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Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region

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2023 Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region

17 Colleges
$31,459 Avg Salary
$32,125 Avg Student Debt

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.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking. Our analysis looked at 17 schools in the Rocky Mountains 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 Rocky Mountains Region

The colleges and universities below are the best for design majors pursuing a .

Top 10 Best Design & Applied Arts Schools

#1

University of Utah

Salt Lake City, UT

Our 2023 rankings named University of Utah the best school in the Rocky Mountains Region for design and applied arts students. U of U is a very large public school located in the medium-sized city of Salt Lake City.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at University of Utah

#2

Arapahoe Community College

Littleton, CO

The excellent programs at Arapahoe Community College helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best design and applied arts schools in the Rocky Mountains Region . Located in the large suburb of Littleton, Arapahoe Community College is a public school with a large student population.

While working on their degree, design majors at Arapahoe Community College accumulate an average of around $23,985 in student debt.

Full Design & Applied Arts at Arapahoe Community College Report

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Brigham Young University - Provo is a great place for design and applied arts students. Located in the medium-sized city of Provo, BYU is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

The average amount in student loans that design majors at BYU take out is $10,250.

Read More…

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region list. Located in the midsize city of Lakewood, RMCAD is a private for-profit college with a small student population.

While working on their degree, design majors at RMCAD accumulate an average of around $44,406 in student debt. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $420, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

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

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Montana State University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region list. MSU Bozeman is a fairly large public school located in the remote town of Bozeman.

Read More…

Utah State University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region list. Located in the small city of Logan, USU is a public school with a very large student population.

The average amount in student loans that design majors at USU take out is $19,750.

Read More…

#7

Salt Lake Community College

Salt Lake City, UT

With a ranking of #7, Salt Lake Community College did quite well on this year’s best schools for design and applied arts students. Salt Lake Community College is a very large public school located in the large suburb of Salt Lake City.

After completing their degree, design graduates from Salt Lake Community College carry an average student debtload of $12,500.

Full Design & Applied Arts at Salt Lake Community College Report

Utah Valley University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best design and applied arts programs. UVU is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Orem.

On average, design graduates from UVU take out $21,000 in student loans while working on their degree.

Full Design & Applied Arts at Utah Valley University Report

Weber State University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region list. WSU is a fairly large public school located in the city of Ogden.

After completing their degree, design graduates from WSU carry an average student debtload of $23,647.

Read More…

#10

LDS Business College

Salt Lake City, UT

LDS Business College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for design and applied arts students. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the midsize city of Salt Lake City, LDS Business College is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Full Design & Applied Arts at LDS Business College Report

Best Design & Applied Arts Colleges by State

Explore the best design and applied arts schools for a specific state in the Rocky Mountains region.

State Degrees Awarded
Colorado 316
Utah 569
Idaho 125
Montana 25
Wyoming 22

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 17 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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