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

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2023 Best Value Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Far Western US Region

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

59 Colleges
$19,536 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$32,100 Avg Salary

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.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. 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.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. Our analysis looked at 59 schools in the Far Western US Region to see which 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. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.

Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

2023 Best Value Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Far Western US Region

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

Top 10 Best Design & Applied Arts Schools

$5,135 Average Tuition & Fees

Our 2023 rankings named Spokane Falls Community College the best value school in the Far Western US Region for design and applied arts students. Spokane Falls Community College is a small public school located in the midsize city of Spokane.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Spokane Falls Community College are $5,135 per year. Design majors at Spokane Falls Community College take out an average of $14,193 in student loans while working on their egree.

Full Design & Applied Arts at Spokane Falls Community College Report

#2

Gnomon

Hollywood, CA
$28,155 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Gnomon. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Gnomon is a fairly small private for-profit school located in the city of Hollywood.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Gnomon are $28,155 per year. The average amount in student loans that design majors at Gnomon take out is $41,000.

Read More…

#3

Bellevue College

Bellevue, WA

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Bellevue College is a great value for design and applied arts students. BC is a large public school located in the midsize city of Bellevue.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at BC are $9,594 a year.

BC also claimed a spot on our Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Far Western US Region list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools in this category.

Full Design & Applied Arts at Bellevue College Report

#4

College of Southern Nevada

Las Vegas, NV
$11,534 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means College of Southern Nevada is a great value for design and applied arts students. Located in the city of Las Vegas, CSN is a public college with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at CSN are $11,534 a year.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at College of Southern Nevada

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend San Jose State University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Far Western US Region list. San Jose State is a very large public school located in the city of San Jose.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at San Jose State are $19,732 a year.

In addition to its great value ranking, San Jose State is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Far Western US Region list.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at San Jose State University

$9,012 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #6, Los Angeles Trade Technical College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for design and applied arts students. Located in the city of Los Angeles, Los Angeles Trade Technical College is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

Los Angeles Trade Technical College undergraduate students pay an average of $9,012 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Design & Applied Arts at Los Angeles Trade Technical College Report

$10,146 Average Tuition & Fees

Lake Washington Institute of Technology did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for design and applied arts students. It came in at #7 on the list. LWTech is a small public school located in the large suburb of Kirkland.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at LWTech are $10,146 per year.

Full Design & Applied Arts at Lake Washington Institute of Technology Report

$18,726 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #8, California State University - Long Beach did quite well on this year’s best value schools for design and applied arts students. CSULB is a very large public school located in the large city of Long Beach.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at CSULB are $18,726 a year. The average amount in student loans that design majors at CSULB take out is $17,095.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at California State University - Long Beach

#9

Cogswell College

San Jose, CA
$21,784 Average Tuition & Fees

Cogswell College ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Cogswell is a fairly small private for-profit school located in the city of San Jose.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Cogswell are $21,784 a year. While working on their degree, design majors at Cogswell accumulate an average of around $31,000 in student debt.

Full Design & Applied Arts at Cogswell College Report

#10

Platt College - San Diego

San Diego, CA
$16,378 Average Tuition & Fees

Platt College - San Diego ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Platt College - San Diego is a small private for-profit school located in the large city of San Diego.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Platt College - San Diego are $16,378 per year. Design majors at Platt College - San Diego take out an average of $16,334 in student loans while working on their egree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $112.

Full Design & Applied Arts at Platt College - San Diego Report

Best Design & Applied Arts Colleges by State

Explore the best design and applied arts schools for a specific state in the Far Western US region.

State Degrees Awarded
California 3,773
Washington 532
Oregon 490
Nevada 110
Hawaii 19

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.

  • 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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