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2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Design Major

7 Ranked Colleges
4 Degrees Awarded
$35,600 Avg Cost*
Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Design Major

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual has developed its “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Design Major” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

In 2020-2021, 36,301 people earned their degree in design and applied arts, making the major the 36th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, design and 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.

At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 4 design and applied arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $75,260 and $0 respectively.

For this year’s “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Design Major” ranking, we looked at 7 colleges that offer a degree in design and applied arts. This a ranking of the schools where the largest percentage of students has enrolled in design and applied arts.

Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

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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 “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Design Major”.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Design Major

The colleges and universities below are the best for doctor’s degree design students.

Top 7 Most Focused Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Design & Applied Arts

1

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Illinois Institute of Technology. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Design Major list. Illinois Institute of Technology is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 2 doctorate’s design degrees in 2020-2021.

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. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Illinois Tech Design & Applied Arts Report

2
Auburn crest
Auburn University
Auburn, Alabama

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Auburn University. The school came in at #2 for the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Design Major. Auburn is a public institution located in Auburn, Alabama. The school has a large population, and it awarded 1 doctorate’s degrees in 2020-2021.

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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 92%.

Read more about Design & Applied Arts at Auburn University

3

Out of the 7 schools in the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Design Major that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities landed the #3 spot on the list. UMN Twin Cities is located in Minneapolis, Minnesota and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 1 doctorate’s design degrees to qualified students.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at UMN Twin Cities

4
UB crest
University of Baltimore
Baltimore, Maryland

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Baltimore. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Design Major list. University of Baltimore is located in Baltimore, Maryland and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 20 doctorate’s design degrees to qualified students.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at UB

4
Cornell crest
Cornell University
Ithaca, New York

Out of the 7 schools in the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Design Major that were part of this year’s ranking, Cornell University landed the #4 spot on the list. Ithaca, New York is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctorate’s design degrees to 1 students in 2020-2021.

The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.9% 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 Cornell University

4
KU crest
University of Kansas
Lawrence, Kansas

Out of the 7 schools in the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Design Major that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Kansas landed the #4 spot on the list. Located in Lawrence, Kansas, this large public school awarded 72 degrees to qualified doctorate’s design students in 2020-2021.

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%. With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at KU

4
Carnegie Mellon crest
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Carnegie Mellon University. The school came in at #4 for the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Design Major. This fairly large school is located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and it awarded 69 doctorate’s design degrees in 2020-2021.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%.

Full Carnegie Mellon University Design & Applied Arts Report

Notes and References

References

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

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