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Best Design & Applied Arts Master's Degree Schools in California

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2023 Best Design & Applied Arts Master's Degree Schools in California

10 Colleges
$52,263 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Design & Applied Arts Master's Degree School for You

With 3,773 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, design and applied arts is the #34 most popular major in California.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Design & Applied Arts Master's Degree Schools in California ranking. Our analysis looked at 10 schools in California to see which master's degree programs offered the best educational experiences 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 Master’s Degree Schools in California

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

Top 10 Best Design & Applied Arts Master's Degree Schools

Our 2023 rankings named University of California - Los Angeles the best school in California for design and applied arts students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Full Design & Applied Arts at University of California - Los Angeles Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Otis College of Art and Design. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Design & Applied Arts Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Otis College of Art and Design is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.

Full Design & Applied Arts at Otis College of Art and Design Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Southern California. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Design & Applied Arts Master’s Degree Schools in California list. USC is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at University of Southern California

#4

California College of the Arts

San Francisco, CA

Out of the 10 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California College of the Arts landed the # 4 spot on the list. California College of the Arts is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of San Francisco.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at California College of the Arts

The excellent master’s degree programs at California State University - Long Beach helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best design and applied arts schools in California. Located in the city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Full Design & Applied Arts at California State University - Long Beach Report

#6

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, CA

San Francisco State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for design and applied arts students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #6 on the list. SFSU is a fairly large public school located in the city of San Francisco.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at San Francisco State University

Art Center College of Design ranked #7 on this year’s Best Design & Applied Arts Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Art Center College of Design is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Pasadena.

Read More…

#8

Academy of Art University

San Francisco, CA

Academy of Art University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for design and applied arts students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #8 on the list. Academy of Art University is a medium-sized private for-profit school located in the city of San Francisco.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Academy of Art University

Laguna College of Art and Design ranked #9 on this year’s Best Design & Applied Arts Master’s Degree Schools in California list. LCAD is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the rural area of Laguna Beach.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Laguna College of Art and Design

#10

New York Film Academy

Burbank, CA

New York Film Academy ranked #10 on this year’s Best Design & Applied Arts Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the midsize city of Burbank, New York Film Academy is a private for-profit college with a small student population.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at New York Film Academy

Best Design & Applied Arts Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Design & Applied Arts Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 532
Oregon 490
Nevada 110
Hawaii 19

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

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 10 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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