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Best Design & Applied Arts Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

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2023 Best Design & Applied Arts Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

19 Colleges
$52,263 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Design & Applied Arts Master's 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.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Design & Applied Arts Master's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Our analysis looked at 19 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which master's degree programs offered the best educational experiences 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 Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

The colleges and universities below are the best for design majors pursuing a master's degree.

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

#1

University of Notre Dame

Notre Dame, IN

Our 2023 rankings named University of Notre Dame the best school in the Great Lakes Region for design and applied arts students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large suburb of Notre Dame, Notre Dame is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

Full Design & Applied Arts at University of Notre Dame Report

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Illinois Institute of Technology is a great place for design and applied arts students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large city of Chicago, Illinois Tech is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.

Read More…

#3

Purdue University - Main Campus

West Lafayette, IN

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Purdue University - Main Campus. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Design & Applied Arts Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public school with a very large student population.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Purdue University - Main Campus

#4

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Northwestern University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Design & Applied Arts Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Northwestern University

Out of the 19 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Wisconsin - Stout landed the # 5 spot on the list. UW - Stout is a moderately-sized public school located in the town of Menomonie.

Full Design & Applied Arts at University of Wisconsin - Stout Report

College for Creative Studies ranked #6 on this year’s Best Design & Applied Arts Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the large city of Detroit, CCS is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

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Miami University - Oxford landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree design and applied arts programs. Located in the fringe town of Oxford, Miami University - Oxford is a public school with a large student population.

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#8

Ball State University

Muncie, IN

With a ranking of #8, Ball State University did quite well on this year’s best schools for design and applied arts students working on their master’s degree. Located in the small city of Muncie, Ball State is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Ball State University

University of Cincinnati - Main Campus 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 #9 on the list. UC is a very large public school located in the large city of Cincinnati.

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Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis 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 #10 on the list. Located in the city of Indianapolis, IUPUI is a public college with a very large student population.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis

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 19 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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