2022 Best Value Colleges for Design & Applied Arts in South Dakota (With Aid)

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Design Schools in South Dakota For Those Getting Aid” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

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 South Dakota, there were 45 design and applied arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $34,100 and $26,000 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Design Schools in South Dakota For Those Getting Aid” ranking, we looked at 4 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.

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.

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 in South Dakota For Those Getting Aid” 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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Design Schools in South Dakota For Those Getting Aid

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Design Schools in South Dakota For Those Getting Aid.

Top 4 Best Value Colleges for Design & Applied Arts in South Dakota (With Aid)

#1

South Dakota State University

Brookings, South Dakota

#2 in overall quality

$19,252 Average Net Price

$42,425 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend South Dakota State University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Design Schools in South Dakota For Those Getting Aid list. This fairly large school is located in Brookings, South Dakota, and it awarded 22 ’s design degrees in 2019-2020.

South Dakota State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in South Dakota” list. The yearly cost to attend South Dakota State is $19,252 for South Dakota Design students with aid.

The low student loan default rate of 3.8% 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 South Dakota State

#2

University of South Dakota

Vermillion, South Dakota

#1 in overall quality

$18,555 Average Net Price

$45,076 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of South Dakota. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Design Schools in South Dakota For Those Getting Aid list. Vermillion, South Dakota is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s design degrees to 2 students in 2019-2020.

USD did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in South Dakota” list. It costs about $18,555 for South Dakota Design students with aid per year to attend USD.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at USD

#3

Northern State University

Aberdeen, South Dakota

#3 in overall quality

$15,851 Average Net Price

$39,600 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Northern State University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Design Schools in South Dakota For Those Getting Aid. NSU is located in Aberdeen, South Dakota and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 3 ’s design degrees to qualified students.

NSU also took the #3 spot in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in South Dakota” ranking. It costs about $15,851 for south dakota design students with aid per year to attend Northern State University.

Read more about Design & Applied Arts at Northern State University

#4

Black Hills State University

Spearfish, South Dakota

#4 in overall quality

$16,641 Average Net Price

$33,229 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Black Hills State University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Design Schools in South Dakota For Those Getting Aid. BHSU is a small school located in Spearfish, South Dakota that handed out 16 ’s design degrees in 2019-2020.

BHSU also made our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in South Dakota” list, coming in at #4. The estimated yearly cost for BHSU is $16,641 for south dakota design students with aid.

Read more about Design & Applied Arts at BHSU

• Best Value Colleges for Design & Applied Arts in the Plains States Region (With Aid)
• Best Value 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.

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