by our College Data Analytics Team
With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Most Well Attended Design Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Master’s” 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 Great Lakes region, there were 5,375 design and applied arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $32,734 and $25,957 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 215 design and applied arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $58,892 and $0 respectively.
This year’s “Most Well Attended Design Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Master’s” ranking looked at 23 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in design and applied arts. This ranking identifies schools that graduate the most students in design and applied arts.
See our ranking methodology to learn more.
When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Most Well Attended Design Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Master’s” list to help you make the college decision.
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. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.
The colleges and universities below are the best for great lakes region master’s degree design students.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Bowling Green State University - Main Campus. The school came in at #1 for the Most Well Attended Design Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Master’s. Bowling Green, Ohio is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s design degrees to 32 students in 2020-2021.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Ohio University - Athens Campus. The school came in at #2 for the Most Well Attended Design Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Master’s. OHIO Athens is a public institution located in Athens, Ohio. The school has a large population, and it awarded 22 masters’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Out of the 23 schools in the Most Well Attended Design Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Master’s that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Cincinnati - Main Campus landed the #3 spot on the list. Cincinnati, Ohio is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s design degrees to 18 students in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.7%, 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 88%.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Chicago. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Design Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Master’s list. University of Illinois at Chicago is a large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 17 masters’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Design & Applied Arts at University of Illinois at Chicago
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Cranbrook Academy of Art. The school came in at #5 for the Most Well Attended Design Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Master’s. Located in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 16 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 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 Cranbrook Academy of Art
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Chicago. The school came in at #5 for the Most Well Attended Design Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Master’s. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s design degrees to 16 students in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 100%. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
School of the Art Institute of Chicago ranked #7 on this year’s Most Well Attended Design Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Master’s list. School of the Art Institute of Chicago is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 15 masters’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Full School of the Art Institute of Chicago Design & Applied Arts Report
Kent State University at Kent landed the #7 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Design Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Master’s ranking. Kent State University at Kent is a large public school situated in Kent, Ohio. It awarded 15 masters’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
DePaul University ranked #9 on this year’s Most Well Attended Design Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Master’s list. This large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 12 masters’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
With a ranking of #10, College for Creative Studies did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Design Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Master’s list. CCS is a small school located in Detroit, Michigan that handed out 10 masters’s design degrees 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.
Full College for Creative Studies Design & Applied Arts Report
Purdue University - Main Campus did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Design Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Master’s ranking, coming in at #11. Purdue University - Main Campus is a public institution located in West Lafayette, Indiana. The school has a large population, and it awarded 7 masters’s degrees in 2020-2021.
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%. With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Northwestern University ranked #12 on this year’s Most Well Attended Design Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Master’s list. Located in Evanston, Illinois, this large private not-for-profit school awarded 6 degrees to qualified masters’s design students in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.6%, 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.
Illinois Institute of Technology ranked #12 on this year’s Most Well Attended Design Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Master’s list. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s design degrees to 6 students in 2020-2021.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Ferris State University landed the #12 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Design Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Master’s ranking. Ferris is located in Big Rapids, Michigan and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 6 masters’s design degrees to qualified students.
Ball State University did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Design Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Master’s ranking, coming in at #15. Ball State University is a large public school situated in Muncie, Indiana. It awarded 5 masters’s design 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%.
Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Ball State University
Miami University - Oxford came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Design Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Master’s ranking. Miami University - Oxford is a fairly large school located in Oxford, Ohio that handed out 3 masters’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 88%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
University of Wisconsin - Stout landed the #16 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Design Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Master’s ranking. University of Wisconsin - Stout is a public institution located in Menomonie, Wisconsin. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 3 masters’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Eastern Michigan University ranked #18 on this year’s Most Well Attended Design Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Master’s list. Eastern Michigan University is a public institution located in Ypsilanti, Michigan. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 2 masters’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Eastern Michigan
University of Notre Dame came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Design Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Master’s ranking. Notre Dame, Indiana is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s design degrees to 2 students in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%. 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%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Design Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Master’s ranking. Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis is a public institution located in Indianapolis, Indiana. The school has a large population, and it awarded 2 masters’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.2% 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%.
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Design Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Master’s ranking, coming in at #21. U-M is a large school located in Ann Arbor, Michigan that handed out 2 masters’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.3% 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%.
Columbia College Chicago did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Design Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Master’s ranking, coming in at #21. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school handed out 271 degrees to qualified masters’s design students in 2020-2021.
Read more about Design & Applied Arts at Columbia College Chicago
Ohio State University - Main Campus ranked #21 on this year’s Most Well Attended Design Major in the Great Lakes Region for a Master’s list. Ohio State is a large public school situated in Columbus, Ohio. It awarded 47 masters’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
