Find Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Best Value Design & Applied Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

Find Schools Near

2023 Best Value Design & Applied Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

14 Colleges
$11,597 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$23,224 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Design & Applied Arts Associate Degree 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.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Value Design & Applied Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 14 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which ones offered the best value associate degree programs for design students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value Design & Applied Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

Check out the design associate degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

Top 10 Best Design & Applied Arts Associate Degree Schools

Our analysis found Madison Area Technical College to be the best value school for design and applied arts students who want to pursue a associate degree in the Great Lakes Region . Madison College is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Madison.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Madison College are $6,769 per year. The average amount in student loans that design majors at Madison College take out while working on their Associate Degree is $19,387.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Madison College is ranked #4 for overall quality for design in the Great Lakes Region .

Read More…

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Waukesha County Technical College. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Design & Applied Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. WCTC is a medium-sized public school located in the large suburb of Pewaukee.

WCTC undergraduate students pay an average of $6,603 in tuition and fees each year. Design majors at WCTC take out an average of $18,801 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

WCTC also claimed a spot on our Best Design & Applied Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools in this category.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Waukesha County Technical College

#3

Western Technical College

La Crosse, WI

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Western Technical College. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Design & Applied Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Western Technical College is a small public school located in the small city of La Crosse.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Western Technical College are $6,687 per year. While working on their Associate Degree, design majors at Western Technical College accumulate an average of around $18,046 in student debt.

Western Technical College also claimed a spot on our Best Design & Applied Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Western Technical College

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Milwaukee Area Technical College is a great value for design and applied arts students working on their associate degree. Located in the large city of Milwaukee, MATC is a public school with a large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at MATC are $6,908 per year. The average amount in student loans that design majors at MATC take out while working on their Associate Degree is $19,061.

Full Design & Applied Arts at Milwaukee Area Technical College Report

Out of the 14 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Macomb Community College landed the # 5 spot on the list. Macomb Community College is a large public school located in the medium-sized city of Warren.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Macomb Community College are $7,680 per year. While working on their Associate Degree, design majors at Macomb Community College accumulate an average of around $10,363 in student debt.

Macomb Community College also claimed a spot on our Best Design & Applied Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools in this category.

Read More…

With a ranking of #6, Gateway Technical College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for design and applied arts students working on their associate degree. Located in the midsize suburb of Kenosha, Gateway Technical College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Gateway Technical College are $6,803 per year. After completing their Associate Degree, design graduates from Gateway Technical College carry an average student debtload of $17,916.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Gateway Technical College

Sinclair Community College came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Design & Applied Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in the medium-sized city of Dayton, Sinclair Community College is a public school with a large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Sinclair Community College are $8,076 a year. After completing their Associate Degree, design graduates from Sinclair Community College carry an average student debtload of $14,806.

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

#8

Ivy Tech Community College

Indianapolis, IN

With a ranking of #8, Ivy Tech Community College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for design and applied arts students working on their associate degree. Located in the city of Indianapolis, Ivy Tech Community College is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Ivy Tech Community College are $8,927 per year. While working on their Associate Degree, design majors at Ivy Tech Community College accumulate an average of around $17,560 in student debt.

In addition to its great value ranking, Ivy Tech Community College is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Design & Applied Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Ivy Tech Community College

Kalamazoo Valley Community College landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree design and applied arts programs. Kalamazoo Valley Community College is a moderately-sized public school located in the midsize suburb of Kalamazoo.

Kalamazoo Valley Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $8,502 in tuition and fees each year. While working on their Associate Degree, design majors at Kalamazoo Valley Community College accumulate an average of around $19,684 in student debt.

Read More…

Cuyahoga Community College District landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree design and applied arts programs. Cuyahoga Community College District is a large public school located in the city of Cleveland.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Cuyahoga Community College District are $8,586 a year. While working on their Associate Degree, design majors at Cuyahoga Community College District accumulate an average of around $19,344 in student debt.

Cuyahoga Community College District excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Design & Applied Arts Associate Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.

Full Design & Applied Arts at Cuyahoga Community College District Report

Best Design & Applied Arts Colleges by State

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

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 1,011
Ohio 1,456
Illinois 979
Indiana 417
Wisconsin 717

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 14 schools only.

  • 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.

Featured Schools

Find Schools Near You

Our free school finder matches students with accredited colleges across the U.S.