2024 Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Illinois
15
Colleges in Illinois
1,084
Design Degrees Awarded
$37,103
Avg Early-Career Salary
Design & Applied Arts is of the hottest degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #36 most popular major in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.
For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 15 schools in Illinois to determine which ones were the best for design & applied arts students pursuing a degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,084 degrees in design & applied arts during the 2020-2021 academic year.
What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings
Choosing a Great Design & Applied Arts School
Your choice of design & applied arts school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. We derive our Best Overall Design & Applied Arts School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.
In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.
Design & Applied Arts Rankings by Degree Level
The design school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Illinois.
If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.
In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat.
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.
If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.
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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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Best Schools for Design & Applied Arts in Illinois
Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the design degree levels they offer.
10 Top Illinois Schools in Design
Any student pursuing a degree in design & applied arts needs to check out University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. UIUC is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Champaign. A Best Colleges rank of #34 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UIUC is a great university overall.
There were about 105 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent year we have data available. Design & Applied Arts degree recipients from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign get an earnings boost of around $7,250 above the typical income of design & applied arts graduates.
More information about a degree in design & applied arts from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Any student who is interested in design & applied arts needs to look into Columbia College Chicago. Columbia is a medium-sized private not-for-profit college located in the city of Chicago. This college ranks 16th out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were roughly 271 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at Columbia in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduating, design degree recipients usually make about $29,065 in the first five years of their career.
More information about a degree in design & applied arts from Columbia College Chicago
University of Illinois at Chicago is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in design & applied arts. Located in the large city of Chicago, UIC is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #192 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UIC is a great university overall.
There were about 83 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at UIC in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the design program earn about $33,866 for their early career.
More information about a degree in design & applied arts from University of Illinois at Chicago
Every student who is interested in design & applied arts needs to look into Illinois Institute of Technology. Illinois Tech is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago. A Best Colleges rank of #246 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Illinois Tech is a great school overall.
There were about 8 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at Illinois Tech in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the design & applied arts major at Illinois Institute of Technology get $79,470 above the typical college grad in this field shortly after graduation.
More information about a degree in design & applied arts from Illinois Institute of Technology
DePaul is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago. A Best Colleges rank of #203 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means DePaul is a great university overall.
There were approximately 89 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at DePaul in the most recent data year. After graduation, design degree recipients generally make about $32,912 at the beginning of their careers.
More information about a degree in design & applied arts from DePaul University
Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.
There were about 6 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in design & applied arts from Northwestern University
Bradley is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the city of Peoria. This university ranks 14th out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were roughly 44 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at Bradley in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the design program state that they receive average early career income of $32,786.
More information about a degree in design & applied arts from Bradley University
Master's Degree
Highest Degree Type
13th
Most Popular In IL
Located in the city of Chicago, School of the Art Institute of Chicago is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
There were about 16 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at School of the Art Institute of Chicago in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in design & applied arts from School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Illinois State is a very large public university located in the suburb of Normal. A Best Colleges rank of #231 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Illinois State is a great university overall.
There were about 25 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at Illinois State in the most recent year we have data available. Design & Applied Arts degree recipients from Illinois State University get an earnings boost of approximately $3,386 over the average earnings of design & applied arts majors.
More information about a degree in design & applied arts from Illinois State University
North Central is a small private not-for-profit college located in the city of Naperville. This college ranks 25th out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were approximately 14 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at North Central in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the design & applied arts major at North Central College make $2,263 more than the typical college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
More information about a degree in design & applied arts from North Central College
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