2023 Best Value Colleges for Design & Applied Arts (Income $48-$75k) in District of Columbia

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Design Schools in District of Columbia For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking - to help you make that decision.

In 2020-2021, 36,301 people earned their degree in design and applied arts, making the major the 36th most popular in the United States. 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 District of Columbia, there were 84 design and applied arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $46,751 and $0 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Design Schools in District of Columbia For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking, we looked at 2 colleges that offer a degree in design and applied arts. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality design and applied arts programs that also have a lower cost than 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. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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 District of Columbia For Those Making $48-$75k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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. 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 District of Columbia For Those Making $48-$75k

The colleges and universities below are the best for district of columbia design students whose families make $48-$75k.

Top 2 Best Value Colleges for Design & Applied Arts (Income $48-$75k) in District of Columbia

1

George Washington University
Washington, District of Columbia

#1 in overall quality

$21,174 Average Net Price

$65,148 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 2 schools in the Best Value Design Schools in District of Columbia For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, George Washington University landed the #1 spot on the list. George Washington University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Washington, District of Columbia. The school has a large population, and it awarded 47 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

GWU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in District of Columbia” list. The yearly cost to attend George Washington University is $21,174 for District of Columbia Design students whose families make $48-$75k.

With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Design & Applied Arts at GWU

2

American University
Washington, District of Columbia

#2 in overall quality

$27,374 Average Net Price

$50,575 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend American University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Design Schools in District of Columbia For Those Making $48-$75k list. American University is a fairly large school located in Washington, District of Columbia that handed out 25 ’s design degrees in 2020-2021.

The American University also made our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in District of Columbia” list, coming in at #2. The estimated yearly cost for American University is $27,374 for District of Columbia Design students whose families make $48-$75k.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.

Read more about Design & Applied Arts at American University

• Best Value Colleges for Design & Applied Arts (Income $48-$75k) in the Middle Atlantic Region
• Best Value Colleges for Design & Applied Arts (Income $48-$75k)

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.