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Best Value Design & Applied Arts Schools in Illinois

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2023 Best Value Design & Applied Arts Schools in Illinois

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

17 Colleges
$35,582 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$37,103 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Design & Applied Arts School for You

With 979 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, design and applied arts is the #37 most popular major in Illinois.

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.

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 Illinois ranking. Our analysis looked at 17 schools in Illinois 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.

This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. 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.

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

2023 Best Value Design & Applied Arts Schools in Illinois

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for design majors pursuing a .

Top 10 Best Design & Applied Arts Schools

$13,968 Average Tuition & Fees

Our analysis found Illinois State University to be the best value school for design and applied arts students who want to pursue a degree in Illinois. Located in the midsize suburb of Normal, Illinois State is a public college with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Illinois State are $13,968 per year. Design majors at Illinois State take out an average of $22,868 in student loans while working on their egree.

In addition to its great value ranking, Illinois State is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Illinois list.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Illinois State University

$17,634 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Design & Applied Arts Schools in Illinois list. UIUC is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Champaign.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UIUC are $17,634 per year. While working on their degree, design majors at UIUC accumulate an average of around $22,407 in student debt. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $501, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

UIUC also made our Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Illinois list, coming in at #3.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

$50,375 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Illinois Institute of Technology. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Design & Applied Arts Schools in Illinois list. Illinois Tech is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago.

Illinois Tech undergraduate students pay an average of $50,375 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

$15,603 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at University of Illinois at Chicago helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best design and applied arts schools in Illinois. Located in the large city of Chicago, UIC is a public college with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UIC are $15,603 per year. The average amount in student loans that design majors at UIC take out is $25,425. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $295.

Full Design & Applied Arts at University of Illinois at Chicago Report

$15,240 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Design & Applied Arts Schools in Illinois list. Located in the city of Carbondale, SIUC is a public school with a fairly large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at SIUC are $15,240 per year.

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$27,786 Average Tuition & Fees

Columbia College Chicago did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for design and applied arts students. It came in at #6 on the list. Columbia is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Chicago.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Columbia are $27,786 a year. Design majors at Columbia take out an average of $27,000 in student loans while working on their egree. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $485.

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#7

Bradley University

Peoria, IL
$36,360 Average Tuition & Fees

Bradley University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Design & Applied Arts Schools in Illinois ranking. Bradley is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Peoria.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Bradley are $36,360 a year. While working on their degree, design majors at Bradley accumulate an average of around $27,000 in student debt.

Bradley also claimed a spot on our Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Illinois list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools in this category.

Read More…

#8

Roosevelt University

Chicago, IL
$31,493 Average Tuition & Fees

Roosevelt University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for design and applied arts students. It came in at #8 on the list. Roosevelt is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Roosevelt are $31,493 per year. While working on their degree, design majors at Roosevelt accumulate an average of around $22,250 in student debt.

Read More…

#9

North Central College

Naperville, IL
$42,206 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #9, North Central College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for design and applied arts students. Located in the city of Naperville, North Central is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at North Central are $42,206 per year. After completing their degree, design graduates from North Central carry an average student debtload of $27,000.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at North Central College

#10

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL
$60,768 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #10, Northwestern University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for design and applied arts students. Northwestern is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Evanston.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Northwestern are $60,768 a year.

Northwestern did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Illinois list.

Full Design & Applied Arts at Northwestern University Report

Best Value Design & Applied Arts Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

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

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

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 17 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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