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Best Value Design & Applied Arts Master's Degree Schools in California

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2023 Best Value Design & Applied Arts Master's Degree Schools in California

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

10 Colleges
$34,533 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$52,263 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Design & Applied Arts Master's Degree School for You

With 194 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, design and applied arts is the #92 most popular major in California.

It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. 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 help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Grad Degree Search has developed this Best Value Design & Applied Arts Master's Degree Schools in California ranking. Our analysis looked at 10 schools in California to see which master's degree 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.

Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. 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.

In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

2023 Best Value Design & Applied Arts Master’s Degree Schools in California

Check out the design master's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

Top 10 Best Design & Applied Arts Master's Degree Schools

Our analysis found California State University - Long Beach to be the best value school for design and applied arts students who want to pursue a master’s degree in California. CSULB is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Long Beach.

CSULB graduate students pay an average of $8,280 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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#2

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, CA

The excellent master’s degree programs at San Francisco State University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value design and applied arts schools in California. Located in the large city of San Francisco, SFSU is a public school with a fairly large student population.

SFSU graduate students pay an average of $8,738 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means University of California - Los Angeles is a great value for design and applied arts students working on their master’s degree. UCLA is a very large public school located in the city of Los Angeles.

UCLA graduate students pay an average of $13,036 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

UCLA also made our Best Design & Applied Arts Master’s Degree Schools in California list, coming in at #4.

Full Design & Applied Arts at University of California - Los Angeles Report

#4

Academy of Art University

San Francisco, CA

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Academy of Art University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Design & Applied Arts Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the city of San Francisco, Academy of Art University is a private for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Academy of Art University are $28,496 a year.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Academy of Art University

The excellent master’s degree programs at Otis College of Art and Design helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best value design and applied arts schools in California. Located in the city of Los Angeles, Otis College of Art and Design is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Otis College of Art and Design are $50,950 a year.

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

#6

California College of the Arts

San Francisco, CA

With a ranking of #6, California College of the Arts did quite well on this year’s best value schools for design and applied arts students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of San Francisco, California College of the Arts is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

California College of the Arts graduate students pay an average of $55,090 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at California College of the Arts

Laguna College of Art and Design came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Design & Applied Arts Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking. Located in the rural area of Laguna Beach, LCAD is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.

LCAD graduate students pay an average of $38,850 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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University of Southern California landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree design and applied arts programs. Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at USC are $61,396 a year.

USC also made our Best Design & Applied Arts Master’s Degree Schools in California list, coming in at #5.

Full Design & Applied Arts at University of Southern California Report

With a ranking of #9, Art Center College of Design did quite well on this year’s best value schools for design and applied arts students working on their master’s degree. Located in the midsize city of Pasadena, Art Center College of Design is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Art Center College of Design are $50,734 per year.

Full Design & Applied Arts at Art Center College of Design Report

#10

New York Film Academy

Burbank, CA

With a ranking of #10, New York Film Academy did quite well on this year’s best value schools for design and applied arts students working on their master’s degree. New York Film Academy is a small private for-profit school located in the city of Burbank.

In-state tuition fees for graduate students at New York Film Academy are $34,075 per year.

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Best Value Design & Applied Arts Colleges in the Far Western US Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 6
Oregon 18
Nevada 0

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

Majors Similar to Design

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 10 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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