2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Design & Applied Arts (Income $30-$48k) in Alabama

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Alabama For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 36,854 people earned their degree in design and applied arts, making the major the 34th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, design and applied arts graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $29,542 and had an average of $27,114 in loans still to pay off.

Across Alabama, there were 288 design and applied arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $34,400 and $28,271 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 201 design and applied arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,191 and $26,651 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Alabama For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, we looked at 3 colleges that offer a degree in design and applied arts. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great design and applied arts programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the design and applied arts program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Design & Applied Arts Schools

The 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 Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Alabama For Those Making $30-$48k”.

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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Alabama For Those Making $30-$48k

The colleges and universities below are the best for alabama bachelor’s degree design students whose families make $30-$48k.

Top 3 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Design & Applied Arts (Income $30-$48k) in Alabama

#1

Auburn University

Auburn, Alabama

#1 in overall quality

$20,326 Average Net Price

$37,896 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Auburn University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Alabama For Those Making $30-$48k list. Auburn is a public institution located in Auburn, Alabama. The school has a large population, and it awarded 132 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Auburn not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Alabama” list. The estimated yearly cost for Auburn University is $20,326 for Alabama Bachelor’s Degree Design students whose families make $30-$48k.

With a freshman retention rate of 92%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Auburn University

#2

The University of Alabama

Tuscaloosa, Alabama

#2 in overall quality

$19,863 Average Net Price

$41,565 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend The University of Alabama. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Alabama For Those Making $30-$48k list. The University of Alabama is a public institution located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The school has a large population, and it awarded 44 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UA also made our “Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Alabama” list, coming in at #2. The estimated yearly cost for The University of Alabama is $19,863 for alabama bachelor’s degree design students whose families make $30-$48k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%.

Full UA Design & Applied Arts Report

#3

Samford University

Birmingham, Alabama

#3 in overall quality

$22,866 Average Net Price

$30,409 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Samford University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Alabama For Those Making $30-$48k. Samford is located in Birmingham, Alabama and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 21 bachelors’s design degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Samford, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Alabama” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Samford University is $22,866 for Alabama Bachelor’s Degree Design students whose families make $30-$48k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low student loan default rate of 2.6% 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 Samford University Design & Applied Arts Report

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Design & Applied Arts (Income $30-$48k) in the Southeast Region
• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Design & Applied Arts (Income $30-$48k)

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

Footnotes

• *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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