2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Design & Applied Arts in Colorado (With Aid)

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Colorado For Those Getting Aid” ranking as one item you can use to help make this 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 Colorado, there were 347 design and applied arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $31,350 and $24,232 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 200 design and applied arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,261 and $25,672 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Colorado For Those Getting Aid” ranking analyzed 4 colleges that offered 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.

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. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Design & Applied Arts Schools

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 for a Bachelor’s in Colorado For Those Getting Aid” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Colorado For Those Getting Aid

The colleges and universities below are the best for colorado bachelor’s degree design students with aid.

Top 4 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Design & Applied Arts in Colorado (With Aid)

#1

Metropolitan State University of Denver

Denver, Colorado

#2 in overall quality

$14,257 Average Net Price

$41,789 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Metropolitan State University of Denver. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Colorado For Those Getting Aid. Metropolitan State University of Denver is a fairly large school located in Denver, Colorado that handed out 45 bachelors’s design degrees in 2019-2020.

MSU Denver did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Colorado” list. It costs about $14,257 for Colorado Bachelor’s Degree Design students with aid per year to attend Metropolitan State University of Denver.

Read more about Design & Applied Arts at Metropolitan State University of Denver

#2

Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design

Lakewood, Colorado

#1 in overall quality

$25,334 Average Net Price

$29,374 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Colorado For Those Getting Aid list. Located in Lakewood, Colorado, this small private for-profit school awarded 118 degrees to qualified bachelors’s design students in 2019-2020.

RMCAD did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Colorado” list. The yearly cost to attend Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design is $25,334 for Colorado Bachelor’s Degree Design students with aid.

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 full report on Design & Applied Arts at RMCAD

#3

Colorado Mesa University

Grand Junction, Colorado

#4 in overall quality

$15,569 Average Net Price

$31,305 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Colorado Mesa University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Colorado For Those Getting Aid. Colorado Mesa University is a medium-sized school located in Grand Junction, Colorado that handed out 19 bachelors’s design degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our colorado bachelor’s degree design students with aid list, Colorado Mesa has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Colorado” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Colorado Mesa University is $15,569 for colorado bachelor’s degree design students with aid.

Read more about Design & Applied Arts at Colorado Mesa

#4

University of Denver

Denver, Colorado

#3 in overall quality

$32,361 Average Net Price

$14,442 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Colorado For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Denver landed the #4 spot on the list. DU is a fairly large school located in Denver, Colorado that handed out 18 bachelors’s design degrees in 2019-2020.

DU also made our “Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Colorado” list, coming in at #3. It costs about $32,361 for colorado bachelor’s degree design students with aid per year to attend University of Denver.

The low student loan default rate of 1.9% 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 full report on Design & Applied Arts at University of Denver

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Design & Applied Arts in the Rocky Mountains Region (With Aid)
• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Design & Applied Arts (With Aid)

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.

Featured Performing Arts Schools

Request Info

Southern New Hampshire University You have goals. Southern New Hampshire University can help you get there. Whether you need a bachelor's degree to get into a career or want a master's degree to move up in your current career, SNHU has an online program for you. Find your degree from over 200 online programs ... Learn More >