2024 Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in Arkansas

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.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 5 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in Arkansas ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 216 bachelor's degrees in design & applied arts to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

• Best Bachelor’s Degree Schools List

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

Your choice of design & applied arts for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality design program can vary widely even among the top schools. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:

Overall Quality Is a Must

The overall quality of a bachelor's degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we include a college's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a host of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

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

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

• Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to design & applied arts students as compared to other majors.
• Major Demand - How many other design & applied arts students want to attend this school to pursue a bachelor's degree.
• Educational Resources - How many resources are allocated to students. These resources may include educational expenditures per student, number of students per instructor, and graduation rate among other things.
• Student Debt - How much debt design & applied arts students go into to obtain their bachelor's degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized design & applied arts related body.

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.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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 Arkansas 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 Arkansas

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

Top Arkansas Schools for a Bachelor's in Design

1

University of Arkansas
Fayetteville, AR

51 Annual Graduates

$46,814 Median Starting Salary

$23,881 Median Student Debt

Every student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in design & applied arts has to take a look at University of Arkansas. UARK is a fairly large public university located in the city of Fayetteville.

Design & Applied Arts bachelor's degree recipients from University of Arkansas get an earnings boost of around $12,629 over the typical earnings of design & applied arts graduates.

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

2

Harding University
Searcy, AR

26 Annual Graduates

$42,621 Median Starting Salary

Harding University is one of the best schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in design & applied arts. Harding is a small private not-for-profit university located in the town of Searcy.

Design & Applied Arts bachelor's degree recipients from Harding University get an earnings boost of around $8,436 above the average income of design & applied arts graduates.

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

3

John Brown University
Siloam Springs, AR

24 Annual Graduates

$31,352 Median Starting Salary

$20,500 Median Student Debt

John Brown University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in design & applied arts. Located in the town of Siloam Springs, JBU is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.

Soon after graduating, design bachelor's recipients generally make around $31,352 in their early careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in design & applied arts from John Brown University

4

University of Central Arkansas
Conway, AR

24 Annual Graduates

University of Central Arkansas is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in design & applied arts. Located in the small city of Conway, UCA is a public university with a medium-sized student population.More information about a bachelor’s in design & applied arts from University of Central Arkansas

5

Arkansas State University - Main Campus
Jonesboro, AR

25 Annual Graduates

$32,561 Median Starting Salary

Located in the small city of Jonesboro, A-State is a public university with a fairly large student population.

After graduation, design bachelor's recipients generally make about $32,561 in their early careers.

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

5

Arkansas Tech University
Russellville, AR

33 Annual Graduates

$17,578 Median Starting Salary

$28,950 Median Student Debt

Located in the town of Russellville, ATU is a public university with a moderately-sized student population.

After graduation, design bachelor's recipients usually earn about $17,578 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in design & applied arts from Arkansas Tech University

Best Design & Applied Arts Colleges in the Southeast Region

Explore all the Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Southeast Area or other specific states within that region.

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Florida	225	707
Georgia	224	1,028
Tennessee	220	208
North Carolina	213	529
Virginia	213	635
South Carolina	195	224
Kentucky	187	64
Alabama	184	196
Louisiana	171	50
Mississippi	169	25
West Virginia	147	106

View All Rankings >

Rankings in Majors Related to Design

One of 10 majors within the Visual & Performing Arts area of study, Design & Applied Arts has other similar majors worth exploring.

Design Focus Areas

Major	Annual Graduates
Interior Design	63
Graphic Design	61
Game & Interactive Media Design	28
Visual Communications	27
Commercial & Advertising Art	25
Illustration	12

Majors Similar to Design

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Fine & Studio Arts	204
Music	123
Drama & Theater Arts	93
Film, Video & Photographic Arts	61
Other Visual Art	10
Dance	8
Arts & Media Management	8

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• 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). More about our data sources and methodologies.