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Best Value Design & Applied Arts Schools in North Carolina

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2023 Best Value Design & Applied Arts Schools in North Carolina

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

13 Colleges
$13,144 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$30,342 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Design & Applied Arts School for You

Design & Applied Arts is the #28 most popular major in North Carolina with 944 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

The Best Value Design & Applied Arts Schools in North Carolina ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 13 schools in North Carolina 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.

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 North Carolina

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

$2,289 Average Tuition & Fees

Our 2023 rankings named Guilford Technical Community College the best value school in North Carolina for design and applied arts students. Guilford Technical Community College is a medium-sized public school located in the midsize suburb of Jamestown.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Guilford Technical Community College are $2,289 a year. Design majors at Guilford Technical Community College take out an average of $19,000 in student loans while working on their egree.

Read More…

The excellent programs at Wake Technical Community College helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best design and applied arts schools in North Carolina. Wake Technical Community College is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of Raleigh.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Wake Technical Community College are $2,768 per year. While working on their degree, design majors at Wake Technical Community College accumulate an average of around $12,411 in student debt.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Wake Technical Community College also is in the top 10% of our Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in North Carolina ranking.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Wake Technical Community College

The excellent programs at Central Piedmont Community College helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best design and applied arts schools in North Carolina. Located in the large city of Charlotte, Central Piedmont Community College is a public college with a large student population.

Central Piedmont Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $2,792 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, Central Piedmont Community College also did well on our Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in North Carolina list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

Full Design & Applied Arts at Central Piedmont Community College Report

$4,367 Average Tuition & Fees

Out of the 13 schools in North Carolina that were part of this year’s ranking, Western Carolina University landed the # 4 spot on the list. WCU is a fairly large public school located in the town of Cullowhee.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at WCU are $4,367 a year. After completing their degree, design graduates from WCU carry an average student debtload of $26,738.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Western Carolina University

Out of the 13 schools in North Carolina that were part of this year’s ranking, Appalachian State University landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the distant town of Boone, Appalachian State is a public college with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Appalachian State are $7,410 a year. While working on their degree, design majors at Appalachian State accumulate an average of around $23,750 in student debt. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $242.

Appalachian State also claimed a spot on our Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in North Carolina list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category.

Full Design & Applied Arts at Appalachian State University Report

#6

East Carolina University

Greenville, NC

East Carolina University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value design and applied arts programs. Located in the city of Greenville, ECU is a public school with a very large student population.

ECU undergraduate students pay an average of $7,297 in in-state tuition and fees each year. Design majors at ECU take out an average of $25,000 in student loans while working on their egree.

ECU also claimed a spot on our Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in North Carolina list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at East Carolina University

University of North Carolina at Charlotte landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value design and applied arts programs. UNC Charlotte is a fairly large public school located in the city of Charlotte.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UNC Charlotte are $7,188 per year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UNC Charlotte also is in the top 15% of our Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in North Carolina ranking.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at University of North Carolina at Charlotte

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

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at NC State are $9,131 a year. The average amount in student loans that design majors at NC State take out is $23,954.

NC State did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in North Carolina list.

Full Design & Applied Arts at North Carolina State University Report

University of North Carolina at Greensboro landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value design and applied arts programs. UNC Greensboro is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Greensboro.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UNC Greensboro are $7,468 per year. On average, design graduates from UNC Greensboro take out $27,000 in student loans while working on their degree.

UNC Greensboro excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in North Carolina list.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at University of North Carolina at Greensboro

$6,733 Average Tuition & Fees

North Carolina A & T State University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Design & Applied Arts Schools in North Carolina ranking. NC A&T is a large public school located in the large city of Greensboro.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at NC A&T are $6,733 a year. On average, design graduates from NC A&T take out $28,617 in student loans while working on their degree.

Full Design & Applied Arts at North Carolina A & T State University Report

Best Value Design & Applied Arts Colleges in the Southeast Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
Georgia 1,446
Virginia 889
Florida 1,128
Tennessee 296
Kentucky 84
South Carolina 316
Louisiana 84
Arkansas 228
Alabama 246
Mississippi 81
West Virginia 114

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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