2024 Best Design & Applied Arts Master's Degree Schools in Michigan

If you plan on getting your master's degree in design & applied arts, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #72 in the country in terms of popularity. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

College Factual looked at 4 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best Design & Applied Arts Master's Degree Schools in Michigan ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 34 master's degrees in design & applied arts during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Master’s Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great Design & Applied Arts School for Your Master's Degree

Your choice of design & applied arts for getting your master's degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.

A Great Overall School

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Early-Career Earnings

One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of master's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their master's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

• Major Focus - How much a school focuses on design & applied arts students vs. other majors.
• Major Demand - How many other design & applied arts students want to attend this school to pursue a master's degree.
• Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
• Student Debt - How much debt design & applied arts students go into to obtain their master's degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized design & applied arts related body.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for design & applied arts students working on their master's degree.

More Ways to Rank Design & Applied Arts Schools

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Design & Applied Arts Master's Degree Schools in Michigan ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Design & Applied Arts in Michigan

Learn about the top ranked colleges and universities for design & applied arts students seeking a a master's degree.

Top Michigan Schools for a Master's in Design

1

College for Creative Studies
Detroit, MI

10 Annual Graduates

Every student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in design & applied arts has to take a look at College for Creative Studies. Located in the large city of Detroit, CCS is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.More information about a master’s in design & applied arts from College for Creative Studies

2

Ferris State University
Big Rapids, MI

6 Annual Graduates

Ferris State University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in design & applied arts. Ferris is a large public university located in the town of Big Rapids.More information about a master’s in design & applied arts from Ferris State University

3

Eastern Michigan University
Ypsilanti, MI

2 Annual Graduates

Any student who is interested in a master's degree in design & applied arts needs to take a look at Eastern Michigan University. Eastern Michigan is a large public university located in the suburb of Ypsilanti.More information about a master’s in design & applied arts from Eastern Michigan University

4

Cranbrook Academy of Art
Bloomfield Hills, MI

16 Annual Graduates

Cranbrook Academy of Art is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in design & applied arts. Located in the large suburb of Bloomfield Hills, Carnbrook Academy is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.More information about a master’s in design & applied arts from Cranbrook Academy of Art

Best Design & Applied Arts Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Illinois	221	72
Ohio	207	90
Indiana	191	16
Wisconsin	173	3

View All Rankings >

Design & Applied Arts Related Rankings by Major

One of 10 majors within the Visual & Performing Arts area of study, Design & Applied Arts has other similar majors worth exploring.

Design Concentrations

Major	Annual Graduates
Graphic Design	10
Industrial Design	8
Other Design & Applied Arts	8
Visual Communications	6
Interior Design	2

Most Popular Majors Related to Design

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Music	206
Fine & Studio Arts	70
Drama & Theater Arts	27
Arts & Media Management	8
Film, Video & Photographic Arts	6
Dance	3

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• 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.