Find Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Best Value Design & Applied Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

Find Schools Near

2023 Best Value Design & Applied Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

35 Colleges
$23,193 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$33,319 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor's Degree School for You

With 3,773 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, design and applied arts is the #34 most popular major in California.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.

The Best Value Design & Applied Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in California ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 35 schools in California to see which bachelor's degree programs offered the best value experiences for design students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. 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.

Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Design & Applied Arts Bachelor's Degree Colleges.

Top 10 Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools

Our 2023 rankings named San Jose State University the best value school in California for design and applied arts students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public school with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at San Jose State are $7,852 a year.

Read More…

Out of the 35 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Long Beach landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the large city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at CSULB are $6,846 a year. On average, design graduates from CSULB take out $21,064 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Read More…

The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at California State Polytechnic University - Pomona helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value design and applied arts schools in California. Cal Poly Pomona is a very large public school located in the large suburb of Pomona.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Cal Poly Pomona are $7,439 a year. On average, design graduates from Cal Poly Pomona take out $19,547 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Read More…

#4

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, CA

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend San Francisco State University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. SFSU is a very large public school located in the city of San Francisco.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at SFSU are $7,304 a year. While working on their Bachelor's Degree, design majors at SFSU accumulate an average of around $19,788 in student debt. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $378, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read More…

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Sacramento. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. Sac State is a very large public school located in the large city of Sacramento.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Sac State are $7,392 a year.

Read More…

California State University - Fresno landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree design and applied arts programs. Fresno State is a very large public school located in the city of Fresno.

Fresno State undergraduate students pay an average of $6,653 in in-state tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that design majors at Fresno State take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $19,211.

Full Design & Applied Arts at California State University - Fresno Report

California State University - San Bernardino landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree design and applied arts programs. CSUSB is a large public school located in the city of San Bernardino.

CSUSB undergraduate students pay an average of $7,213 in in-state tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that design majors at CSUSB take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $18,113.

Read More…

University of California - Los Angeles landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree design and applied arts programs. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UCLA are $13,258 a year. Design majors at UCLA take out an average of $16,210 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

UCLA excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at University of California - Los Angeles

With a ranking of #9, California State University - Monterey Bay did quite well on this year’s best value schools for design and applied arts students working on their bachelor’s degree. CSUMB is a medium-sized public school located in the suburb of Seaside.

CSUMB undergraduate students pay an average of $7,218 in in-state tuition and fees each year. Design majors at CSUMB take out an average of $19,337 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at California State University - Monterey Bay

University of California - Davis did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for design and applied arts students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the small suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UC Davis are $14,645 a year. While working on their Bachelor's Degree, design majors at UC Davis accumulate an average of around $15,187 in student debt. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $319.

UC Davis also claimed a spot on our Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.

Full Design & Applied Arts at University of California - Davis Report

Best Value Design & Applied Arts Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Value Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 532
Oregon 490
Nevada 110
Hawaii 19

Design & Applied Arts is one of 10 different types of programs to choose from.

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 27 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.