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Best Value Design & Applied Arts Schools in Wisconsin

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2023 Best Value Design & Applied Arts Schools in Wisconsin

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

13 Colleges
$13,658 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$30,681 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Design & Applied Arts School for You

Design & Applied Arts is the #22 most popular major in Wisconsin with 717 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

There are so many programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Value Design & Applied Arts Schools in Wisconsin ranking. This report analyzed 13 schools in Wisconsin to see which ones offered the best value programs for design students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

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 Wisconsin

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

Top 10 Best Design & Applied Arts Schools

$4,600 Average Tuition & Fees

Our 2023 rankings named Madison Area Technical College the best value school in Wisconsin for design and applied arts students. Located in the city of Madison, Madison College is a public school with a large student population.

Madison College undergraduate students pay an average of $4,600 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their degree, design majors at Madison College accumulate an average of around $14,374 in student debt.

Madison College not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #2 on our Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Wisconsin list.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Madison Area Technical College

$4,488 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Waukesha County Technical College. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Design & Applied Arts Schools in Wisconsin list. Located in the large suburb of Pewaukee, WCTC is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

WCTC undergraduate students pay an average of $4,488 in in-state tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that design majors at WCTC take out is $15,554.

Read More…

#3

Western Technical College

La Crosse, WI
$4,572 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 13 schools in Wisconsin that were part of this year’s ranking, Western Technical College landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the small city of La Crosse, Western Technical College is a public school with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Western Technical College are $4,572 per year. On average, design graduates from Western Technical College take out $13,500 in student loans while working on their degree.

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$4,793 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Milwaukee Area Technical College. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Design & Applied Arts Schools in Wisconsin list. MATC is a large public school located in the city of Milwaukee.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at MATC are $4,793 per year.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Milwaukee Area Technical College

$4,688 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Gateway Technical College is a great value for design and applied arts students. Gateway Technical College is a medium-sized public school located in the suburb of Kenosha.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Gateway Technical College are $4,688 per year. Design majors at Gateway Technical College take out an average of $14,333 in student loans while working on their egree.

Full Design & Applied Arts at Gateway Technical College Report

$10,720 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #6, University of Wisconsin - Madison did quite well on this year’s best value schools for design and applied arts students. UW - Madison is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Madison.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UW - Madison are $10,720 per year. The average amount in student loans that design majors at UW - Madison take out is $23,854.

UW - Madison also made our Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Wisconsin list, coming in at #1.

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

$9,553 Average Tuition & Fees

University of Wisconsin - Stout ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Design & Applied Arts Schools in Wisconsin list. Located in the town of Menomonie, UW - Stout is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UW - Stout are $9,553 per year. On average, design graduates from UW - Stout take out $27,000 in student loans while working on their degree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $131.

In addition to its great value ranking, UW - Stout is in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Wisconsin list.

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

$8,331 Average Tuition & Fees

University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Design & Applied Arts Schools in Wisconsin list. Located in the town of Stevens Point, UW - Stevens Point is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UW - Stevens Point are $8,331 per year. While working on their degree, design majors at UW - Stevens Point accumulate an average of around $25,112 in student debt.

Full Design & Applied Arts at University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point Report

$7,873 Average Tuition & Fees

University of Wisconsin - Green Bay landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value design and applied arts programs. Located in the city of Green Bay, UW - Green Bay is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UW - Green Bay are $7,873 per year. The average amount in student loans that design majors at UW - Green Bay take out is $22,859.

Full Design & Applied Arts at University of Wisconsin - Green Bay Report

#10

Carthage College

Kenosha, WI
$33,000 Average Tuition & Fees

Carthage College came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Design & Applied Arts Schools in Wisconsin ranking. Carthage is a small private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized suburb of Kenosha.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Carthage are $33,000 a year. The average amount in student loans that design majors at Carthage take out is $26,887.

Read More…

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

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

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

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 13 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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