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Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Pennsylvania

2023 Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Pennsylvania

29 Colleges
$31,864 Avg Salary
$27,344 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Design & Applied Arts School for You

In 2020-2021, 1,238 degrees and certificates were awarded to design and applied arts students who went to a Pennsylvania college or university. This makes it the #39 most popular major in the state.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. 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 Schools in Pennsylvania ranking. This report analyzed 29 schools in Pennsylvania to see which ones offered the best programs for students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Pennsylvania

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

Top 10 Best Design & Applied Arts Schools

#1

Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, PA

Our analysis found Carnegie Mellon University to be the best school for design and applied arts students who want to pursue a degree in Pennsylvania. Located in the city of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

The average amount in student loans that design majors at Carnegie Mellon take out is $25,532.

Full Design & Applied Arts at Carnegie Mellon University Report

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#2

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA

The excellent programs at University of Pennsylvania helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best design and applied arts schools in Pennsylvania. UPenn is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Philadelphia.

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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania is a great place for design and applied arts students. Located in the small city of Bloomsburg, Bloomsburg is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Millersville University of Pennsylvania. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Pennsylvania list. Millersville is a moderately-sized public school located in the suburb of Millersville.

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#5

Messiah University

Mechanicsburg, PA

The excellent programs at Messiah University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best design and applied arts schools in Pennsylvania. Messiah is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Mechanicsburg.

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Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best design and applied arts programs. SRU is a moderately-sized public school located in the distant town of Slippery Rock.

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#7

Temple University

Philadelphia, PA

Temple University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Pennsylvania ranking. Located in the large city of Philadelphia, Temple is a public school with a very large student population.

Design majors at Temple take out an average of $26,000 in student loans while working on their egree.

Full Design & Applied Arts at Temple University Report

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York College of Pennsylvania ranked #8 on this year’s Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Pennsylvania list. YCP is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of York.

Full Design & Applied Arts at York College of Pennsylvania Report

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#9

Drexel University

Philadelphia, PA

Drexel University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best design and applied arts programs. Located in the large city of Philadelphia, Drexel is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

The average amount in student loans that design majors at Drexel take out is $27,000. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $888.

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Kutztown University of Pennsylvania came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Pennsylvania ranking. Kutztown University is a medium-sized public school located in the town of Kutztown.

After completing their degree, design graduates from Kutztown University carry an average student debtload of $27,000. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $294.

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Best Design & Applied Arts Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region

Explore all the Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Middle Atlantic Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
New York 4,391
Maryland 617
New Jersey 532
District of Columbia 84
Delaware 59

One of 10 majors within the area of study, design and applied arts has other similar majors worth exploring.

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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