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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Design & Applied Arts (Income $48-$75k) in Iowa

7 Ranked Colleges
350 Degrees Awarded
$34,833 Avg Salary
Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor's in Iowa For Those Making $48-$75k

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 Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking - to help you make that decision.

Design & Applied Arts is the 34th most popular major in the country with 36,854 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. 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 Iowa, there were 524 design and applied arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $33,460 and $23,539 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 350 design and applied arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,922 and $25,876 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking, we looked at 7 colleges that offer a degree 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.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the design and applied arts program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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 Iowa For Those Making $48-$75k”.

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. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $48-$75k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $48-$75k.

Top 7 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Design & Applied Arts (Income $48-$75k) in Iowa

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Iowa State University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $48-$75k. Ames, Iowa is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s design degrees to 227 students in 2019-2020.

Iowa State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list. The estimated yearly cost for Iowa State is $14,161 for iowa bachelor’s degree design students whose families make $48-$75k.

With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The 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 more about Design & Applied Arts at Iowa State

#2

University of Northern Iowa

Cedar Falls, Iowa

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Northern Iowa landed the #2 spot on the list. This medium-sized school is located in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and it awarded 36 bachelors’s design degrees in 2019-2020.

UNI did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list. The yearly cost to attend UNI is $15,729 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Design students whose families make $48-$75k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full University of Northern Iowa Design & Applied Arts Report

#3

Luther College

Decorah, Iowa
#2 in overall quality

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, Luther College landed the #3 spot on the list. Luther is a private not-for-profit institution located in Decorah, Iowa. The school has a small population, and it awarded 3 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Luther did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list. It costs about $19,852 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Design students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend Luther.

The low student loan default rate of 2.2% 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%.

Read more about Design & Applied Arts at Luther

#4

Clarke University

Dubuque, Iowa
#5 in overall quality

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, Clarke University landed the #4 spot on the list. Dubuque, Iowa is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s design degrees to 2 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our iowa bachelor’s degree design students whose families make $48-$75k list, Clarke has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Clarke University is $33,213 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Design students whose families make $48-$75k.

The student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The low student loan default rate of 4.6% 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 Clarke Design & Applied Arts Report

#5

Grand View University

Des Moines, Iowa

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Grand View University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $48-$75k. Located in Des Moines, Iowa, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 12 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s design students in 2019-2020.

Grand View University also made our “Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list, coming in at #6. The estimated yearly cost for Grand View University is $18,213 for iowa bachelor’s degree design students whose families make $48-$75k.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Grand View University

#6

Drake University

Des Moines, Iowa

Drake University landed the #6 spot on the 2022 Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. Drake is located in Des Moines, Iowa and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 7 bachelors’s design degrees to qualified students.

Drake also made our “Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list, coming in at #3. The estimated yearly cost for Drake University is $26,589 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Design students whose families make $48-$75k.

The low student loan default rate of 2.2% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. The 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 more about Design & Applied Arts at Drake University

#7

Saint Ambrose University

Davenport, Iowa

Saint Ambrose University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. Saint Ambrose University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Davenport, Iowa. The school has a small population, and it awarded 6 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

St. Ambrose University did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list. The yearly cost to attend Saint Ambrose University is $27,002 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Design students whose families make $48-$75k.

Full Saint Ambrose University Design & Applied Arts Report

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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

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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