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Most Popular Design & Applied Arts Schools in Illinois

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2023 Most Popular Design & Applied Arts Schools in Illinois

56 Colleges
$37,103 Avg Salary
$26,512 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Design & Applied Arts School for You

With 979 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, design and applied arts is the #37 most popular major in Illinois.

There are so many programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

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 Schools in Illinois ranking. Our analysis looked at 56 schools in Illinois to see which programs were the most popular 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 colleges and universities below are the most popular for design majors pursuing a .

Our analysis found Columbia College Chicago to be the most popular school for design and applied arts students who want to pursue a degree in Illinois. Columbia is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Chicago.

On average, design graduates from Columbia take out $27,000 in student loans while working on their degree. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $485.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Columbia College Chicago

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a great place for design and applied arts students. UIUC is a very large public school located in the small city of Champaign.

While working on their degree, design majors at UIUC accumulate an average of around $22,407 in student debt. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $501, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Design & Applied Arts at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Report

#3

DePaul University

Chicago, IL

The excellent programs at DePaul University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best design and applied arts schools in Illinois. DePaul is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago.

On average, design graduates from DePaul take out $26,929 in student loans while working on their degree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $537, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at DePaul University

The excellent programs at University of Illinois at Chicago helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best design and applied arts schools in Illinois. Located in the large city of Chicago, UIC is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average amount in student loans that design majors at UIC take out is $25,425. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $295.

Full Design & Applied Arts at University of Illinois at Chicago Report

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means William Rainey Harper College is a great place for design and applied arts students. Harper College is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Palatine.

Full Design & Applied Arts at William Rainey Harper College Report

#6

College of DuPage

Glen Ellyn, IL

College of DuPage did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for design and applied arts students. It came in at #6 on the list. COD is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Glen Ellyn.

Design majors at COD take out an average of $11,259 in student loans while working on their egree.

Read More…

#7

Bradley University

Peoria, IL

Bradley University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for design and applied arts students. It came in at #7 on the list. Bradley is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Peoria.

While working on their degree, design majors at Bradley accumulate an average of around $27,000 in student debt.

Read More…

Illinois State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for design and applied arts students. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the midsize suburb of Normal, Illinois State is a public school with a fairly large student population.

While working on their degree, design majors at Illinois State accumulate an average of around $22,868 in student debt.

Read More…

#8

American Academy of Art

Chicago, IL

American Academy of Art came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Design & Applied Arts Schools in Illinois ranking. The Academy is a small private for-profit school located in the large city of Chicago.

Design majors at The Academy take out an average of $31,125 in student loans while working on their egree. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $699.

Read More…

#10

Joliet Junior College

Joliet, IL

Joliet Junior College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for design and applied arts students. It came in at #10 on the list. Joliet Junior College is a large public school located in the large suburb of Joliet.

Full Design & Applied Arts at Joliet Junior College Report

Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional popular schools for Design & Applied Arts students in the state of Illinois that almost earned our Most Popular Design & Applied Arts Schools in Illinois award.

Rank College Location
11 School of the Art Institute of Chicago Chicago, IL
11 Augustana College Rock Island, IL
11 University of Chicago Chicago, IL

Best Design & Applied Arts Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Most Popular Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 1,011
Ohio 1,456
Indiana 417
Wisconsin 717

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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