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 Virginia” 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 Virginia, there were 988 design and applied arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $31,842 and $26,331 respectively.
This year’s “Most Well Attended Design Major in Virginia” ranking analyzed 16 colleges that offered a degree in design and applied arts. To top this list, a school must have a successful design and applied arts program that graduates more students in the field than other colleges that offer the same major.
For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Most Well Attended Design Major in Virginia” list, to help you choose the best school for you.
In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. 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.
The following schools top our list of the Best “Most Well Attended Design Major in Virginia”.
Out of the 16 schools in the Most Well Attended Design Major in Virginia that were part of this year’s ranking, Virginia Commonwealth University landed the #1 spot on the list. VCU is a large school located in Richmond, Virginia that handed out 315 ’s design 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%.
Read more about Design & Applied Arts at Virginia Commonwealth University
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Liberty University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Design Major in Virginia list. Liberty University is located in Lynchburg, Virginia and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 236 ’s design degrees to qualified students.
Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Liberty University
Out of the 16 schools in the Most Well Attended Design Major in Virginia that were part of this year’s ranking, Northern Virginia Community College landed the #3 spot on the list. Northern Virginia Community College is located in Annandale, Virginia and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 68 ’s design degrees to qualified students.
Read more about Design & Applied Arts at Northern Virginia Community College
Out of the 16 schools in the Most Well Attended Design Major in Virginia that were part of this year’s ranking, Virginia Tech landed the #4 spot on the list. Blacksburg, Virginia is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s design degrees to 62 students in 2020-2021.
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 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%.
Out of the 16 schools in the Most Well Attended Design Major in Virginia that were part of this year’s ranking, Marymount University landed the #5 spot on the list. Marymount is located in Arlington, Virginia and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 60 ’s design degrees to qualified students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Design & Applied Arts at Marymount University
Tidewater Community College came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Design Major in Virginia ranking. Located in Norfolk, Virginia, this fairly large public school handed out 76 diplomas to qualified ’s design students in 2020-2021.
Full Tidewater Community College Design & Applied Arts Report
Radford University ranked #7 on this year’s Most Well Attended Design Major in Virginia list. Radford is located in Radford, Virginia and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 36 ’s design degrees to qualified students.
Longwood University did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Design Major in Virginia ranking, coming in at #8. Farmville, Virginia is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s design degrees to 24 students in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.2% 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%.
Read more about Design & Applied Arts at Longwood University
Virginia Western Community College came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Design Major in Virginia ranking. Virginia Western Community College is a public institution located in Roanoke, Virginia. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 15 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Full Virginia Western Community College Design & Applied Arts Report
Central Virginia Community College ranked #10 on this year’s Most Well Attended Design Major in Virginia list. Central Virginia Community College is a small school located in Lynchburg, Virginia that handed out 11 ’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
Read more about Design & Applied Arts at Central Virginia Community College
With a ranking of #11, The Art Institute of Virginia Beach did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Design Major in Virginia list. The Art Institute of Virginia Beach is a small school located in Virginia Beach, Virginia that handed out 9 ’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
Thomas Nelson Community College came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Design Major in Virginia ranking. TNCC is a public institution located in Hampton, Virginia. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 8 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Thomas Nelson Community College
Regent University ranked #13 on this year’s Most Well Attended Design Major in Virginia list. This fairly large school is located in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and it awarded 4 ’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
Ferrum College did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Design Major in Virginia ranking, coming in at #14. This small school is located in Ferrum, Virginia, and it awarded 1 ’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
George Mason University landed the #14 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Design Major in Virginia ranking. This large school is located in Fairfax, Virginia, and it awarded 1 ’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%.
Emory and Henry College ranked #16 on this year’s Most Well Attended Design Major in Virginia list. Located in Emory, Virginia, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 0 degrees to qualified ’s design students in 2020-2021.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 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 Emory and Henry College
Read more about our data sources and methodologies