2023 Best Value Design & Applied Arts Master's Degree Schools
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
Finding the Best Design & Applied Arts Master's Degree 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. 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 help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Design & Applied Arts Master's Degree Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 98 schools in the United States to see which master'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. 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.
Featured Design Programs
Learn about start dates, transferring credits, availability of financial aid, and more by contacting the universities below.
BA in Graphic Design & Media Arts
Translate your creative ideas through concept, design and digital media with a bachelor's in graphic design online from Southern New Hampshire University.
Top 15% Best Design & Applied Arts Master's Degree Schools
Our 2023 rankings named Lindenwood University the best value school in the United States for design and applied arts students working on their master’s degree. Lindenwood University is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Saint Charles.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Lindenwood University are $9,784 per year.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Ferris State University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Design & Applied Arts Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the distant town of Big Rapids, Ferris is a public college with a large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Ferris are $8,232 a year.
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The excellent master’s degree programs at Atlantic University College helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value design and applied arts schools in the United States. Located in the small city of Guaynabo, Atlantic University College is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Atlantic University College are $4,605 per year.
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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Liberty University is a great value for design and applied arts students working on their master’s degree. Located in the small city of Lynchburg, Liberty University is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.
Liberty University graduate students pay an average of $8,360 in tuition and fees each year.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Endicott College. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Design & Applied Arts Master’s Degree Schools list. Endicott is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Beverly.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Endicott are $12,746 per year.
Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Endicott College
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Marywood University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Design & Applied Arts Master’s Degree Schools list. Marywood is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Scranton.
Marywood graduate students pay an average of $11,438 in tuition and fees each year.
Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Marywood University
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University of Wisconsin - Stout came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Design & Applied Arts Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the town of Menomonie, UW - Stout is a public college with a medium-sized student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at UW - Stout are $17,213 per year.
UW - Stout excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Design & Applied Arts Master’s Degree Schools list.
Full Design & Applied Arts at University of Wisconsin - Stout Report
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With a ranking of #8, University of Delaware did quite well on this year’s best value schools for design and applied arts students working on their master’s degree. UD is a very large public school located in the suburb of Newark.
UD graduate students pay an average of $18,128 in tuition and fees each year.
UD excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Design & Applied Arts Master’s Degree Schools list.
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Mississippi College came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Design & Applied Arts Master’s Degree Schools ranking. MC is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Clinton.
MC graduate students pay an average of $12,796 in tuition and fees each year.
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Arizona State University - Skysong did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for design and applied arts students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #10 on the list. ASU - Skysong is a very large public school located in the medium-sized city of Scottsdale.
ASU - Skysong graduate students pay an average of $9,982 in tuition and fees each year.
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The University of Texas at Austin did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for design and applied arts students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #11 on the list. UT Austin is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Austin.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at UT Austin are $22,944 a year.
In addition to its great value ranking, UT Austin is in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Design & Applied Arts Master’s Degree Schools list.
Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at The University of Texas at Austin
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The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for design and applied arts students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #12 on the list. UT Chattanooga is a large public school located in the city of Chattanooga.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at UT Chattanooga are $18,538 a year.
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Illinois Institute of Technology ranked #13 on this year’s Best Value Design & Applied Arts Master’s Degree Schools list. Illinois Tech is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Chicago.
Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Illinois Tech are $30,822 per year.
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Clemson University ranked #14 on this year’s Best Value Design & Applied Arts Master’s Degree Schools list. Clemson is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Clemson.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Clemson are $23,246 a year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Clemson also is in the top 20% of our Best Design & Applied Arts Master’s Degree Schools ranking.
Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Clemson University
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These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Value Design & Applied Arts Master's Degree Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 15 | Kutztown University of Pennsylvania | Kutztown, PA |
| 16 | Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus | Atlanta, GA |
| 17 | Oklahoma State University - Main Campus | Stillwater, OK |
| 18 | Brenau University | Gainesville, GA |
| 18 | University of North Texas | Denton, TX |
Design & Applied Arts by Region
View the Best Value Design & Applied Arts Master's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
More Design & Applied Arts Rankings
Other Related Design Programs
Learn about start dates, transferring credits, availability of financial aid, and more by contacting the universities below.
BA in Graphic Design & Media Arts
Translate your creative ideas through concept, design and digital media with a bachelor's in graphic design online from Southern New Hampshire University.
Take the first step toward a career of visual expression and doing what you love with this online associate degree from Southern New Hampshire University.
Learn to create a striking portfolio and hone the skills you need to succeed in the world of professional photography with this online digital photography degree from Southern New Hampshire University.
Design & Applied Arts Related Majors for Design
One of 10 majors within the area of study, design and applied arts has other similar majors worth exploring.
Most Popular Majors Related 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.
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