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2023 Best Value Product Design Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k

6 Ranked Colleges
215 Degrees Awarded
$23,100 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Product Design Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Product Design Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking.

In 2020-2021, 1,792 people earned their degree in industrial design, making the major the 304th most popular in the United States.

Across California, there were 215 industrial design graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Product Design Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking looked at 6 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in industrial design. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent industrial design programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the industrial design program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

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When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Product Design Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k” list to help you make the college decision.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Product Design Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Product Design Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k.

Top 6 Best Value Colleges for Industrial Design (Income $30-$48k) in California

1

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Long Beach. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Best Value Product Design Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k list. Located in Long Beach, California, this large public school awarded 34 degrees to qualified ’s product design students in 2020-2021.

CSULB also took the #5 spot in our “Best Industrial Design Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $7,573 for california product design students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend California State University - Long Beach.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read more about Industrial Design at CSULB

2
San Jose State crest
San Jose State University
San Jose, California

Out of the 6 schools in the Best Value Product Design Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, San Jose State University landed the #2 spot on the list. Located in San Jose, California, this large public school awarded 21 diplomas to qualified ’s product design students in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our california product design students whose families make $30-$48k list, San Jose State has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Industrial Design Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for San Jose State University is $13,378 for California Product Design students whose families make $30-$48k.

With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Industrial Design at San Jose State

3
SFSU crest
San Francisco State University
San Francisco, California

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend San Francisco State University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Product Design Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k. San Francisco State University is a large public school situated in San Francisco, California. It awarded 52 ’s product design degrees in 2020-2021.

SFSU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Industrial Design Schools in California” list. It costs about $11,862 for California Product Design students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend San Francisco State University.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full SFSU Industrial Design Report

4
California College of the Arts crest
California College of the Arts
San Francisco, California

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California College of the Arts. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Product Design Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k. California College of the Arts is a private not-for-profit institution located in San Francisco, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 37 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our california product design students whose families make $30-$48k list, California College of the Arts has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Industrial Design Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for California College of the Arts is $24,239 for california product design students whose families make $30-$48k.

With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.2% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Full California College of the Arts Industrial Design Report

5
Otis College of Art and Design crest
Otis College of Art and Design
Los Angeles, California

Out of the 6 schools in the Best Value Product Design Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Otis College of Art and Design landed the #5 spot on the list. Otis College of Art and Design is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Los Angeles, California. It awarded 43 ’s product design degrees in 2020-2021.

Otis College of Art and Design did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Industrial Design Schools in California” list. It costs about $40,153 for California Product Design students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Otis College of Art and Design.

The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Industrial Design at Otis College of Art and Design

6

FIDM/Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising - Los Angeles came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Product Design Schools in California For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. FIDM/Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising - Los Angeles is a private for-profit institution located in Los Angeles, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 18 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at FIDM Los Angeles, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Industrial Design Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $41,318 for California Product Design students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend FIDM Los Angeles.

Full FIDM/Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising - Los Angeles Industrial Design Report

Notes and References

References

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

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