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

32 Colleges in the Southwest Region
1,473 Bachelor's Degrees
$34,247 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you pursue a bachelor's degree in design & applied arts, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #27 most popular program in the country. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.

College Factual reviewed 32 schools in the Southwest Region to determine which ones were the best for bachelor's degree seekers in the field of design & applied arts. Combined, these schools handed out 1,473 bachelor's degrees in design & applied arts to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

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

Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Southwest Region 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. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

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

Average Earnings

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their bachelor's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their bachelor's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

Other Factors We Consider

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

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

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Design Rankings Other Ranking Categories

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.

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

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in design & applied arts.

10 Top Southwest Region Schools for a Bachelor's in Design

1
54 Annual Graduates
$53,135 Median Starting Salary
$22,500 Median Student Debt

It is difficult to beat The University of Texas at Austin if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in design & applied arts. UT Austin is a very large public university located in the large city of Austin.

Those design & applied arts students who get their bachelor's degree from The University of Texas at Austin make $18,888 more than the typical design grad.

More information about a bachelor’s in design & applied arts from The University of Texas at Austin

2

It is hard to beat Texas Christian University if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in design & applied arts. TCU is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Fort Worth.

Design & Applied Arts bachelor's degree recipients from Texas Christian University receive an earnings boost of about $12,454 over the average income of design & applied arts graduates.

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

3
183 Annual Graduates
$38,105 Median Starting Salary
$21,500 Median Student Debt

Arizona State University - Tempe is a good option for students interested in a bachelor's degree in design & applied arts. Located in the city of Tempe, ASU - Tempe is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the design & applied arts degree program at Arizona State University - Tempe make $3,858 more than the standard college graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a bachelor’s in design & applied arts from Arizona State University - Tempe

4
54 Annual Graduates

Every student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in design & applied arts has to take a look at Oklahoma State University - Main Campus. Located in the distant town of Stillwater, OSU is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in design & applied arts from Oklahoma State University - Main Campus

5
135 Annual Graduates
$38,405 Median Starting Salary
$22,288 Median Student Debt

UNT is a very large public university located in the city of Denton.

Bachelor's recipients from the design & applied arts program at University of North Texas earn $4,158 more than the typical college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

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

6
34 Annual Graduates
$44,165 Median Starting Salary
$27,000 Median Student Debt

University of Oklahoma is a very large public university located in the medium-sized suburb of Norman.

Those design & applied arts students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Oklahoma Norman Campus receive $9,918 more than the average design grad.

More information about a bachelor’s in design & applied arts from University of Oklahoma Norman Campus

7
31 Annual Graduates
$44,506 Median Starting Salary
$26,500 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of Waco, Baylor is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.

Those design & applied arts students who get their bachelor's degree from Baylor University make $10,259 more than the average design graduate.

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

8
10 Annual Graduates

SMU is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Dallas.More information about a bachelor’s in design & applied arts from Southern Methodist University

9
51 Annual Graduates
$38,297 Median Starting Salary
$27,000 Median Student Debt

UH is a very large public university located in the city of Houston.

Design & Applied Arts bachelor's degree recipients from University of Houston get an earnings boost of about $4,050 above the average earnings of design & applied arts graduates.

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

10
Texas State crest
Texas State University
San Marcos, TX
124 Annual Graduates
$39,060 Median Starting Salary
$24,353 Median Student Debt

Texas State is a very large public university located in the city of San Marcos.

Design & Applied Arts bachelor's degree recipients from Texas State University receive an earnings boost of approximately $4,813 above the typical earnings of design & applied arts graduates.

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

Best Design & Applied Arts Colleges by State

Explore the best design & applied arts schools for a specific state in the Southwest Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Texas 245 934
Arizona 200 374
Oklahoma 190 165

View All Rankings >

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 434
Graphic Design 306
Visual Communications 289
Fashion Design 154
Game & Interactive Media Design 143
Industrial Design 60
Commercial & Advertising Art 40
Other Design & Applied Arts 28
Commercial Photography 19

Related Major Annual Graduates
Fine & Studio Arts 2,134
Music 1,677
Drama & Theater Arts 1,093
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 680
General Visual & Performing Arts 592
Dance 338
Arts & Media Management 92
Other Visual Art 5

Notes and References

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