2023 Most Focused Master’s Degree Colleges for Design & Applied Arts in the Plains States Region
8
Ranked Colleges
47
Degrees Awarded
$30,100
Avg Cost*
When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Plains States Region” ranking.
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 Plains States region, there were 2,327 design and applied arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $31,239 and $24,704 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 47 design and applied arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $55,401 and $0 respectively.
For this year’s “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Plains States Region” ranking, we looked at 8 colleges that offer a degree in design and applied arts. The colleges and universities that top this list are recognized because their design and applied arts program is one of the largest majors offered at the school.
Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
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 “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Plains States Region”.
In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest 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 Plains States Region
The following schools top our list of the Best “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Plains States Region”.
Top 8 Most Focused Master’s Degree Colleges for Design & Applied Arts in the Plains States Region
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Minneapolis College of Art and Design. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Plains States Region list. MCAD is a small school located in Minneapolis, Minnesota that handed out 4 masters’s design 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. 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%.
Read more about Design & Applied Arts at Minneapolis College of Art and Design
Out of the 8 schools in the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Washington University in St Louis landed the #2 spot on the list. Washington University in St Louis is a private not-for-profit institution located in Saint Louis, Missouri. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 10 masters’s degrees in 2020-2021.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.1% 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 94%.
Read more about Design & Applied Arts at WUSTL
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Lindenwood University. The school came in at #3 for the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Plains States Region. Lindenwood University is located in Saint Charles, Missouri and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 3 masters’s design degrees to qualified students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Design & Applied Arts at Lindenwood University
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Iowa State University. The school came in at #4 for the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Plains States Region. Iowa State University is a large school located in Ames, Iowa that handed out 11 masters’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Iowa State
Out of the 8 schools in the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Wichita State University landed the #5 spot on the list. WSU is a fairly large public school situated in Wichita, Kansas. It awarded 4 masters’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
Full WSU Design & Applied Arts Report
University of Minnesota - Twin Cities came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Plains States Region ranking. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities is located in Minneapolis, Minnesota and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 13 masters’s design degrees to qualified students.
With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Design & Applied Arts at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
University of Kansas did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Plains States Region ranking, coming in at #7. Located in Lawrence, Kansas, this large public school handed out 2 diplomas to qualified masters’s design students in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.3% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Full University of Kansas Design & Applied Arts Report
Kansas State University landed the #8 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Plains States Region ranking. K -State is a large public school situated in Manhattan, Kansas. It awarded 17 masters’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.7% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%.
Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at K -State
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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
- *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.
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