2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Design & Applied Arts in Massachusetts
Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts” 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 Massachusetts, there were 920 design and applied arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $36,353 and $27,205 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 678 design and applied arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $42,887 and $24,387 respectively.
For this year’s “Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts” ranking, we looked at 16 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. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
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More Ways to Rank Design & Applied Arts Schools
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 Massachusetts”.
In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. 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 Massachusetts
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts.
Top 16 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Design & Applied Arts in Massachusetts
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Massachusetts College of Art and Design. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts. Massachusetts College of Art and Design is a small school located in Boston, Massachusetts that handed out 154 bachelors’s design degrees in 2019-2020.
Massachusetts College of Art and Design did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” list. It costs about $24,043 for Massachusetts Bachelor’s Degree Design students per year to attend Massachusetts College of Art and Design.
With a student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Read more about Design & Applied Arts at Massachusetts College of Art and Design
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Massachusetts - Lowell. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts list. This fairly large school is located in Lowell, Massachusetts, and it awarded 26 bachelors’s design degrees in 2019-2020.
UMass Lowell not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of Massachusetts - Lowell is $19,119 for Massachusetts Bachelor’s Degree Design students.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Salem State University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts. Salem State University is a public institution located in Salem, Massachusetts. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 18 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Salem State also took the #12 spot in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Salem State is $18,399 for massachusetts bachelor’s degree design students.
Out of the 16 schools in the Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts that were part of this year’s ranking, Framingham State University landed the #4 spot on the list. Framingham State is a public institution located in Framingham, Massachusetts. The school has a small population, and it awarded 1 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Framingham State, the school also landed the #14 spot in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Framingham State University is $20,001 for Massachusetts Bachelor’s Degree Design students.
Full Framingham State University Design & Applied Arts Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts list. University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth is a medium-sized public school situated in North Dartmouth, Massachusetts. It awarded 42 bachelors’s design degrees in 2019-2020.
UMass Dartmouth not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #10 on our “Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” list. It costs about $18,503 for Massachusetts Bachelor’s Degree Design students per year to attend UMass Dartmouth.
Full University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth Design & Applied Arts Report
Wentworth Institute of Technology did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts ranking, coming in at #6. Wentworth Institute of Technology is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Boston, Massachusetts. It awarded 59 bachelors’s design degrees in 2019-2020.
WIT did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” list. It costs about $36,113 for massachusetts bachelor’s degree design students per year to attend WIT.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Design & Applied Arts at Wentworth Institute of Technology
Endicott College landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts ranking. Endicott College is a private not-for-profit institution located in Beverly, Massachusetts. The school has a small population, and it awarded 35 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Endicott also took the #4 spot in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Endicott is $35,642 for massachusetts bachelor’s degree design students.
The student loan default rate at the school is 3.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
With a ranking of #8, Lesley University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts list. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 67 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s design students in 2019-2020.
Lesley not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #11 on our “Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” list. It costs about $33,644 for massachusetts bachelor’s degree design students per year to attend Lesley University.
The student loan default rate at the school is 4.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Montserrat College of Art did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts ranking, coming in at #9. Beverly, Massachusetts is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s design degrees to 16 students in 2019-2020.
Montserrat College of Art not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #16 on our “Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” list. The estimated yearly cost for Montserrat College of Art is $31,313 for massachusetts bachelor’s degree design students.
Lasell University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts list. This small school is located in Newton, Massachusetts, and it awarded 36 bachelors’s design degrees in 2019-2020.
Lasell also took the #13 spot in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Lasell University is $27,428 for Massachusetts Bachelor’s Degree Design students.
Emmanuel College Massachusetts landed the #11 spot on the 2022 Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts ranking. Emmanuel Boston is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Boston, Massachusetts. It awarded 10 bachelors’s design degrees in 2019-2020.
Emmanuel Boston also took the #8 spot in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. It costs about $28,314 for Massachusetts Bachelor’s Degree Design students per year to attend Emmanuel College Massachusetts.
The student loan default rate at the school is 4.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Design & Applied Arts at Emmanuel College Massachusetts
With a ranking of #12, Suffolk University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts list. Located in Boston, Massachusetts, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school handed out 29 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s design students in 2019-2020.
Suffolk also made our “Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” list, coming in at #9. The estimated yearly cost for Suffolk University is $30,701 for Massachusetts Bachelor’s Degree Design students.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Stonehill College ranked #13 on this year’s Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts list. Stonehill is a private not-for-profit institution located in Easton, Massachusetts. The school has a small population, and it awarded 11 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Stonehill also took the #5 spot in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. It costs about $34,658 for massachusetts bachelor’s degree design students per year to attend Stonehill.
With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 1.4% 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 Stonehill College
Curry College ranked #14 on this year’s Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts list. Curry College is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Milton, Massachusetts. It awarded 7 bachelors’s design degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Curry, the school also landed the #15 spot in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Curry College is $27,739 for massachusetts bachelor’s degree design students.
Northeastern University landed the #15 spot on the 2022 Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts ranking. Northeastern is a large school located in Boston, Massachusetts that handed out 49 bachelors’s design degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our massachusetts bachelor’s degree design students list, Northeastern has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Northeastern is $31,093 for Massachusetts Bachelor’s Degree Design students.
The student loan default rate at the school is 2.2%, 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 97%.
Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Northeastern University
Boston University ranked #16 on this year’s Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts list. This large school is located in Boston, Massachusetts, and it awarded 27 bachelors’s design degrees in 2019-2020.
Boston U also took the #1 spot in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. It costs about $30,259 for massachusetts bachelor’s degree design students per year to attend Boston University.
The low student loan default rate of 1.4% 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 92%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. 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 Boston University
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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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