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Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Southwest Region

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2023 Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Southwest Region

48 Colleges
$29,079 Avg Salary
$23,287 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Design & Applied Arts School for You

Design & Applied Arts is the #36 most popular major in the country with 36,301 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

There are so many programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one 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.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Southwest Region to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 48 schools in the Southwest 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 Southwest Region

Check out the design programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.

Top 10 Best Design & Applied Arts Schools

Our 2023 rankings named The University of Texas at Austin the best school in the Southwest Region for design and applied arts students. UT Austin is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Austin.

After completing their degree, design graduates from UT Austin carry an average student debtload of $19,750.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at The University of Texas at Austin

#2

Texas Christian University

Fort Worth, TX

Out of the 48 schools in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Texas Christian University landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the city of Fort Worth, TCU is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Texas Christian University

Out of the 48 schools in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Oklahoma State University - Main Campus landed the # 3 spot on the list. OSU is a fairly large public school located in the town of Stillwater.

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

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Southern Methodist University is a great place for design and applied arts students. SMU is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Dallas.

Full Design & Applied Arts at Southern Methodist University Report

#5

Texas Tech University

Lubbock, TX

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Texas Tech University is a great place for design and applied arts students. Texas Tech is a very large public school located in the city of Lubbock.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Texas Tech University

With a ranking of #6, American Institute of Interior Design did quite well on this year’s best schools for design and applied arts students. Located in the city of Fountain Hills, AIID is a private for-profit school with a small student population.

The average amount in student loans that design majors at AIID take out is $8,313.

Full Design & Applied Arts at American Institute of Interior Design Report

Scottsdale Community College came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Located in the rural area of Scottsdale, Scottsdale Community College is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

Design majors at Scottsdale Community College take out an average of $12,000 in student loans while working on their egree.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Scottsdale Community College

#8

Baylor University

Waco, TX

Baylor University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Baylor is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Waco.

The average amount in student loans that design majors at Baylor take out is $27,000.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Baylor University

University of Oklahoma Norman Campus came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Located in the midsize suburb of Norman, University of Oklahoma is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Design majors at University of Oklahoma take out an average of $27,000 in student loans while working on their egree.

Full Design & Applied Arts at University of Oklahoma Norman Campus Report

West Texas A&M University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best design and applied arts programs. West Texas A&M University is a moderately-sized public school located in the town of Canyon.

Full Design & Applied Arts at West Texas A&M University Report

Best Design & Applied Arts Colleges by State

Explore the best design and applied arts colleges for a specific state in the Southwest region.

State Degrees Awarded
Texas 1,449
Arizona 594
Oklahoma 211
New Mexico 30

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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