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Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in North Carolina

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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 2023 rankings named North Carolina State University the best school in North Carolina for design and applied arts students. 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.

Full Design & Applied Arts at North Carolina State University Report

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 distant town of Boone, Appalachian State is a public school 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.

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#3

East Carolina University

Greenville, NC

Out of the 13 schools in North Carolina that were part of this year’s ranking, East Carolina University landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the small city of Greenville, ECU is a public school with a very large student population.

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

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#4

High Point University

High Point, NC

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend High Point University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in North Carolina list. Located in the midsize city of High Point, High Point is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.

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The excellent programs at University of North Carolina at Charlotte helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best design and applied arts schools in North Carolina. UNC Charlotte is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Charlotte.

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#6

Meredith College

Raleigh, NC

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

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

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Meredith College

University of North Carolina at Greensboro came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in North Carolina ranking. UNC Greensboro is a large public school located in the large city of Greensboro.

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

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

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 large 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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With a ranking of #9, Western Carolina University did quite well on this year’s best schools for design and applied arts students. WCU is a large public school located in the 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 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. Guilford Technical Community College is a medium-sized public school located in the 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 Colleges 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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