2023 Most Focused Colleges for Design & Applied Arts in Tennessee
18
Ranked Colleges
$27,700
Avg Cost*
Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Schools Highly Focused on Design Major in Tennessee” ranking is part of that endeavor.
In 2021-2022, 36,323 people earned their degree in design & applied arts, making the major the 36th most popular in the United States. In , design & applied arts graduates who were awarded their degree in , earned an average of $32,210 and had an average of $24,297 in loans still to pay off.
Across Tennessee, there were 372 design & applied arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $30,178 and $23,641 respectively.
For this year’s “Schools Highly Focused on Design Major in Tennessee” ranking, we looked at 18 colleges that offer a degree in design & applied arts. This a ranking of the schools where the largest percentage of students has enrolled in design & applied arts.
See our ranking methodology to learn more.
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 Highly Focused on Design Major in Tennessee” list, to help you choose the best school for you.
We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons 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.
Schools Highly Focused on Design Major in Tennessee
The colleges and universities below are the best for tennessee design students.
Top 18 Most Focused Colleges for Design & Applied Arts in Tennessee
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Nossi College of Art. The school came in at #1 for the Schools Highly Focused on Design Major in Tennessee. Nossi College of Art is a private for-profit institution located in Nashville, Tennessee. The school has a small population, and it awarded 39 ’s degrees in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.8% 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%. 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 Nossi College of Art Design & Applied Arts Report
Out of the 18 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on Design Major in Tennessee that were part of this year’s ranking, Maryville College landed the #2 spot on the list. Maryville College is a private not-for-profit institution located in Maryville, Tennessee. The school has a small population, and it awarded 5 ’s degrees in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.6% 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 full report on Design & Applied Arts at Maryville College
Out of the 18 schools in the Schools Highly Focused on Design Major in Tennessee that were part of this year’s ranking, Chattanooga State Community College landed the #3 spot on the list. Chattanooga State Community College is a public institution located in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 29 ’s degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Design & Applied Arts at Chattanooga State Community College
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Belmont University. The school came in at #4 for the Schools Highly Focused on Design Major in Tennessee. Belmont University is located in Nashville, Tennessee and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 43 ’s design degrees to qualified students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.6% 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%.
Full Belmont University Design & Applied Arts Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Southern Adventist University. The school came in at #5 for the Schools Highly Focused on Design Major in Tennessee. Southern Adventist is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Collegedale, Tennessee. It awarded 6 ’s design degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full Southern Adventist Design & Applied Arts Report
Pellissippi State Community College ranked #6 on this year’s Schools Highly Focused on Design Major in Tennessee list. Pellissippi State Community College is a medium-sized school located in Knoxville, Tennessee that handed out 26 ’s design degrees in 2021-2022.
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%.
Full Pellissippi State Community College Design & Applied Arts Report
Nashville State Community College did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Design Major in Tennessee ranking, coming in at #7. This medium-sized school is located in Nashville, Tennessee, and it awarded 18 ’s design degrees in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.6% 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%.
Full Nashville State Community College Design & Applied Arts Report
Lipscomb University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Design Major in Tennessee ranking. This small school is located in Nashville, Tennessee, and it awarded 13 ’s design degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Lipscomb
With a ranking of #9, Southwest Tennessee Community College did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Design Major in Tennessee list. Southwest is a medium-sized public school situated in Memphis, Tennessee. It awarded 14 ’s design degrees in 2021-2022.
Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Southwest Tennessee Community College
With a ranking of #10, Christian Brothers University did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Design Major in Tennessee list. Christian Brothers is a private not-for-profit institution located in Memphis, Tennessee. The school has a small population, and it awarded 9 ’s degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Christian Brothers
Milligan University landed the #11 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Design Major in Tennessee ranking. Located in Milligan, Tennessee, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 1 degrees to qualified ’s design students in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Full Milligan Design & Applied Arts Report
With a ranking of #12, East Tennessee State University did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Design Major in Tennessee list. This fairly large school is located in Johnson City, Tennessee, and it awarded 26 ’s design degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full East Tennessee State University Design & Applied Arts Report
With a ranking of #13, The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga did quite well on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Design Major in Tennessee list. This fairly large school is located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and it awarded 15 ’s design degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full UT Chattanooga Design & Applied Arts Report
Freed-Hardeman University did quite well in the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Design Major in Tennessee ranking, coming in at #14. Freed-Hardeman University is a small school located in Henderson, Tennessee that handed out 2 ’s design degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, 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 2.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Freed-Hardeman University
Carson - Newman University came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Design Major in Tennessee ranking. Carson - Newman is a small school located in Jefferson City, Tennessee that handed out 10 ’s design degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Design & Applied Arts at Carson - Newman University
Middle Tennessee State University came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Schools Highly Focused on Design Major in Tennessee ranking. Middle Tennessee State University is a large public school situated in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. It awarded 16 ’s design degrees in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.3% 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%.
Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Middle Tennessee State University
The University of Tennessee - Knoxville landed the #17 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Design Major in Tennessee ranking. The University of Tennessee - Knoxville is located in Knoxville, Tennessee and, has a large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 16 ’s design degrees to qualified students.
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%. With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Design & Applied Arts at UT Knoxville
University of Memphis landed the #18 spot on the 2023 Schools Highly Focused on Design Major in Tennessee ranking. Memphis, Tennessee is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s design degrees to 13 students in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full UofM 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
- *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.
