2026 Best Value Design & Applied Arts Schools in South Dakota
[Design & Applied Arts](/majors/visual-and-performing-arts/design-and-applied-arts/) degree programs vary widely in price and payoff across the country. The best values balance affordable tuition against strong post-graduation earnings.
To produce this 2026 ranking, College Factual evaluated 8 schools on the balance of cost and outcomes for design & applied arts students.
What’s on this page:
2026 Best Value Design & Applied Arts Schools in South Dakota
If you want to know which schools deliver the best value for the design & applied arts degrees they offer, see the list below.
Best Value Design & Applied Arts Schools
For return on investment in design & applied arts, no school beat South Dakota State University this year. South Dakota State University is a large public school located in the town of Brookings. In-state tuition and fees average $9,299, compared with $12,809 for out-of-state students. Design & Applied Arts graduates carry a median of $27,000 in student loans. Early-career design & applied arts graduates make about $35,944. Weighed against typical debt, the earnings make a compelling case for value. The acceptance rate is 98%.
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Notes and References
The ranking above is published by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. Schools are scored on the balance of cost (tuition and student debt) against student outcomes (post-graduation earnings) — a measure of return on investment, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 8 schools evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 1 ranked schools only.
- 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).
More about our data sources and methodologies.
