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2024 Best Value Colleges for Design & Applied Arts in Michigan

13 Ranked Colleges
1,055 Degrees Awarded
$17,200 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Design Schools in Michigan

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Design Schools in Michigan” ranking is part of that endeavor.

Design & Applied Arts is the 36th most popular major in the country with 36,301 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, design & 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 Michigan, there were 1,055 design & applied arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $32,886 and $24,874 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Design Schools in Michigan” ranking looked at 13 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in design & applied arts. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality design & applied arts programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the design & 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 in Michigan” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

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. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value Design Schools in Michigan

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Design Schools in Michigan.

Top 13 Best Value Colleges for Design & Applied Arts in Michigan

1
Michigan State crest
Michigan State University
East Lansing, Michigan

Out of the 13 schools in the Best Value Design Schools in Michigan that were part of this year’s ranking, Michigan State University landed the #1 spot on the list. East Lansing, Michigan is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s design degrees to 97 students in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our michigan design students list, Michigan State has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Michigan” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Michigan State is $19,058 for michigan design students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 92%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Michigan State University Design & Applied Arts Report

2
Macomb Community College crest
Macomb Community College
Warren, Michigan

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Macomb Community College. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Design Schools in Michigan. Macomb Community College is a public institution located in Warren, Michigan. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 73 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our michigan design students list, Macomb Community College has also earned the #9 rank in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Michigan” ranking. It costs about $9,982 for michigan design students per year to attend Macomb Community College.

Read more about Design & Applied Arts at Macomb Community College

3
Ferris crest
Ferris State University
Big Rapids, Michigan

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Ferris State University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Design Schools in Michigan. Ferris is a public institution located in Big Rapids, Michigan. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 112 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Ferris also took the #4 spot in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Michigan” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Ferris is $12,213 for Michigan Design students.

Read more about Design & Applied Arts at Ferris State University

4
WMU crest
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo, Michigan

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Western Michigan University. It ranked #4 on our 2024 Best Value Design Schools in Michigan list. This fairly large school is located in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and it awarded 59 ’s design degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at WMU, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Michigan” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for WMU is $20,371 for michigan design students.

Read more about Design & Applied Arts at WMU

5
Central Michigan crest
Central Michigan University
Mount Pleasant, Michigan

Out of the 13 schools in the Best Value Design Schools in Michigan that were part of this year’s ranking, Central Michigan University landed the #5 spot on the list. Central Michigan University is a fairly large school located in Mount Pleasant, Michigan that handed out 69 ’s design degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Central Michigan, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Michigan” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Central Michigan University is $16,007 for michigan design students.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Design & Applied Arts at Central Michigan

6
Oakland crest
Oakland University
Rochester Hills, Michigan

Oakland University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Design Schools in Michigan list. Located in Rochester Hills, Michigan, this fairly large public school handed out 58 degrees to qualified ’s design students in 2020-2021.

Oakland also made our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Michigan” list, coming in at #7. It costs about $13,449 for michigan design students per year to attend Oakland.

The low undergrad 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%.

Full Oakland University Design & Applied Arts Report

7

Kalamazoo Valley Community College landed the #7 spot on the 2024 Best Value Design Schools in Michigan ranking. Kalamazoo Valley Community College is a medium-sized school located in Kalamazoo, Michigan that handed out 14 ’s design degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Kalamazoo Valley Community College, the school also landed the #12 spot in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Michigan” ranking. It costs about $4,525 for michigan design students per year to attend Kalamazoo Valley Community College.

Read more about Design & Applied Arts at Kalamazoo Valley Community College

8
Eastern Michigan crest
Eastern Michigan University
Ypsilanti, Michigan

Eastern Michigan University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Design Schools in Michigan list. Eastern Michigan University is located in Ypsilanti, Michigan and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 55 ’s design degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our michigan design students list, Eastern Michigan has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Michigan” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Eastern Michigan University is $15,127 for michigan design students.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Eastern Michigan University

9
Saginaw Valley State University crest
Saginaw Valley State University
University Center, Michigan

Saginaw Valley State University did quite well in the 2024 Best Value Design Schools in Michigan ranking, coming in at #9. Located in University Center, Michigan, this medium-sized public school handed out 27 degrees to qualified ’s design students in 2020-2021.

Saginaw Valley State University did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #11 on our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Michigan” list. The yearly cost to attend Saginaw Valley State University is $14,279 for Michigan Design students.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Saginaw Valley State University

10

With a ranking of #10, University of Michigan - Flint did quite well on the 2024 Best Value Design Schools in Michigan list. UM Flint is a public institution located in Flint, Michigan. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 13 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

UM Flint not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #13 on our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Michigan” list. The yearly cost to attend UM Flint is $12,689 for michigan design students.

Read more about Design & Applied Arts at UM Flint

11

Lawrence Technological University ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Design Schools in Michigan list. This small school is located in Southfield, Michigan, and it awarded 13 ’s design degrees in 2020-2021.

Lawrence Tech did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Michigan” list. The estimated yearly cost for Lawrence Technological University is $33,391 for michigan design students.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Lawrence Technological University Design & Applied Arts Report

12

College for Creative Studies ranked #12 on this year’s Best Value Design Schools in Michigan list. This small school is located in Detroit, Michigan, and it awarded 165 ’s design degrees in 2020-2021.

CCS also made our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Michigan” list, coming in at #1. The yearly cost to attend CCS is $34,767 for Michigan Design students.

The undergraduate 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 more about Design & Applied Arts at College for Creative Studies

13
Carnbrook Academy crest
Cranbrook Academy of Art
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan

Cranbrook Academy of Art ranked #13 on this year’s Best Value Design Schools in Michigan list. Bloomfield Hills, Michigan is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s design degrees to 16 students in 2020-2021.

Carnbrook Academy also made our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Michigan” list, coming in at #10.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.

Full Cranbrook Academy of Art Design & Applied Arts Report

Notes and References

References

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

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