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

9 Ranked Colleges
988 Degrees Awarded
$16,200 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Design Schools in Virginia For Those Making $30-$48k

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. 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 in Virginia For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

Design & Applied Arts is the 36th most popular major in the country with 36,301 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, design and applied arts graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $31,426 and had an average of $25,481 in loans still to pay off.

Across Virginia, there were 988 design and applied arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $31,842 and $26,331 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Design Schools in Virginia For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking looked at 9 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in design and applied arts. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent design and applied arts programs, but they also 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. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

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Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Design Schools in Virginia For Those Making $30-$48k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

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

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

Top 9 Best Value Colleges for Design & Applied Arts (Income $30-$48k) in Virginia

1
Virginia Tech crest
Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, Virginia

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Virginia Tech. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Best Value Design Schools in Virginia For Those Making $30-$48k list. This large school is located in Blacksburg, Virginia, and it awarded 62 ’s design degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our virginia design students whose families make $30-$48k list, Virginia Tech has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Virginia” ranking. It costs about $14,003 for virginia design students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Virginia Tech.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.2% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read more about Design & Applied Arts at Virginia Tech

2

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Northern Virginia Community College. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Design Schools in Virginia For Those Making $30-$48k. Northern Virginia Community College is a public institution located in Annandale, Virginia. The school has a large population, and it awarded 68 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Northern Virginia Community College not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Virginia” list. The yearly cost to attend Northern Virginia Community College is $8,407 for virginia design students whose families make $30-$48k.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Northern Virginia Community College

3

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Tidewater Community College. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Design Schools in Virginia For Those Making $30-$48k. Norfolk, Virginia is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s design degrees to 76 students in 2020-2021.

Tidewater Community College did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Virginia” list. The yearly cost to attend Tidewater Community College is $6,376 for virginia design students whose families make $30-$48k.

Read more about Design & Applied Arts at Tidewater Community College

4

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Virginia Commonwealth University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Design Schools in Virginia For Those Making $30-$48k. This large school is located in Richmond, Virginia, and it awarded 315 ’s design degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at VCU, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Virginia” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for VCU is $15,891 for Virginia Design students whose families make $30-$48k.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Design & Applied Arts at Virginia Commonwealth University

5
Radford crest
Radford University
Radford, Virginia

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Design Schools in Virginia For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Radford University landed the #5 spot on the list. Located in Radford, Virginia, this medium-sized public school awarded 36 diplomas to qualified ’s design students in 2020-2021.

Radford also made our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Virginia” list, coming in at #6. It costs about $13,026 for Virginia Design students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Radford University.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Radford University

6
Regent crest
Regent University
Virginia Beach, Virginia

Regent University did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Design Schools in Virginia For Those Making $30-$48k ranking, coming in at #6. Virginia Beach, Virginia is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s design degrees to 4 students in 2020-2021.

Regent not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Virginia” list. The yearly cost to attend Regent is $20,707 for virginia design students whose families make $30-$48k.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Regent University

7
Marymount crest
Marymount University
Arlington, Virginia

Marymount University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Design Schools in Virginia For Those Making $30-$48k list. Marymount is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Arlington, Virginia. It awarded 60 ’s design degrees in 2020-2021.

Marymount did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Virginia” list. The estimated yearly cost for Marymount University is $21,777 for Virginia Design students whose families make $30-$48k.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Marymount

8
Liberty University crest
Liberty University
Lynchburg, Virginia

Liberty University did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Design Schools in Virginia For Those Making $30-$48k ranking, coming in at #8. Liberty University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Lynchburg, Virginia. The school has a large population, and it awarded 236 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Liberty University did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Virginia” list. The estimated yearly cost for Liberty University is $27,251 for Virginia Design students whose families make $30-$48k.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Liberty University

9
Ai Virginia Beach crest
The Art Institute of Virginia Beach
Virginia Beach, Virginia

The Art Institute of Virginia Beach came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Design Schools in Virginia For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. The Art Institute of Virginia Beach is a private for-profit institution located in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The school has a small population, and it awarded 9 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Ai Virginia Beach did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Virginia” list. The yearly cost to attend Ai Virginia Beach is $18,113 for virginia design students whose families make $30-$48k.

Full Ai Virginia Beach Design & Applied Arts Report

Notes and References

References

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

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