2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Design & Applied Arts in Iowa
When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. 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” ranking - to help you make that 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 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” ranking, we looked at 7 colleges that offer a degree in design and applied arts. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great design and applied arts programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.
Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the design and applied arts program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
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Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa
The colleges and universities below are the best for iowa bachelor’s degree design students.
Top 7 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Design & Applied Arts in Iowa
Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa that were part of this year’s ranking, Iowa State University landed the #1 spot on the list. Iowa State is located in Ames, Iowa and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 227 bachelors’s design degrees to qualified students.
Iowa State also made our “Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list, coming in at #1. The yearly cost to attend Iowa State is $15,496 for iowa bachelor’s degree design 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%.
Read more about Design & Applied Arts at Iowa State University
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Northern Iowa. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa list. University of Northern Iowa is a medium-sized school located in Cedar Falls, Iowa that handed out 36 bachelors’s design degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at UNI, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Northern Iowa is $15,620 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Design students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. The low student loan default rate of 3.6% 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%.
Read more about Design & Applied Arts at University of Northern Iowa
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Grand View University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa list. Grand View University is located in Des Moines, Iowa and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 12 bachelors’s design degrees to qualified students.
Grand View University also made our “Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list, coming in at #6. It costs about $19,826 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Design students per year to attend Grand View University.
Read more about Design & Applied Arts at Grand View University
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Clarke University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa. Clarke University is a small school located in Dubuque, Iowa that handed out 2 bachelors’s design degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Clarke, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. It costs about $34,204 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Design students per year to attend Clarke.
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%. Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Saint Ambrose University. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa list. This small school is located in Davenport, Iowa, and it awarded 6 bachelors’s design degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at St. Ambrose University, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for St. Ambrose University is $26,204 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Design students.
Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at St. Ambrose University
Luther College landed the #6 spot on the 2022 Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa ranking. This small school is located in Decorah, Iowa, and it awarded 3 bachelors’s design 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. The estimated yearly cost for Luther College is $23,620 for Iowa 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%.
With a ranking of #7, Drake University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa list. Des Moines, Iowa is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s design degrees to 7 students in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Drake, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Drake is $29,432 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Design students.
With a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
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Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in Iowa
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Design & Applied Arts students with family income less than $30k in Iowa
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Design & Applied Arts students with family income $48-$75k in Iowa
Best Value Bachelor's Degree Colleges for Design & Applied Arts (Income Over $110k) in Iowa
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Best Value Bachelor's Degree Colleges for Design & Applied Arts (Income $75-$110k) in Iowa
Design & Applied Arts students with family income $75-$110k in Iowa
Best Value Bachelor's Degree Colleges for Design & Applied Arts in Iowa
Design & Applied Arts students in Iowa
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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