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Most Popular Design & Applied Arts Schools in California

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2023 Most Popular Design & Applied Arts Schools in California

17 Colleges
$32,016 Avg Salary
$26,876 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Design & Applied Arts 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.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Grad Degree Search has created the Most Popular Design & Applied Arts Schools in California to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 17 schools in California 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.

Check out the design programs at these schools if you want to attend one of the most popular in California.

#1

Academy of Art University

San Francisco, CA

Our 2023 rankings named Academy of Art University the most popular school in California for design and applied arts students. Located in the city of San Francisco, Academy of Art University is a private for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.

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#2

California College of the Arts

San Francisco, CA

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means California College of the Arts is a great place for design and applied arts students. Located in the city of San Francisco, California College of the Arts is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

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

The excellent programs at Art Center College of Design helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best design and applied arts schools in California. Located in the city of Pasadena, Art Center College of Design is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

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

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Southern California. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Most Popular Design & Applied Arts Schools in California list. Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Otis College of Art and Design is a great place for design and applied arts students. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, Otis College of Art and Design is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

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#6

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, CA

San Francisco State University ranked #6 on this year’s Most Popular Design & Applied Arts Schools in California list. Located in the city of San Francisco, SFSU is a public school with a fairly large student population.

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#7

New York Film Academy

Burbank, CA

New York Film Academy landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular design and applied arts programs. New York Film Academy is a small private for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Burbank.

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With a ranking of #7, Laguna College of Art and Design did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for design and applied arts students. Located in the rural area of Laguna Beach, LCAD is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.

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University of California - Los Angeles landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular design and applied arts programs. UCLA is a very large public school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

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

California State University - Long Beach ranked #10 on this year’s Most Popular Design & Applied Arts Schools in California list. CSULB is a very large public school located in the large city of Long Beach.

Full Design & Applied Arts at California State University - Long Beach Report

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

Explore all the Most Popular Design & Applied Arts Schools 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 17 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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