2024 Best Value Design Schools in Massachusetts
12
Ranked Colleges
946
Degrees Awarded
$27,400
Avg Net Price*
Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Design Schools in Massachusetts” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.
In 2020-2021, 36,301 people earned their degree in design & applied arts, making the major the 36th most popular in the United States. 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 Massachusetts, there were 946 design & applied arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $34,757 and $26,491 respectively.
For this year’s “Best Value Design Schools in Massachusetts” ranking, we looked at 12 colleges that offer a degree in design & applied arts. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great design & applied arts programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.
When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the design & 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 picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Design Schools in Massachusetts” 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. 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 in Massachusetts
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Design Schools in Massachusetts.
Top 12 Best Value Colleges for Design & Applied Arts in Massachusetts
Out of the 12 schools in the Best Value Design Schools in Massachusetts that were part of this year’s ranking, Massachusetts College of Art and Design landed the #1 spot on the list. Massachusetts College of Art and Design is a public institution located in Boston, Massachusetts. The school has a small population, and it awarded 214 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Massachusetts College of Art and Design, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. It costs about $22,968 for massachusetts design students per year to attend Massachusetts College of Art and Design.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.8%, 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 86%. With a undergrad 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 - Dartmouth. It ranked #2 on our 2024 Best Value Design Schools in Massachusetts list. University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth is a public institution located in North Dartmouth, Massachusetts. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 59 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at UMass Dartmouth, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UMass Dartmouth is $20,050 for Massachusetts Design students.
Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Massachusetts - Lowell. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Design Schools in Massachusetts. This fairly large school is located in Lowell, Massachusetts, and it awarded 44 ’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
UMass Lowell also took the #9 spot in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. It costs about $20,079 for Massachusetts Design students per year to attend UMass Lowell.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full UMass Lowell Design & Applied Arts Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Springfield Technical Community College. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Design Schools in Massachusetts. This small school is located in Springfield, Massachusetts, and it awarded 15 ’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
STCC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #10 on our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Massachusetts” list. It costs about $8,867 for Massachusetts Design students per year to attend Springfield Technical Community College.
Full STCC Design & Applied Arts Report
Out of the 12 schools in the Best Value Design Schools in Massachusetts that were part of this year’s ranking, Lesley University landed the #5 spot on the list. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 74 degrees to qualified ’s design students in 2020-2021.
Lesley not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Massachusetts” list. The estimated yearly cost for Lesley University is $33,446 for massachusetts design students.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Design & Applied Arts at Lesley
Endicott College came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Design Schools in Massachusetts ranking. Beverly, Massachusetts is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s design degrees to 48 students in 2020-2021.
Endicott also took the #6 spot in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. It costs about $35,992 for massachusetts design students per year to attend Endicott College.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Endicott College
Wentworth Institute of Technology came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Design Schools in Massachusetts ranking. WIT is located in Boston, Massachusetts and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 62 ’s design degrees to qualified students.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at WIT, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. It costs about $35,307 for Massachusetts Design students per year to attend Wentworth Institute of Technology.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.5% 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 Wentworth Institute of Technology
Suffolk University did quite well in the 2024 Best Value Design Schools in Massachusetts ranking, coming in at #8. Suffolk is a medium-sized school located in Boston, Massachusetts that handed out 43 ’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
Suffolk did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Massachusetts” list. It costs about $30,995 for massachusetts design students per year to attend Suffolk.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Design & Applied Arts at Suffolk
Montserrat College of Art came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Design Schools in Massachusetts ranking. Montserrat College of Art is a small school located in Beverly, Massachusetts that handed out 17 ’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
Montserrat College of Art did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #12 on our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Massachusetts” list. It costs about $34,739 for massachusetts design students per year to attend Montserrat College of Art.
Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Montserrat College of Art
With a ranking of #10, Lasell University did quite well on the 2024 Best Value Design Schools in Massachusetts list. Lasell University is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Newton, Massachusetts. It awarded 17 ’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
Lasell also took the #11 spot in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Lasell is $26,666 for Massachusetts Design students.
Full Lasell Design & Applied Arts Report
Northeastern University landed the #11 spot on the 2024 Best Value Design Schools in Massachusetts ranking. This large school is located in Boston, Massachusetts, and it awarded 75 ’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Northeastern, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Northeastern is $29,714 for massachusetts design students.
With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Northeastern
Boston University landed the #12 spot on the 2024 Best Value Design Schools in Massachusetts ranking. This large school is located in Boston, Massachusetts, and it awarded 51 ’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
Boston U also made our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Massachusetts” list, coming in at #3. The yearly cost to attend Boston U is $30,395 for Massachusetts Design students.
With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about 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
- *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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