2023 Best Value Colleges for Industrial Design in the Great Lakes Region
13
Ranked Colleges
359
Degrees Awarded
$21,100
Avg Net Price*
When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Product Design Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking - to help you make that decision.
In 2020-2021, 1,792 people earned their degree in industrial design, making the major the 304th most popular in the United States.
Across the Great Lakes region, there were 359 industrial design graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Product Design Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking looked at 13 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in industrial design. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great industrial design programs and 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.
More Ways to Rank Industrial Design Schools
The product design school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Product Design Schools in the Great Lakes Region”.
We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.
Best Value Product Design Schools in the Great Lakes Region
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Product Design Schools in the Great Lakes Region.
Top 13 Best Value Colleges for Industrial Design in the Great Lakes Region
Out of the 13 schools in the Best Value Product Design Schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Wisconsin - Stout landed the #1 spot on the list. University of Wisconsin - Stout is a public institution located in Menomonie, Wisconsin. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 31 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
UW - Stout did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Industrial Design Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. It costs about $15,589 for great lakes region product design students per year to attend UW - Stout.
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%.
Full University of Wisconsin - Stout Industrial Design Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Ferris State University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Product Design Schools in the Great Lakes Region. This fairly large school is located in Big Rapids, Michigan, and it awarded 9 ’s product design degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Ferris, the school also landed the #9 spot in our “Best Industrial Design Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. It costs about $12,213 for Great Lakes Region Product Design students per year to attend Ferris.
Read more about Industrial Design at Ferris
Out of the 13 schools in the Best Value Product Design Schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Cincinnati - Main Campus landed the #3 spot on the list. UC is a public institution located in Cincinnati, Ohio. The school has a large population, and it awarded 66 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
UC also made our “Best Industrial Design Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #1. It costs about $22,415 for Great Lakes Region Product Design students per year to attend University of Cincinnati - Main Campus.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Full University of Cincinnati - Main Campus Industrial Design Report
Out of the 13 schools in the Best Value Product Design Schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Western Michigan University landed the #4 spot on the list. This fairly large school is located in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and it awarded 14 ’s product design degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at WMU, the school also landed the #12 spot in our “Best Industrial Design Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Western Michigan University is $20,371 for Great Lakes Region Product Design students.
Read full report on Industrial Design at Western Michigan University
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Purdue University - Main Campus. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Product Design Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. West Lafayette, Indiana is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s product design degrees to 9 students in 2020-2021.
Purdue did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Industrial Design Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. It costs about $13,377 for Great Lakes Region Product Design students per year to attend Purdue.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Industrial Design at Purdue
University of Illinois at Chicago did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Product Design Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #6. University of Illinois at Chicago is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 29 ’s product design degrees to qualified students.
UIC also took the #7 spot in our “Best Industrial Design Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. It costs about $13,214 for great lakes region product design students per year to attend UIC.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.5% 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 UIC Industrial Design Report
With a ranking of #7, Cedarville University did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Product Design Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Cedarville University is a small school located in Cedarville, Ohio that handed out 24 ’s product design degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our great lakes region product design students list, Cedarville has also earned the #10 rank in our “Best Industrial Design Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. It costs about $22,817 for great lakes region product design students per year to attend Cedarville University.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.7% 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read more about Industrial Design at Cedarville
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Product Design Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #8. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a large public school situated in Champaign, Illinois. It awarded 54 ’s product design degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our great lakes region product design students list, UIUC has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Industrial Design Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. It costs about $14,321 for great lakes region product design students per year to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read full report on Industrial Design at UIUC
Ohio State University - Main Campus landed the #9 spot on the 2023 Best Value Product Design Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Ohio State University - Main Campus is a large public school situated in Columbus, Ohio. It awarded 16 ’s product design degrees in 2020-2021.
Ohio State also took the #6 spot in our “Best Industrial Design Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Ohio State University - Main Campus is $16,845 for great lakes region product design students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full Ohio State University - Main Campus Industrial Design Report
With a ranking of #10, Columbus College of Art and Design did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Product Design Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in Columbus, Ohio, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 11 degrees to qualified ’s product design students in 2020-2021.
CCAD also made our “Best Industrial Design Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #8. The yearly cost to attend CCAD is $26,493 for Great Lakes Region Product Design students.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Full Columbus College of Art and Design Industrial Design Report
Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design landed the #11 spot on the 2023 Best Value Product Design Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 13 diplomas to qualified ’s product design students in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our great lakes region product design students list, MIAD has also earned the #13 rank in our “Best Industrial Design Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design is $26,046 for great lakes region product design students.
Full MIAD Industrial Design Report
College for Creative Studies did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Product Design Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #12. CCS is a private not-for-profit institution located in Detroit, Michigan. The school has a small population, and it awarded 48 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
CCS not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Industrial Design Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. It costs about $34,767 for Great Lakes Region Product Design students per year to attend College for Creative Studies.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Read full report on Industrial Design at CCS
With a ranking of #13, Cleveland Institute of Art did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Product Design Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Cleveland Institute of Art is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Cleveland, Ohio. It awarded 15 ’s product design degrees in 2020-2021.
CIA also took the #11 spot in our “Best Industrial Design Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for CIA is $35,626 for Great Lakes Region Product Design 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%. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Read full report on Industrial Design at CIA
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Notes and References
References
- 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 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).
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
- *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
- Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.
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