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Best Value Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Plains States Region

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2023 Best Value Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Plains States Region

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

38 Colleges
$14,471 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$31,239 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. 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 the Plains States Region ranking. Our analysis looked at 38 schools in the Plains States 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 Plains States 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

Our analysis found Alexandria Technical & Community College to be the best value school for design and applied arts students who want to pursue a degree in the Plains States Region . ATCC is a small public school located in the town of Alexandria.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at ATCC are $5,910 a year. Design majors at ATCC take out an average of $12,000 in student loans while working on their egree.

In addition to its great value ranking, ATCC is in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Plains States Region list.

Read More…

$4,680 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Metropolitan Community College. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the city of Omaha, MCC is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at MCC are $4,680 a year. While working on their degree, design majors at MCC accumulate an average of around $12,098 in student debt.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Metropolitan Community College

#3

Johnson County Community College

Overland Park, KS

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Johnson County Community College. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the city of Overland Park, JCCC is a public school with a large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at JCCC are $5,352 per year. After completing their degree, design graduates from JCCC carry an average student debtload of $11,449.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Johnson County Community College

#4

Century College

White Bear Lake, MN
$5,907 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at Century College helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best design and applied arts schools in the Plains States Region . Century College is a moderately-sized public school located in the large suburb of White Bear Lake.

Century College undergraduate students pay an average of $5,907 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Design & Applied Arts at Century College Report

#5

Bismarck State College

Bismarck, ND

Out of the 38 schools in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Bismarck State College landed the # 5 spot on the list. BSC is a small public school located in the city of Bismarck.

BSC undergraduate students pay an average of $6,930 in tuition and fees each year. While working on their degree, design majors at BSC accumulate an average of around $12,000 in student debt.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, BSC also is in the top 5% of our Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Plains States Region ranking.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Bismarck State College

#6

Bellevue University

Bellevue, NE

With a ranking of #6, Bellevue University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for design and applied arts students. Located in the large suburb of Bellevue, Bellevue University is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Bellevue University are $8,310 per year. Design majors at Bellevue University take out an average of $29,510 in student loans while working on their egree.

In addition to its great value ranking, Bellevue University is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Plains States Region list.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Bellevue University

Bemidji State University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value design and applied arts programs. Bemidji State University is a small public school located in the remote town of Bemidji.

Bemidji State University undergraduate students pay an average of $9,806 in tuition and fees each year. On average, design graduates from Bemidji State University take out $27,000 in student loans while working on their degree.

Bemidji State University also claimed a spot on our Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Plains States Region list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools in this category.

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

$5,906 Average Tuition & Fees

Minneapolis Community and Technical College landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value design and applied arts programs. Minneapolis Community and Technical College is a medium-sized public school located in the large city of Minneapolis.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Minneapolis Community and Technical College are $5,906 per year. On average, design graduates from Minneapolis Community and Technical College take out $32,750 in student loans while working on their degree.

Full Design & Applied Arts at Minneapolis Community and Technical College Report

#9

University of South Dakota

Vermillion, SD
$12,942 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #9, University of South Dakota did quite well on this year’s best value schools for design and applied arts students. Located in the town of Vermillion, USD is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

USD undergraduate students pay an average of $12,942 in tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

With a ranking of #10, North Dakota State University - Main Campus did quite well on this year’s best value schools for design and applied arts students. Located in the city of Fargo, North Dakota State University is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at North Dakota State University are $14,876 a year. On average, design graduates from North Dakota State University take out $27,000 in student loans while working on their degree.

North Dakota State University excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Plains States Region list.

Full Design & Applied Arts at North Dakota State University - Main Campus Report

Best Design & Applied Arts Colleges by State

Explore the best design and applied arts colleges for a specific state in the Plains States region.

State Degrees Awarded
Missouri 432
Minnesota 533
Kansas 229
Iowa 481
Nebraska 223
North Dakota 36
South Dakota 57

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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