2024 Best Value Design Schools in Minnesota
9
Ranked Colleges
668
Degrees Awarded
$16,700
Avg Net Price*
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 in Minnesota” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
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 Minnesota, there were 668 design & applied arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $32,947 and $26,857 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Design Schools in Minnesota” ranking analyzed 9 colleges that offered 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.
One Size Does Not Fit All
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 in Minnesota”.
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. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.
Best Value Design Schools in Minnesota
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Design Schools in Minnesota.
Top 9 Best Value Colleges for Design & Applied Arts in Minnesota
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Alexandria Technical & Community College. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Design Schools in Minnesota. ATCC is located in Alexandria, Minnesota and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 21 ’s design degrees to qualified students.
ATCC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Minnesota” list. The estimated yearly cost for Alexandria Technical & Community College is $13,636 for Minnesota Design students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.7% 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 ATCC
Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Design Schools in Minnesota that were part of this year’s ranking, Century College landed the #2 spot on the list. Century College is a medium-sized public school situated in White Bear Lake, Minnesota. It awarded 62 ’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
Century College also took the #3 spot in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Minnesota” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Century College is $10,397 for minnesota design students.
Read more about Design & Applied Arts at Century College
Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Design Schools in Minnesota that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities landed the #3 spot on the list. UMN Twin Cities is a large public school situated in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It awarded 130 ’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
UMN Twin Cities also made our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Minnesota” list, coming in at #1. It costs about $17,878 for minnesota design students per year to attend UMN Twin Cities.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 92%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.7% 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 UMN Twin Cities
Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Design Schools in Minnesota that were part of this year’s ranking, Minnesota State University - Moorhead landed the #4 spot on the list. Minnesota State University - Moorhead is a medium-sized public school situated in Moorhead, Minnesota. It awarded 13 ’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
MSU Moorhead also made our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Minnesota” list, coming in at #5. It costs about $17,680 for minnesota design students per year to attend Minnesota State University - Moorhead.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.0% 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 Minnesota State University - Moorhead
Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Design Schools in Minnesota that were part of this year’s ranking, Bemidji State University landed the #5 spot on the list. This small school is located in Bemidji, Minnesota, and it awarded 23 ’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
Bemidji State University not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Minnesota” list. The yearly cost to attend Bemidji State University is $16,033 for minnesota design students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Bemidji State University
Minneapolis Community and Technical College did quite well in the 2024 Best Value Design Schools in Minnesota ranking, coming in at #6. Minneapolis Community and Technical College is located in Minneapolis, Minnesota and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 97 ’s design degrees to qualified students.
Minneapolis Community and Technical College not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Minnesota” list. The yearly cost to attend Minneapolis Community and Technical College is $12,908 for minnesota design students.
Read more about Design & Applied Arts at Minneapolis Community and Technical College
University of Minnesota - Duluth did quite well in the 2024 Best Value Design Schools in Minnesota ranking, coming in at #7. This medium-sized school is located in Duluth, Minnesota, and it awarded 44 ’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
UMN Duluth also took the #6 spot in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Minnesota” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UMN Duluth is $18,505 for minnesota design students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Design & Applied Arts at University of Minnesota - Duluth
Saint Cloud State University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Design Schools in Minnesota list. St. Cloud State University is a fairly large public school situated in Saint Cloud, Minnesota. It awarded 17 ’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
St. Cloud State University also made our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Minnesota” list, coming in at #9. The yearly cost to attend St. Cloud State University is $14,581 for minnesota design students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Design & Applied Arts at St. Cloud State University
Minneapolis College of Art and Design did quite well in the 2024 Best Value Design Schools in Minnesota ranking, coming in at #9. This small school is located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and it awarded 71 ’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at MCAD, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Minnesota” ranking. The yearly cost to attend MCAD is $29,062 for minnesota design students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.3% 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%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Full Minneapolis College of Art and Design Design & Applied Arts Report
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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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