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2024 Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

58 Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
3,230 Bachelor's Degrees
$34,132 Avg Early-Career Salary
Ranked #27 in popularity, design & applied arts is one of the most sought-after bachelor's degree programs in the nation. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.

For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 58 schools in the Great Lakes Region to determine which ones were the best for design & applied arts students pursuing a bachelor's degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 3,230 bachelor's degrees in design & applied arts during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Design & Applied Arts School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region The design bachelor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:

Overall Quality Is a Must

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Average Early-Career Salaries

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their bachelor's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your bachelor's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for design & applied arts students working on their bachelor's degree.

More Ways to Rank Design & Applied Arts Schools

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Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Design & Applied Arts in the Great Lakes Region

Learn about the top ranked colleges and universities for design & applied arts students seeking a a bachelor's degree.

10 Top Great Lakes Region Schools for a Bachelor's in Design

1
41 Annual Graduates
$54,550 Median Starting Salary
$20,250 Median Student Debt

It is hard to beat University of Notre Dame if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in design & applied arts. Located in the large suburb of Notre Dame, Notre Dame is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the design & applied arts program at University of Notre Dame earn $20,418 above the typical graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a bachelor’s in design & applied arts from University of Notre Dame

2
235 Annual Graduates
$50,148 Median Starting Salary
$25,851 Median Student Debt

University of Cincinnati - Main Campus is a wonderful choice for students interested in a bachelor's degree in design & applied arts. UC is a very large public university located in the city of Cincinnati.

Design & Applied Arts bachelor's degree recipients from University of Cincinnati - Main Campus get an earnings boost of approximately $16,016 above the average income of design & applied arts majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in design & applied arts from University of Cincinnati - Main Campus

3
105 Annual Graduates
$44,353 Median Starting Salary
$18,839 Median Student Debt

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a good decision for students interested in a bachelor's degree in design & applied arts. Located in the city of Champaign, UIUC is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the design & applied arts degree program at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign make $10,221 above the typical college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a bachelor’s in design & applied arts from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

4
Michigan State crest
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI
83 Annual Graduates
$37,306 Median Starting Salary
$28,175 Median Student Debt

Every student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in design & applied arts needs to look into Michigan State University. Located in the city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Those design & applied arts students who get their bachelor's degree from Michigan State University make $3,174 more than the standard design student.

More information about a bachelor’s in design & applied arts from Michigan State University

5
36 Annual Graduates
$43,684 Median Starting Salary
$20,875 Median Student Debt

Located in the large city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public university with a very large student population.

Design & Applied Arts bachelor's degree recipients from University of Wisconsin - Madison get an earnings boost of about $9,552 above the typical income of design & applied arts graduates.

More information about a bachelor’s in design & applied arts from University of Wisconsin - Madison

6
56 Annual Graduates
$42,205 Median Starting Salary
$20,250 Median Student Debt

Purdue is a fairly large public university located in the city of West Lafayette.

Design & Applied Arts bachelor's degree recipients from Purdue University - Main Campus get an earnings boost of approximately $8,073 over the typical earnings of design & applied arts majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in design & applied arts from Purdue University - Main Campus

7
47 Annual Graduates
$40,279 Median Starting Salary
$25,100 Median Student Debt

Ohio State is a very large public university located in the city of Columbus.

Design & Applied Arts bachelor's degree recipients from Ohio State University - Main Campus receive an earnings boost of about $6,147 over the typical earnings of design & applied arts majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in design & applied arts from Ohio State University - Main Campus

8
132 Annual Graduates
$39,578 Median Starting Salary
$27,000 Median Student Debt

UW - Stout is a moderately-sized public university located in the town of Menomonie.

Bachelor's recipients from the design & applied arts degree program at University of Wisconsin - Stout make $5,446 above the standard college grad in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a bachelor’s in design & applied arts from University of Wisconsin - Stout

9
73 Annual Graduates
$39,292 Median Starting Salary
$26,000 Median Student Debt

Miami University - Oxford is a large public university located in the town of Oxford.

Design & Applied Arts bachelor's degree recipients from Miami University - Oxford earn a boost of about $5,160 above the typical income of design & applied arts graduates.

More information about a bachelor’s in design & applied arts from Miami University - Oxford

10
271 Annual Graduates
$29,065 Median Starting Salary
$27,000 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of Chicago, Columbia is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.

After graduation, design bachelor's recipients generally earn an average of $29,065 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in design & applied arts from Columbia College Chicago

Best Design & Applied Arts Colleges by State

Explore the best design & applied arts colleges for a specific state in the Great Lakes Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Michigan 261 703
Ohio 252 1,074
Illinois 241 768
Indiana 235 289
Wisconsin 213 396

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Design & Applied Arts is one of 10 different types of Visual & Performing Arts programs to choose from.

Design Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Graphic Design 943
Interior Design 467
Fashion Design 421
Industrial Design 341
Visual Communications 292
Illustration 262
Game & Interactive Media Design 256
Commercial & Advertising Art 207
Other Design & Applied Arts 28
Commercial Photography 13

Majors Similar to Design

Related Major Annual Graduates
Fine & Studio Arts 3,674
Music 2,369
Drama & Theater Arts 2,083
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 1,290
Arts & Media Management 394
Dance 315
General Visual & Performing Arts 190
Other Visual Art 92
Crafts, Folk Art & Artisanry 23

Notes and References

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