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2024 Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in California

35 Colleges in California
4,575 Design Degrees Awarded
$32,016 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you pursue a degree in design & applied arts, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #36 most popular program in the country. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.

College Factual reviewed 35 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of design & applied arts. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 4,575 degrees in design & applied arts during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Design & Applied Arts School

Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in California The design program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Design & Applied Arts rankings. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for design & applied arts schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Pick Your Design & Applied Arts Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Design
Bachelor's Degrees in Design
Master's Degrees in Design

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in California ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision. You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to 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.

More information on how we come up with our rankings can be found here: College Factual's Data Methodology.

Best Schools for Design & Applied Arts in California

If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the design degrees they offer, see the list below.

10 Top California Schools in Design

1
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
288 Design Degrees Awarded
$27,983 Median Starting Salary

Any student who is interested in design & applied arts needs to check out FIDM/Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising - Los Angeles. FIDM Los Angeles is a small private for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.

There were approximately 288 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at FIDM Los Angeles in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the design program state that they receive average early career wages of $27,983.

More information about a degree in design & applied arts from FIDM/Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising - Los Angeles

2
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
67 Design Degrees Awarded
13.4% Growth in Graduates

University of Southern California is a great choice for students interested in a degree in design & applied arts. USC is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #11 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means USC is a great university overall.

There were roughly 67 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the design program earn around $29,631 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a degree in design & applied arts from University of Southern California

3
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
228 Design Degrees Awarded
$38,040 Median Starting Salary

It's hard to beat University of California - Davis if you want to pursue a degree in design & applied arts. Located in the suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #52 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UC Davis is a great university overall.

There were approximately 228 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at UC Davis in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the design & applied arts major at University of California - Davis make $6,024 above the typical graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in design & applied arts from University of California - Davis

4
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
61 Design Degrees Awarded
13.1% Growth in Graduates

University of California - Los Angeles is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in design & applied arts. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #26 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UCLA is a great university overall.

There were roughly 61 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at UCLA in the most recent year we have data available. Those design & applied arts students who get their degree from University of California - Los Angeles receive $7,465 more than the typical design graduate.

More information about a degree in design & applied arts from University of California - Los Angeles

5
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
201 Design Degrees Awarded
23.9% Growth in Graduates

San Jose State is a very large public university located in the large city of San Jose. A Best Colleges rank of #161 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means San Jose State is a great university overall.

There were roughly 201 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at San Jose State in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the design & applied arts program at San Jose State University get $14,580 more than the standard college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in design & applied arts from San Jose State University

6
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
276 Design Degrees Awarded
8.7% Growth in Graduates

Located in the medium-sized city of Pasadena, Art Center College of Design is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

There were approximately 276 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at Art Center College of Design in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the design & applied arts degree program at Art Center College of Design get $8,001 more than the typical college grad in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in design & applied arts from Art Center College of Design

7
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
129 Design Degrees Awarded
24.0% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of Los Angeles, Otis College of Art and Design is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

There were about 129 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at Otis College of Art and Design in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the design & applied arts major at Otis College of Art and Design make $6,481 above the typical college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in design & applied arts from Otis College of Art and Design

8
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
141 Design Degrees Awarded
7.8% Growth in Graduates

CSULB is a fairly large public university located in the city of Long Beach. A Best Colleges rank of #186 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means CSULB is a great university overall.

There were approximately 141 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at CSULB in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the design & applied arts major at California State University - Long Beach earn $8,089 above the typical graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in design & applied arts from California State University - Long Beach

9
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
202 Design Degrees Awarded
24.3% Growth in Graduates

SFSU is a very large public university located in the city of San Francisco. This university ranks 35th out of 168 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.

There were about 202 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at SFSU in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the design & applied arts major at San Francisco State University get $5,368 above the standard graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in design & applied arts from San Francisco State University

10
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$44,707 Median Starting Salary
$22,030 Median Student Debt

Chapman is a large private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Orange. A Best Colleges rank of #191 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Chapman is a great university overall.

There were about 24 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at Chapman in the most recent data year. Those design & applied arts students who get their degree from Chapman University make $12,691 more than the standard design grad.

More information about a degree in design & applied arts from Chapman University

Best Design & Applied Arts Colleges in the Far Western US Region

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

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Washington 300 532
Oregon 266 490
Nevada 192 110
Hawaii 164 19

View All Rankings >

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

Design Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Graphic Design 1,327
Interior Design 756
Visual Communications 702
Fashion Design 486
Game & Interactive Media Design 396
Illustration 315
Other Design & Applied Arts 303
Industrial Design 215
Commercial & Advertising Art 75

View All Design Focus Areas >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Fine & Studio Arts 6,526
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 4,258
Music 3,612
Drama & Theater Arts 3,040
General Visual & Performing Arts 1,198
Dance 538
Arts & Media Management 315
Other Visual Art 83

View All Design Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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