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Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Region

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2023 Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Region

20 Colleges
$32,734 Avg Salary
$25,957 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Design & Applied Arts School for You

Design & Applied Arts is the #91 most popular major in the country with 1,979 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

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're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Grad Degree Search has created its Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This report analyzed 20 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which ones offered the best programs for students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Region

Check out the design programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.

Top 10 Best Design & Applied Arts Schools

#1

University of Notre Dame

Notre Dame, IN

Our analysis found University of Notre Dame to be the best school for design and applied arts students who want to pursue a degree in the Great Lakes Region . Notre Dame is a large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Notre Dame.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Illinois Institute of Technology. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Illinois Tech is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago.

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#3

Michigan State University

East Lansing, MI

Out of the 20 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Michigan State University landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the small city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public college with a very large student population.

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

#4

Purdue University - Main Campus

West Lafayette, IN

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Purdue University - Main Campus. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Purdue is a fairly large public school located in the small city of West Lafayette.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Purdue University - Main Campus

#5

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northwestern University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Evanston.

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University of Wisconsin - Stout ranked #6 on this year’s Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the distant town of Menomonie, UW - Stout is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

Full Design & Applied Arts at University of Wisconsin - Stout Report

College for Creative Studies landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best design and applied arts programs. CCS is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Detroit.

Full Design & Applied Arts at College for Creative Studies Report

With a ranking of #8, Miami University - Oxford did quite well on this year’s best schools for design and applied arts students. Miami University - Oxford is a fairly large public school located in the fringe town of Oxford.

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#9

Ball State University

Muncie, IN

Ball State University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Ball State is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Muncie.

Full Design & Applied Arts at Ball State University Report

University of Cincinnati - Main Campus landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best design and applied arts programs. Located in the city of Cincinnati, UC is a public school with a very large student population.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at University of Cincinnati - Main Campus

Best Design & Applied Arts Colleges by State

Explore the best design and applied arts colleges for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 48
Illinois 75
Ohio 103
Indiana 16
Wisconsin 3

Design & Applied Arts is one of 9 different types of programs to choose from.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Music 7,675
Fine & Studio Arts 3,224
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 1,704
Drama & Theater Arts 1,699
Arts & Media Management 1,184

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 20 schools only.

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • 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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