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Most Popular Design & Applied Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region

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2023 Most Popular Design & Applied Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region

78 Colleges
$33,319 Avg Salary
$28,541 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor'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. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Most Popular Design & Applied Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. This report analyzed 78 schools in the Far Western US Region to see which ones were the most popular bachelor's degree programs for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Design & Applied Arts program at each school on the list.

The following schools top our list of the Most Popular Design & Applied Arts Bachelor's Degree Colleges.

Our analysis found Art Center College of Design to be the most popular school for design and applied arts students who want to pursue a bachelor’s degree in the Far Western US Region . Located in the medium-sized city of Pasadena, Art Center College of Design is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

About 71% of the students majoring in design at the school are women while 29% are male.

On average, design graduates from Art Center College of Design take out $35,062 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $878.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Art Center College of Design

The in-demand bachelor’s degree programs at University of California - Davis helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular design and applied arts schools in the Far Western US Region . UC Davis is a fairly large public school located in the small suburb of Davis.

Women make up 79% of the design majors at the school.

While working on their Bachelor's Degree, design majors at UC Davis accumulate an average of around $15,187 in student debt. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $319.

Read More…

The in-demand bachelor’s degree programs at San Jose State University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular design and applied arts schools in the Far Western US Region . San Jose State is a very large public school located in the city of San Jose.

About 62% of the students majoring in design at the school are women while 38% are male.

Read More…

#4

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, CA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend San Francisco State University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Popular Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Located in the large city of San Francisco, SFSU is a public college with a fairly large student population.

About 60% of the students majoring in design at the school are women while 40% are male.

Design majors at SFSU take out an average of $19,788 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $378, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Design & Applied Arts at San Francisco State University Report

The in-demand bachelor’s degree programs at California State University - Chico helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular design and applied arts schools in the Far Western US Region . Chico State is a large public school located in the city of Chico.

Of the 143 students majoring in design at Chico State, 65% are male and 35% are female.

After completing their Bachelor's Degree, design graduates from Chico State carry an average student debt load of $18,522.

Full Design & Applied Arts at California State University - Chico Report

California State University - Long Beach ranked #6 on this year’s Most Popular Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list. CSULB is a very large public school located in the city of Long Beach.

About 65% of the students majoring in design at the school are women while 35% are male.

Design majors at CSULB take out an average of $21,064 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Full Design & Applied Arts at California State University - Long Beach Report

#7

Oregon State University

Corvallis, OR

Oregon State University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. Oregon State is a very large public school located in the small city of Corvallis.

Of the 114 students majoring in design at Oregon State, 18% are male and 82% are female.

After completing their Bachelor's Degree, design graduates from Oregon State carry an average student debt load of $24,981.

Read More…

Otis College of Art and Design did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for design and applied arts students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, Otis College of Art and Design is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

About 61% of the students majoring in design at the school are women while 39% are male.

For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $711.

Full Design & Applied Arts at Otis College of Art and Design Report

California State Polytechnic University - Pomona did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for design and applied arts students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list. Located in the large suburb of Pomona, Cal Poly Pomona is a public college with a very large student population.

Women make up 55% of the design majors at the school.

The average amount in student loans that design majors at Cal Poly Pomona take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $19,547.

Full Design & Applied Arts at California State Polytechnic University - Pomona Report

University of California - Santa Cruz ranked #10 on this year’s Most Popular Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Located in the small city of Santa Cruz, UC Santa Cruz is a public school with a large student population.

Of the 108 students majoring in design at UC Santa Cruz, 60% are male and 40% are female.

The average amount in student loans that design majors at UC Santa Cruz take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $23,170.

Full Design & Applied Arts at University of California - Santa Cruz Report

#11

Laguna College of Art and Design

Laguna Beach, CA

Laguna College of Art and Design ranked #11 on this year’s Most Popular Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region list. Located in the rural area of Laguna Beach, LCAD is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.

Women make up 64% of the design majors at the school.

This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $512, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Design & Applied Arts at Laguna College of Art and Design Report

Honorable Mentions

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also popular but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Most Popular Design & Applied Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region award.

Rank College Location
12 California College of the Arts San Francisco, CA
13 Portland State University Portland, OR
14 Academy of Art University San Francisco, CA
15 Western Washington University Bellingham, WA

Best Design & Applied Arts Colleges by State

Explore the best design and applied arts colleges for a specific state in the Far Western US region.

State Degrees Awarded
California 3,773
Washington 532
Oregon 490
Nevada 110
Hawaii 19

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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