Find Affordable College Courses

What Do You Want to Study?

Best Value Design & Applied Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

2023 Best Value Design & Applied Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

65 Colleges
$24,755 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$33,319 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor's 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.

The Best Value Design & Applied Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 65 schools in the Great Lakes Region 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.

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.

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

#1

Franklin University

Columbus, OH

Our 2023 rankings named Franklin University the best value school in the Great Lakes Region for design and applied arts students working on their bachelor’s degree. Franklin University is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Columbus.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Franklin University are $9,577 a year. The average amount in student loans that design majors at Franklin University take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $40,496.

Read More…

Request Information

The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at University of Wisconsin - Stout helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value design and applied arts schools in the Great Lakes Region . UW - Stout is a medium-sized public school located in the town of Menomonie.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UW - Stout are $17,820 per year. While working on their Bachelor's Degree, design majors at UW - Stout accumulate an average of around $24,522 in student debt. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $131, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, UW - Stout also did well on our Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Full Design & Applied Arts at University of Wisconsin - Stout Report

Request Information
#3

Central Michigan University

Mount Pleasant, MI

The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Central Michigan University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value design and applied arts schools in the Great Lakes Region . Central Michigan is a fairly large public school located in the town of Mount Pleasant.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Central Michigan are $13,094 a year. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $296, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Central Michigan University

Request Information
#4

Ferris State University

Big Rapids, MI

The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Ferris State University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best value design and applied arts schools in the Great Lakes Region . Ferris is a large public school located in the distant town of Big Rapids.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Ferris are $13,188 a year. Design majors at Ferris take out an average of $28,599 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $235.

Read More…

Request Information

Out of the 65 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Akron Main Campus landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the city of Akron, University of Akron Main Campus is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at University of Akron Main Campus are $11,880 per year.

Read More…

Request Information

University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. UW - Stevens Point is a moderately-sized public school located in the town of Stevens Point.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UW - Stevens Point are $17,035 per year.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point

Request Information

With a ranking of #7, Southern Illinois University Carbondale did quite well on this year’s best value schools for design and applied arts students working on their bachelor’s degree. SIUC is a fairly large public school located in the city of Carbondale.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at SIUC are $15,240 a year.

Full Design & Applied Arts at Southern Illinois University Carbondale Report

Request Information

With a ranking of #8, Eastern Michigan University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for design and applied arts students working on their bachelor’s degree. Eastern Michigan is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Ypsilanti.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Eastern Michigan are $15,500 a year. The average amount in student loans that design majors at Eastern Michigan take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $34,212.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Eastern Michigan University

Request Information

Western Michigan University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree design and applied arts programs. WMU is a large public school located in the small city of Kalamazoo.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at WMU are $16,768 a year.

Full Design & Applied Arts at Western Michigan University Report

Request Information

University of Wisconsin - Green Bay ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. UW - Green Bay is a medium-sized public school located in the midsize city of Green Bay.

UW - Green Bay undergraduate students pay an average of $16,091 in tuition and fees each year. Design majors at UW - Green Bay take out an average of $23,633 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Read More…

Request Information

Additional Noteworthy Schools

Here are some additional great value schools for Design & Applied Arts students in the Great Lakes Region seeking value that almost earned our Best Value Design & Applied Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region award.

Rank College Location
11 Illinois State University Normal, IL
12 University of Cincinnati - Main Campus Cincinnati, OH
13 Purdue University - Main Campus West Lafayette, IN

Best Design & Applied Arts Colleges by State

Explore the best design and applied arts schools 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 25 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.

Find Schools Near You

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