2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Middle Atlantic Region
28
Ranked Colleges
695
Degrees Awarded
$51,520
Avg Salary
With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Middle Atlantic Region” 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 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.
Across the Middle Atlantic region, there were 7,125 design and applied arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $31,489 and $23,859 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 695 design and applied arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $62,572 and $0 respectively.
For this year’s “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Middle Atlantic Region” ranking, we looked at 28 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.
More Ways to Rank Design & Applied Arts Schools
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Middle Atlantic Region” list, to help you choose the best school for you.
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. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.
Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Middle Atlantic Region
The following schools top our list of the Best “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Middle Atlantic Region”.
Top 28 Most Focused Master’s Degree Colleges for Design & Applied Arts in the Middle Atlantic Region
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Maryland Institute College of Art. The school came in at #1 for the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Middle Atlantic Region. Maryland Institute College of Art is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Baltimore, Maryland. It awarded 180 masters’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Full MICA Design & Applied Arts Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend New York School of Interior Design. The school came in at #2 for the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Middle Atlantic Region. New York School of Interior Design is a small school located in New York, New York that handed out 48 masters’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Design & Applied Arts at New York School of Interior Design
Out of the 28 schools in the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Middle Atlantic Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Pratt Institute - Main landed the #3 spot on the list. Located in Brooklyn, New York, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school handed out 180 degrees to qualified masters’s design students in 2020-2021.
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%. 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.
Read more about Design & Applied Arts at Pratt Institute
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend School of Visual Arts. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Middle Atlantic Region list. This small school is located in New York, New York, and it awarded 34 masters’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Read more about Design & Applied Arts at School of Visual Arts
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend The New School. The school came in at #5 for the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Middle Atlantic Region. The New School is a private not-for-profit institution located in New York, New York. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 50 masters’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Full New School University Design & Applied Arts Report
University of Baltimore landed the #6 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking. UB is a small public school situated in Baltimore, Maryland. It awarded 20 masters’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
Read more about Design & Applied Arts at UB
With a ranking of #7, The University of the Arts did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Middle Atlantic Region list. The University of the Arts is a private not-for-profit institution located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The school has a small population, and it awarded 3 masters’s degrees in 2020-2021.
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%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Full UArts Design & Applied Arts Report
Fashion Institute of Technology landed the #8 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking. This medium-sized school is located in New York, New York, and it awarded 24 masters’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.0% 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Full Fashion Institute of Technology Design & Applied Arts Report
Rochester Institute of Technology landed the #9 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking. Rochester Institute of Technology is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Rochester, New York. It awarded 25 masters’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.9% 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 Rochester Institute of Technology
Carnegie Mellon University ranked #10 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Middle Atlantic Region list. Carnegie Mellon University is located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 32 masters’s design degrees to qualified students.
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 0.7% 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%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Carnegie Mellon
Marywood University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking. Marywood University is located in Scranton, Pennsylvania and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 3 masters’s design degrees to qualified students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.6% 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%.
Read more about Design & Applied Arts at Marywood
American University landed the #12 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking. Located in Washington, District of Columbia, this fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 16 degrees to qualified masters’s design students in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. 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%.
Full The American University Design & Applied Arts Report
Kutztown University of Pennsylvania landed the #13 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking. Kutztown University is located in Kutztown, Pennsylvania and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 5 masters’s design degrees to qualified students.
Full Kutztown University of Pennsylvania Design & Applied Arts Report
Thomas Jefferson University came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking. Thomas Jefferson University is a medium-sized school located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that handed out 7 masters’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Thomas Jefferson University
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute landed the #15 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking. Troy, New York is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s design degrees to 5 students in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, 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 1.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Design & Applied Arts Report
University of Maryland - Baltimore County ranked #16 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Middle Atlantic Region list. UMBC is located in Baltimore, Maryland and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 7 masters’s design degrees to qualified students.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Design & Applied Arts at University of Maryland - Baltimore County
Drexel University landed the #17 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking. Drexel is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It awarded 12 masters’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Full Drexel University Design & Applied Arts Report
George Washington University ranked #18 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Middle Atlantic Region list. George Washington University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Washington, District of Columbia. The school has a large population, and it awarded 16 masters’s degrees in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full GWU Design & Applied Arts Report
Syracuse University ranked #19 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Middle Atlantic Region list. Syracuse University is located in Syracuse, New York and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 10 masters’s design degrees to qualified students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full Syracuse University Design & Applied Arts Report
Temple University landed the #20 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking. Temple University is a large public school situated in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It awarded 8 masters’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.5% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Design & Applied Arts at Temple
University of Delaware ranked #21 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Middle Atlantic Region list. University of Delaware is located in Newark, Delaware and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 3 masters’s design degrees to qualified students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 90%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full UD Design & Applied Arts Report
University at Buffalo ranked #22 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Middle Atlantic Region list. University at Buffalo is a large school located in Buffalo, New York that handed out 3 masters’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.8% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%.
Full University at Buffalo Design & Applied Arts Report
Cornell University did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking, coming in at #23. Cornell is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Ithaca, New York. It awarded 1 masters’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.9%, 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 96%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Cornell
LIU Post did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking, coming in at #24. Brookville, New York is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s design degrees to 0 students in 2020-2021.
Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Read more about Design & Applied Arts at LIU Post
LIM College came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking. New York, New York is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private for-profit school handed out masters’s design degrees to 21 students in 2020-2021.
Read more about Design & Applied Arts at LIM
University of Pennsylvania came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking. UPenn is a large school located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that handed out 6 masters’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Full University of Pennsylvania Design & Applied Arts Report
University of Maryland - Baltimore came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking. UMB is located in Baltimore, Maryland and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 0 masters’s design degrees to qualified students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.8% 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 7 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Read more about Design & Applied Arts at UMB
Rutgers University - New Brunswick ranked #24 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Middle Atlantic Region list. New Brunswick, New Jersey is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s design degrees to 40 students in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%. 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 Rutgers University - New Brunswick Design & Applied Arts Report
Focus on a Specific Degree Level
Switch to a More General Major
Switch to a Similar Major
Switch to a More Focused Major
Switch to a Different Ranking Method
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
- *Avg Salary and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate 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.
college factual
