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Most Popular Schools for Design & Applied Arts

Most Popular Design & Applied Arts Schools

There are 1,237 colleges that offer a degree in Design & Applied Arts. Ranked by yearly graduations, here are the most popular below:

Finding the Best Design & Applied Arts School for You

With all the Design & Applied Arts programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendance, there are many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Grad Degree Search has created its Most Popular Design & Applied Arts Schools ranking. This report analyzed 1,237 schools in the United States to see which Design & Applied Arts programs were the most popular. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from each school’s program.

The colleges and universities below are the most popular for Design & Applied Arts majors.

The most popular school in the United States for Design & Applied Arts students is Fashion Institute of Technology. Located in New York, NY, this is a public institution. This school awarded 1,404 degrees in Design & Applied Arts in the most recent reporting year. Graduates of this program go on to a median salary of $32,277. Full Design & Applied Arts at Fashion Institute of Technology Report

Savannah College of Art and Design comes in at #2 on our list of the most popular colleges for Design & Applied Arts majors. Located in Savannah, GA, this is a private nonprofit institution. This school awarded 806 degrees in Design & Applied Arts in the most recent reporting year. Graduates of this program go on to a median salary of $25,862. Read More…

Southern New Hampshire University comes in at #3 on our list of the most popular colleges for Design & Applied Arts majors. Located in Manchester, NH, this is a private nonprofit institution. During the most recent year for which we have data, 803 people earned their degree in Design & Applied Arts from this school. Graduates of this program go on to a median salary of $54,644. Full Design & Applied Arts at Southern New Hampshire University Report

#4

The New School

New York, NY

The New School landed the #4 spot in our Most Popular Design & Applied Arts Schools ranking. The New School is a private nonprofit school located in New York, NY. During the most recent year for which we have data, 631 people earned their degree in Design & Applied Arts from this school. Graduates of this program go on to a median salary of $26,730. Full Design & Applied Arts at The New School Report

Central Piedmont Community College comes in at #5 on our list of the most popular colleges for Design & Applied Arts majors. Located in Charlotte, NC, this is a public institution. During the most recent year for which we have data, 626 people earned their degree in Design & Applied Arts from this school. Graduates of this program go on to a median salary of $37,962. Read More…

#6

Pratt Institute-Main

Brooklyn, NY

Pratt Institute-Main landed the #6 spot in our Most Popular Design & Applied Arts Schools ranking. Located in Brooklyn, NY, this is a private nonprofit institution. During the most recent year for which we have data, 503 people earned their degree in Design & Applied Arts from this school. Graduates of this program go on to a median salary of $29,447. Full Design & Applied Arts at Pratt Institute-Main Report

#7

Full Sail University

Winter Park, FL

Full Sail University landed the #7 spot in our Most Popular Design & Applied Arts Schools ranking. Located in Winter Park, FL, this is a private for-profit institution. This school awarded 497 degrees in Design & Applied Arts in the most recent reporting year. Graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $26,076. Full Design & Applied Arts at Full Sail University Report

Wake Technical Community College comes in at #8 on our list of the most popular colleges for Design & Applied Arts majors. Located in Raleigh, NC, this is a public institution. This school awarded 481 degrees in Design & Applied Arts in the most recent reporting year. Graduates of this program go on to a median salary of $38,942. Full Design & Applied Arts at Wake Technical Community College Report

Utah Valley University comes in at #9 on our list of the most popular colleges for Design & Applied Arts majors. Located in Orem, UT, this is a public institution. This school awarded 460 degrees in Design & Applied Arts in the most recent reporting year. Graduates of this program go on to a median salary of $48,225. Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Utah Valley University

#10

NUC University

Bayamon, PR

NUC University comes in at #10 on our list of the most popular colleges for Design & Applied Arts majors. NUC University is a private for-profit school located in Bayamon, PR. During the most recent year for which we have data, 396 people earned their degree in Design & Applied Arts from this school. Graduates of this program go on to a median salary of $18,183. Read More…

Virginia Commonwealth University landed the #11 spot in our Most Popular Design & Applied Arts Schools ranking. Virginia Commonwealth University is a public school located in Richmond, VA. During the most recent year for which we have data, 365 people earned their degree in Design & Applied Arts from this school. Graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $41,934. Full Design & Applied Arts at Virginia Commonwealth University Report

#12

School of Visual Arts

New York, NY

School of Visual Arts landed the #12 spot in our Most Popular Design & Applied Arts Schools ranking. School of Visual Arts is a private for-profit school located in New York, NY. This school awarded 328 degrees in Design & Applied Arts in the most recent reporting year. Graduates of this program go on to a median salary of $23,488. Full Design & Applied Arts at School of Visual Arts Report

Collin County Community College District landed the #13 spot in our Most Popular Design & Applied Arts Schools ranking. Located in McKinney, TX, this is a public institution. During the most recent year for which we have data, 298 people earned their degree in Design & Applied Arts from this school. Graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $39,890. Read More…

Kent State University at Kent comes in at #14 on our list of the most popular colleges for Design & Applied Arts majors. Located in Kent, OH, this is a public institution. This school awarded 297 degrees in Design & Applied Arts in the most recent reporting year. Graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $40,674. Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Kent State University at Kent

#15

Columbia College Chicago

Chicago, IL

Columbia College Chicago comes in at #15 on our list of the most popular colleges for Design & Applied Arts majors. Columbia College Chicago is a private nonprofit school located in Chicago, IL. This school awarded 294 degrees in Design & Applied Arts in the most recent reporting year. Graduates of this program go on to a median salary of $24,908. Full Design & Applied Arts at Columbia College Chicago Report

#16

Liberty University

Lynchburg, VA

Liberty University comes in at #16 on our list of the most popular colleges for Design & Applied Arts majors. Liberty University is a private nonprofit school located in Lynchburg, VA. This school awarded 292 degrees in Design & Applied Arts in the most recent reporting year. Graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $44,414. Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Liberty University

University of California-Davis landed the #17 spot in our Most Popular Design & Applied Arts Schools ranking. University of California-Davis is a public school located in Davis, CA. During the most recent year for which we have data, 291 people earned their degree in Design & Applied Arts from this school. Graduates of this program go on to a median salary of $41,123. Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at University of California-Davis

FIDM-Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising comes in at #18 on our list of the most popular colleges for Design & Applied Arts majors. Located in Los Angeles, CA, this is a private for-profit institution. This school awarded 288 degrees in Design & Applied Arts in the most recent reporting year. Graduates of this program go on to a median salary of $28,643. Read More…

#19

Ana G. Mendez University

Orlando, FL

Ana G. Mendez University landed the #19 spot in our Most Popular Design & Applied Arts Schools ranking. Ana G. Mendez University is a private nonprofit school located in Orlando, FL. During the most recent year for which we have data, 282 people earned their degree in Design & Applied Arts from this school. Graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $40,669. Read More…

Maryland Institute College of Art comes in at #20 on our list of the most popular colleges for Design & Applied Arts majors. Maryland Institute College of Art is a private nonprofit school located in Baltimore, MD. During the most recent year for which we have data, 282 people earned their degree in Design & Applied Arts from this school. Graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $23,881. Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Maryland Institute College of Art

Iowa State University landed the #21 spot in our Most Popular Design & Applied Arts Schools ranking. Located in Ames, IA, this is a public institution. This school awarded 263 degrees in Design & Applied Arts in the most recent reporting year. Graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $50,667. Read More…

Columbus State Community College landed the #22 spot in our Most Popular Design & Applied Arts Schools ranking. Columbus State Community College is a public school located in Columbus, OH. During the most recent year for which we have data, 262 people earned their degree in Design & Applied Arts from this school. Graduates of this program go on to a median salary of $40,669. Full Design & Applied Arts at Columbus State Community College Report

Brigham Young University-Idaho landed the #23 spot in our Most Popular Design & Applied Arts Schools ranking. Located in Rexburg, ID, this is a private nonprofit institution. This school awarded 256 degrees in Design & Applied Arts in the most recent reporting year. Graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $40,371. Read More…

Arizona State University Campus Immersion comes in at #24 on our list of the most popular colleges for Design & Applied Arts majors. Located in Tempe, AZ, this is a public institution. This school awarded 231 degrees in Design & Applied Arts in the most recent reporting year. Graduates who hold this degree go on to make a median salary of $48,210. Read More…

Art Center College of Design comes in at #25 on our list of the most popular colleges for Design & Applied Arts majors. Located in Pasadena, CA, this is a private nonprofit institution. During the most recent year for which we have data, 230 people earned their degree in Design & Applied Arts from this school. Graduates of this program go on to a median salary of $46,662. Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Art Center College of Design

#26

Ivy Tech Community College

Indianapolis, IN
#28

Santa Monica College

Santa Monica, CA
#30

San Jose State University

San Jose, CA
#32

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, CA
#42

Auburn University

Auburn, AL
#44

Otis College of Art and Design

Los Angeles, CA
#45

Michigan State University

East Lansing, MI

Additional Noteworthy Schools

Here are some additional great schools for this major that just missed the list above.

Rank College Location
51 University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN
52 Academy of Art University San Francisco, CA
53 University of Cincinnati-Main Campus Cincinnati, OH
54 Grand Canyon University Phoenix, AZ
55 Syracuse University Syracuse, NY
56 Johnson County Community College Overland Park, KS
57 California State Polytechnic University-Pomona Pomona, CA
58 Appalachian State University Boone, NC
59 Oregon State University Corvallis, OR
60 Portland Community College Portland, OR
61 CUNY Queens College Queens, NY
62 Drexel University Philadelphia, PA
63 Sinclair Community College Dayton, OH
64 Minneapolis Community and Technical College Minneapolis, MN
65 California College of the Arts San Francisco, CA
66 Rhode Island School of Design Providence, RI
67 San Diego City College San Diego, CA
68 Boise State University Boise, ID
69 Mt San Antonio College Walnut, CA
70 University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA
71 Cuyahoga Community College District Cleveland, OH
72 Texas State University San Marcos, TX
73 Mesa Community College Mesa, AZ
74 Gwinnett Technical College Lawrenceville, GA
75 Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, AZ
76 Century College White Bear Lake, MN
77 California State University-Chico Chico, CA
78 California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, CA
79 Bowling Green State University-Main Campus Bowling Green, OH
80 Connecticut State Community College New Britain, CT
81 College for Creative Studies Detroit, MI
82 Laguna College of Art and Design Laguna Beach, CA
83 Metropolitan Community College Area Omaha, NE
84 Miami Dade College Miami, FL
85 Trident Technical College Charleston, SC
86 College of DuPage Glen Ellyn, IL
87 Montgomery College Rockville, MD
88 Dallas College Dallas, TX
89 Salt Lake Community College Salt Lake City, UT
90 Tulsa Technology Center Tulsa, OK
91 Ferris State University Big Rapids, MI
92 West Virginia University Morgantown, WV
93 Madison Area Technical College Madison, WI
94 Saddleback College Mission Viejo, CA
95 Kean University Union, NJ
96 Minneapolis College of Art and Design Minneapolis, MN
97 Oakland University Rochester Hills, MI
98 California State University-Sacramento Sacramento, CA
99 City College of San Francisco San Francisco, CA
100 Ensign College Salt Lake City, UT
101 Tidewater Community College Norfolk, VA
102 Augusta Technical College Augusta, GA
103 Des Moines Area Community College Ankeny, IA
104 Clemson University Clemson, SC
105 Georgia Southern University Statesboro, GA
106 University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT
107 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA
108 CUNY Kingsborough Community College Brooklyn, NY
109 Northeastern University Boston, MA
110 El Paso Community College El Paso, TX
111 Orange Coast College Costa Mesa, CA
112 Montclair State University Montclair, NJ
113 Mitchell Community College Statesville, NC
114 Santa Rosa Junior College Santa Rosa, CA
115 Los Angeles Trade Technical College Los Angeles, CA
116 Tyler Junior College Tyler, TX
117 University of Florida Gainesville, FL
118 University of Kansas Lawrence, KS
119 Guilford Technical Community College Jamestown, NC
120 Randolph Community College Asheboro, NC
121 Seattle Central College Seattle, WA
122 University of Illinois Chicago Chicago, IL
123 New England Institute of Technology East Greenwich, RI
124 Pennsylvania College of Art and Design Lancaster, PA
125 University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus Norman, OK
126 Washington University in St Louis St. Louis, MO
127 North Carolina State University at Raleigh Raleigh, NC
128 Portland State University Portland, OR
129 Purdue University-Main Campus West Lafayette, IN
130 Indiana University-Bloomington Bloomington, IN
131 Rasmussen University-Florida Ocala, FL
132 Sierra College Rocklin, CA
133 College of the Canyons Santa Clarita, CA
134 High Point University High Point, NC
135 Atlanta Technical College Atlanta, GA
136 Hinds Community College Raymond, MS
137 San Jacinto Community College Pasadena, TX
138 Universidad Ana G. Mendez-Gurabo Campus Gurabo, PR
139 Cleveland Institute of Art Cleveland, OH
140 Northern Virginia Community College Annandale, VA
141 Palomar College San Marcos, CA
142 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL
143 Ball State University Muncie, IN
144 The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL
145 Wayne Community College Goldsboro, NC
146 Arapahoe Community College Littleton, CO
147 Central Community College Grand Island, NE
148 Lanier Technical College Gainesville, GA
149 Los Angeles Film School Hollywood, CA
150 Boston University Boston, MA
151 Scottsdale Community College Scottsdale, AZ
152 University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA
153 Belmont University Nashville, TN
154 Kansas City Art Institute Kansas City, MO
155 Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, MI
156 California State University-Fresno Fresno, CA
157 Central Georgia Technical College Warner Robins, GA
158 California Baptist University Riverside, CA
159 DePaul University Chicago, IL
160 Indiana University of Pennsylvania-Main Campus Indiana, PA
161 Kutztown University of Pennsylvania Kutztown, PA
162 Sessions College for Professional Design Tempe, AZ
163 Wade College Dallas, TX
164 Washington State University Pullman, WA
165 Kirkwood Community College Cedar Rapids, IA
166 South Plains College Levelland, TX
167 University of Nebraska-Lincoln Lincoln, NE
168 Anne Arundel Community College Arnold, MD
169 Berkeley College-Woodland Park Woodland Park, NJ
170 Brigham Young University Provo, UT
171 Cabrillo College Aptos, CA
172 Central Michigan University Mount Pleasant, MI
173 College of Southern Nevada Las Vegas, NV
174 Lesley University Cambridge, MA
175 Ohio State University-Main Campus Columbus, OH
176 The Modern College of Design Kettering, OH
177 George Washington University Washington, DC
178 Bellevue College Bellevue, WA
179 California State University-San Bernardino San Bernardino, CA
180 California State University-Fullerton Fullerton, CA
181 University of Nevada-Las Vegas Las Vegas, NV
182 Arizona State University Digital Immersion Scottsdale, AZ
183 Eastern Michigan University Ypsilanti, MI
184 Florida State College at Jacksonville Jacksonville, FL
185 Houston Community College Houston, TX
186 San Antonio College San Antonio, TX
187 St Charles Community College Cottleville, MO
188 University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth North Dartmouth, MA
189 Fox Valley Technical College Appleton, WI
190 Texas State Technical College Waco, TX
191 William Rainey Harper College Palatine, IL
192 Pikes Peak State College Colorado Springs, CO
193 Red Rocks Community College Lakewood, CO
194 SUNY Adirondack Queensbury, NY
195 Stark State College North Canton, OH
196 University of the Incarnate Word San Antonio, TX
197 Waukesha County Technical College Pewaukee, WI
198 Bergen Community College Paramus, NJ
199 Central Connecticut State University New Britain, CT
200 Marist University Poughkeepsie, NY

Design & Applied Arts by Region

View the Most Popular Design & Applied Arts Schools ranking for a specific region near you.

Region
New England
Middle Atlantic
Great Lakes
Plains States
Southeast
Southwest
Rocky Mountains
Far Western US

More Design & Applied Arts Rankings

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the Most Popular Design & Applied Arts Schools ranking, along with other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

Design & Applied Arts Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Graphic Design 10,676
Visual Communications 6,186
Interior Design 5,651
Illustration 3,192
Fashion Design 3,186
Commercial & Advertising Art 2,987
Game & Interactive Media Design 2,986
Other Design & Applied Arts 1,640
Industrial Design 1,395
Commercial Photography 899
Related Major Annual Graduates
Fine & Studio Arts 37,770
Music 25,853
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 18,927
Drama & Theater Arts 16,640
General Visual & Performing Arts 7,225

References

*The average salary above is for the top 25 schools only.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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