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Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in North Carolina

2023 Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in North Carolina

13 Colleges
$30,342 Avg Salary
$22,204 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Design & Applied Arts School for You

Design & Applied Arts is the #28 most popular major in North Carolina with 944 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

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 North Carolina ranking. Our analysis looked at 13 schools in North Carolina to see which programs offered the best educational experiences for students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in North Carolina

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

Top 10 Best Design & Applied Arts Schools

Our analysis found North Carolina State University to be the best school for design and applied arts students who want to pursue a degree in North Carolina. NC State is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Raleigh.

The average amount in student loans that design majors at NC State take out is $23,954.

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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Appalachian State University is a great place for design and applied arts students. Located in the town of Boone, Appalachian State is a public college with a very large student population.

While working on their degree, design majors at Appalachian State accumulate an average of around $23,750 in student debt. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $242.

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

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#3

East Carolina University

Greenville, NC

The excellent programs at East Carolina University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best design and applied arts schools in North Carolina. Located in the small city of Greenville, ECU is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Design majors at ECU take out an average of $25,000 in student loans while working on their egree.

Full Design & Applied Arts at East Carolina University Report

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#4

High Point University

High Point, NC

The excellent programs at High Point University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best design and applied arts schools in North Carolina. Located in the medium-sized city of High Point, High Point is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.

Full Design & Applied Arts at High Point University Report

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Out of the 13 schools in North Carolina that were part of this year’s ranking, University of North Carolina at Charlotte landed the # 5 spot on the list. UNC Charlotte is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Charlotte.

Full Design & Applied Arts at University of North Carolina at Charlotte Report

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#6

Meredith College

Raleigh, NC

Meredith College ranked #6 on this year’s Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in North Carolina list. Meredith is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Raleigh.

On average, design graduates from Meredith take out $25,000 in student loans while working on their degree.

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With a ranking of #7, University of North Carolina at Greensboro did quite well on this year’s best schools for design and applied arts students. UNC Greensboro is a fairly large public school located in the city of Greensboro.

On average, design graduates from UNC Greensboro take out $27,000 in student loans while working on their degree.

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Wake Technical Community College landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best design and applied arts programs. Wake Technical Community College is a very large public school located in the suburb of Raleigh.

While working on their degree, design majors at Wake Technical Community College accumulate an average of around $12,411 in student debt.

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Western Carolina University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in North Carolina ranking. WCU is a fairly large public school located in the distant town of Cullowhee.

After completing their degree, design graduates from WCU carry an average student debtload of $26,738.

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Guilford Technical Community College ranked #10 on this year’s Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in North Carolina list. Guilford Technical Community College is a moderately-sized public school located in the medium-sized suburb of Jamestown.

Design majors at Guilford Technical Community College take out an average of $19,000 in student loans while working on their egree.

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Best Design & Applied Arts Colleges in the Southeast Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
Georgia 1,446
Virginia 889
Florida 1,128
Tennessee 296
Kentucky 84
South Carolina 316
Louisiana 84
Arkansas 228
Alabama 246
Mississippi 81
West Virginia 114

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 13 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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