2021 Best Design & Applied Arts Colleges for Non-Traditional Students
160Colleges
19,864Bachelor's Degrees
$35,125Avg Cost*
Finding the Best Design & Applied Arts Schools for Non-Traditional Students
Design & Applied Arts is the #27th most popular major in the country with 19,864 bachelor's degrees awarded in <nil>.
For this year's Best Design & Applied Arts Colleges for Non-Traditional Students ranking, we looked at 160 colleges that offer a bachelor's in design. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality design & applied arts programs as well as strong support for students classified as non-traditional.
When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the design & applied arts program at the school, affordability, and presence of non-traditional students. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
As a non-traditional student, you have a lot to consider when it comes to choosing an education. That's why we've developed rankings specifically for you. Check out more major-related rankings here..
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.
Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.
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Featured Design & Applied Arts Programs
Learn about start dates, transferring credits, availability of financial aid, and more by contacting the universities below.
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Fashion Institute of Technology tops the 2021 list of our schools in the United States that are best for non-traditional design & applied arts students. FIT SUNY is a medium-sized public school located in the large city of New York. FIT SUNY not only placed well in our non-traditional rankings. It is also #7 on our Best Colleges for Design & Applied Arts list.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 1.2%. There are approximately 2,847 students at FIT SUNY that take at least one class online. 1,095 students are part time.
The #2 spot in this year's ranking belongs to Drexel University. Drexel is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Philadelphia. As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Drexel also is in the top 10% of our Best Colleges for Design & Applied Arts ranking.
About 0.9% of Drexel students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. There are approximately 6,249 students at Drexel that take at least one class online. About 5,829 of the students at Drexel are attending part time.
The New School landed the #3 spot in our 2021 best design & applied arts schools for non-traditional students. Located in the large city of New York, New School University is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population. New School University also claimed a spot on our Best Colleges for Design & Applied Arts list. It's in the top 15% of all schools in this category.
About 2.1% of New School University students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. There are approximately 5,293 students at New School University that take at least one class online. 1,257 students are part time.
Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus earned the #4 spot in our 2021 rankings. Georgia Tech is a fairly large public school located in the city of Atlanta. As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Georgia Tech also is in the top 5% of our Best Colleges for Design & Applied Arts ranking.
The student loan default rate at Georgia Tech is lower than is typical, just 0.4% of students default in three years. 19,058 of Georgia Tech students are exclusively distance learners. 21,273 students are part time.
San Jose State University landed the #5 spot in our 2021 best design & applied arts schools for non-traditional students. Located in the city of San Jose, San Jose State is a public college with a fairly large student population.
The student loan default rate at San Jose State is lower than is typical, just 0.9% of students default in three years. There are approximately 19,939 students at San Jose State that take at least one class online. There are roughly 9,800 part time students in attendance at San Jose State.
University of Cincinnati - Main Campus comes in at #6 in this year's ranking. UC is a very large public school located in the city of Cincinnati. UC also claimed a spot on our Best Colleges for Design & Applied Arts list. It's in the top 10% of all schools in this category.
About 1.7% of UC students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. Approximately 17,465 students take at least one class online at UC. About 10,255 of the students at UC are attending part time.
Wentworth Institute of Technology comes in at #7 in this year's ranking. WIT is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Boston. On top of its placing in our non-traditional rankings, WIT also did well on our Best Colleges for Design & Applied Arts list. It's in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in that analysis.
The student loan default rate at WIT is lower than is typical, just 0.9% of students default in three years. Approximately 737 students take at least one class online at WIT. 384 of WIT students are attending part time.
University of Florida earned the #8 spot in our 2021 rankings. Located in the midsize city of Gainesville, UF is a public school with a fairly large student population. On top of its placing in our non-traditional rankings, UF also did well on our Best Colleges for Design & Applied Arts list. It's in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in that analysis.
The student loan default rate at UF is lower than is typical, just 0.9% of students default in three years. There are approximately 22,865 students at UF that take at least one class online. 11,205 of UF students are attending part time.
University of Wisconsin - Stout comes in at #9 in this year's ranking. UW - Stout is a moderately-sized public school located in the distant town of Menomonie.
The school has a low student loan default rate of 0.9%. There are approximately 3,297 students at UW - Stout that take at least one class online. About 2,074 of the students at UW - Stout are attending part time.
Florida State University earned the #10 spot in our 2021 rankings. Florida State is a very large public school located in the city of Tallahassee. In addition to being on our bet for non-traditional students list, Florida State is in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Colleges for Design & Applied Arts list.
The student loan default rate at Florida State is lower than is typical, just 1.0% of students default in three years. There are approximately 20,172 students at Florida State that take at least one class online. 8,311 students are part time.
Our rankings recognize North Carolina State University as the #11 school in this year's rankings. Located in the large city of Raleigh, NC State is a public college with a fairly large student population. NC State excels when it comes to major quality. It's ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Colleges for Design & Applied Arts list.
The student loan default rate at NC State is lower than is typical, just 1.0% of students default in three years. Approximately 14,604 students take at least one class online at NC State. There are roughly 7,732 part time students in attendance at NC State.
Auburn University earned the #12 spot in our 2021 rankings. Auburn is a very large public school located in the small city of Auburn. Auburn excels when it comes to major quality. It's ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Colleges for Design & Applied Arts list.
The student loan default rate at Auburn is lower than is typical, just 0.5% of students default in three years. Approximately 11,718 students take at least one class online at Auburn. About 5,257 of the students at Auburn are attending part time.
Syracuse University earned the #13 spot in our 2021 rankings. Located in the city of Syracuse, Syracuse is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population. In addition to being on our bet for non-traditional students list, Syracuse is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Colleges for Design & Applied Arts list.
The student loan default rate at Syracuse is lower than is typical, just 1.1% of students default in three years. There are approximately 2,812 students at Syracuse that take at least one class online. About 3,491 of the students at Syracuse are attending part time.
Our rankings recognize Arizona State University - Tempe as the #14 school in this year's rankings. Located in the medium-sized city of Tempe, ASU - Tempe is a public college with a very large student population. ASU - Tempe excels when it comes to major quality. It's ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Colleges for Design & Applied Arts list.
About 1.5% of ASU - Tempe students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. Approximately 37,856 students take at least one class online at ASU - Tempe. 8,480 of ASU - Tempe students are attending part time.
Virginia Tech comes in at #15 in this year's ranking. Virginia Tech is a fairly large public school located in the city of Blacksburg. Virginia Tech excels when it comes to major quality. It's ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Colleges for Design & Applied Arts list.
About 0.5% of Virginia Tech students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. Approximately 19,796 students take at least one class online at Virginia Tech. 2,831 of Virginia Tech students are attending part time.
Academy of Art University landed the #16 spot in our 2021 best design & applied arts schools for non-traditional students. Academy of Art University is a moderately-sized private for-profit school located in the large city of San Francisco.
About 1.2% of Academy of Art University students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. 4,441 of Academy of Art University students are exclusively distance learners. There are roughly 3,981 part time students in attendance at Academy of Art University.
California State University - Long Beach earned the #17 spot in our 2021 rankings. Located in the city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public college with a fairly large student population.
The student loan default rate at CSULB is lower than is typical, just 0.8% of students default in three years. There are approximately 24,806 students at CSULB that take at least one class online. There are roughly 8,046 part time students in attendance at CSULB.
Our rankings recognize The University of Texas at Austin as the #18 school in this year's rankings. Located in the large city of Austin, UT Austin is a public college with a fairly large student population. UT Austin excels when it comes to major quality. It's ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Colleges for Design & Applied Arts list.
The student loan default rate at UT Austin is lower than is typical, just 0.8% of students default in three years. Approximately 23,198 students take at least one class online at UT Austin. About 3,479 of the students at UT Austin are attending part time.
Virginia Commonwealth University comes in at #19 in this year's ranking. VCU is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of Richmond.
The student loan default rate at VCU is lower than is typical, just 0.9% of students default in three years. There are approximately 19,039 students at VCU that take at least one class online. 5,055 of VCU students are attending part time.
The #20 spot in this year's ranking belongs to University of Wisconsin - Madison. Located in the city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public school with a fairly large student population. UW - Madison excels when it comes to major quality. It's ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Colleges for Design & Applied Arts list.
The student loan default rate at UW - Madison is lower than is typical, just 0.2% of students default in three years. Approximately 11,375 students take at least one class online at UW - Madison. 4,683 of UW - Madison students are attending part time.
Our rankings recognize University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as the #21 school in this year's rankings. Located in the city of Champaign, UIUC is a public college with a very large student population. UIUC also claimed a spot on our Best Colleges for Design & Applied Arts list. It's in the top 20% of all schools in this category.
About 0.6% of UIUC students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. There are approximately 35,475 students at UIUC that take at least one class online. There are roughly 10,007 part time students in attendance at UIUC.
San Francisco State University landed the #22 spot in our 2021 best design & applied arts schools for non-traditional students. SFSU is a fairly large public school located in the city of San Francisco.
About 1.8% of SFSU students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. 14,003 students at SFSU are exclusively online. 6,034 students are part time.
The #23 spot in this year's ranking belongs to Rochester Institute of Technology. Located in the large suburb of Rochester, RIT is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population. On top of its placing in our non-traditional rankings, RIT also did well on our Best Colleges for Design & Applied Arts list. It's in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in that analysis.
The student loan default rate at RIT is lower than is typical, just 0.8% of students default in three years. Approximately 9,961 students take at least one class online at RIT. 1,867 students are part time.
Clemson University earned the #24 spot in our 2021 rankings. Located in the large suburb of Clemson, Clemson is a public school with a very large student population. Clemson excels when it comes to major quality. It's ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Colleges for Design & Applied Arts list.
About 0.6% of Clemson students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. Approximately 11,161 students take at least one class online at Clemson. 3,412 of Clemson students are attending part time.
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These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Design & Applied Arts Colleges for Non-Traditional Students award.
Non-Traditional Student Rankings in Majors Related to Design
Design & Applied Arts is one of 10 different types of Visual & Performing Arts programs to choose from.
Notes and References
Footnotes
*Avg Cost is for the top 25 schools only.
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 the rest 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).
college factual
Design & Applied Arts is the #27th most popular major in the country with 19,864 bachelor's degrees awarded in <nil>.
