite well on this year’s best schools for design and applied arts students. Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
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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 Schools in the Great Lakes Region award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 13 | Waukesha County Technical College | Pewaukee, WI |
| 14 | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor | Ann Arbor, MI |
| 15 | College for Creative Studies | Detroit, MI |
| 16 | University of Evansville | Evansville, IN |
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 |
More Design & Applied Arts Rankings in the Great Lakes Region
Design & Applied Arts Related Rankings by Major
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 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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