2021 Most Popular Design & Applied Arts Schools
Finding the Best Design & Applied Arts School for You
In 2018-2019, 2,088 people earned a degree or certificate in design and applied arts, making the major the #89 most popular in the United States.
There are so many programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. 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 help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Grad Degree Search has developed this Most Popular Design & Applied Arts Schools ranking. This report analyzed 143 schools in the United States to see which ones were the most popular 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.
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2021 Most Popular Design & Applied Arts Schools in the United States
The colleges and universities below are the most popular for design majors pursuing a .
Top 15% Most Popular Design & Applied Arts Schools
Our 2021 rankings named Savannah College of Art and Design the most popular school in the United States for design and applied arts students. SCAD is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Savannah.
Request InformationOut of the 143 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Academy of Art University landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the large city of San Francisco, Academy of Art University is a private for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.
Request InformationOut of the 143 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Pratt Institute - Main landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the large city of Brooklyn, Pratt Institute is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.
Request InformationA rank of #4 on this year’s list means California State University - Fullerton is a great place for design and applied arts students. Cal State Fullerton is a very large public school located in the suburb of Fullerton.
Request InformationThe excellent programs at Maryland Institute College of Art helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best design and applied arts schools in the United States. Located in the city of Baltimore, MICA is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
Request InformationFull Sail University ranked #6 on this year’s Most Popular Design & Applied Arts Schools list. Located in the large suburb of Winter Park, Full Sail University is a private for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
Request InformationThe New School ranked #7 on this year’s Most Popular Design & Applied Arts Schools list. New School University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of New York.
Request InformationNew York School of Interior Design 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. NYSID is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of New York.
Request InformationSchool of Visual Arts came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Design & Applied Arts Schools ranking. Located in the large city of New York, SVA is a private for-profit college with a small student population.
Request InformationWith a ranking of #10, California College of the Arts did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for design and applied arts students. Located in the large city of San Francisco, California College of the Arts is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
Request InformationCarnegie Mellon University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for design and applied arts students. It came in at #11 on the list. Located in the large city of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.
Request InformationArizona State University - Tempe landed the #12 spot in the 2021 rankings for the most popular design and applied arts programs. ASU - Tempe is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Tempe.
Request InformationArizona State University - Skysong did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for design and applied arts students. It came in at #12 on the list. ASU - Skysong is a very large public school located in the city of Scottsdale.
Request InformationAtlantic University College landed the #14 spot in the 2021 rankings for the most popular design and applied arts programs. Located in the city of Guaynabo, Atlantic University College is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
Request InformationNew York University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for design and applied arts students. It came in at #15 on the list. NYU is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of New York.
Request InformationSchool of the Art Institute of Chicago came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Design & Applied Arts Schools ranking. School of the Art Institute of Chicago is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago.
Request InformationWith a ranking of #17, Boston University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for design and applied arts students. Boston U is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Boston.
Request InformationAuburn University landed the #18 spot in the 2021 rankings for the most popular design and applied arts programs. Located in the city of Auburn, Auburn is a public college with a very large student population.
Request InformationWith a ranking of #19, Rochester Institute of Technology did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for design and applied arts students. RIT is a large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Rochester.
Request InformationWith a ranking of #19, North Carolina State University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for design and applied arts students. NC State is a very large public school located in the city of Raleigh.
Request InformationWith a ranking of #21, Marymount University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for design and applied arts students. Located in the city of Arlington, Marymount is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
Request InformationRest of the Most Popular Design & Applied Arts Schools
Honorable Mentions
Here are some additional popular schools for Design & Applied Arts students that almost earned our Most Popular Design & Applied Arts Schools award.
Rank | College | Location |
---|---|---|
22 | Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus | Atlanta, GA |
22 | Thomas Jefferson University | Philadelphia, PA |
22 | College for Creative Studies | Detroit, MI |
22 | AI Miami International University of Art and Design | Miami, FL |
26 | University of Cincinnati - Main Campus | Cincinnati, OH |
27 | Iowa State University | Ames, IA |
28 | Bowling Green State University - Main Campus | Bowling Green, OH |
28 | Harvard University | Cambridge, MA |
28 | University of Minnesota - Twin Cities | Minneapolis, MN |
28 | Massachusetts College of Art and Design | Boston, MA |
Design & Applied Arts by Region
View the Most Popular Design & Applied Arts Schools for a specific region near you.
Region |
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Southeast |
New England |
Rocky Mountains |
Plains States |
Middle Atlantic |
Far Western US |
Southwest |
Great Lakes |
Majors Related to Design
Design & Applied Arts is one of 9 different types of programs to choose from.
Majors Similar to Design
Related Major | Annual Graduates |
---|---|
Music | 8,012 |
Fine & Studio Arts | 3,854 |
Film, Video & Photographic Arts | 2,066 |
Drama & Theater Arts | 1,884 |
Arts & Media Management | 1,166 |
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.
Featured Schools
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