College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2024 Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in New Jersey

11 Colleges in New Jersey
585 Design Degrees Awarded
$28,071 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.

College Factual looked at 11 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in New Jersey ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 585 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

Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in New Jersey 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

Associate Degrees in Design
Bachelor'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 New Jersey ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision. 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.

Best Schools for Design & Applied Arts in New Jersey

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 New Jersey Schools in Design

1
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
4th Most Popular In NJ
40 Design Degrees Awarded

It is difficult to beat Rutgers University - New Brunswick if you wish to pursue a degree in design & applied arts. Located in the small city of New Brunswick, Rutgers New Brunswick is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #98 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Rutgers New Brunswick is a great university overall.

There were roughly 40 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at Rutgers New Brunswick in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in design & applied arts from Rutgers University - New Brunswick

2
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
99 Design Degrees Awarded
$34,134 Median Starting Salary

Any student who is interested in design & applied arts has to check out Montclair State University. Located in the suburb of Montclair, Montclair State is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #346 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Montclair State is a great university overall.

There were approximately 99 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at Montclair State in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the design & applied arts major at Montclair State University earn $6,063 above the typical college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

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

3
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$44,192 Median Starting Salary
$27,000 Median Student Debt

New Jersey Institute of Technology is a good option for students pursuing a degree in design & applied arts. NJIT is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Newark. A Best Colleges rank of #122 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means NJIT is a great school overall.

There were roughly 21 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at NJIT in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the design & applied arts degree program at New Jersey Institute of Technology earn $16,121 more than the average college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in design & applied arts from New Jersey Institute of Technology

4
Kean crest
Kean University
Union, NJ
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
61 Design Degrees Awarded
$36,145 Median Starting Salary

Kean University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in design & applied arts. Kean is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Union. This university ranks 22nd out of 44 colleges for overall quality in the state of New Jersey.

There were about 61 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at Kean in the most recent data year. Design & Applied Arts degree recipients from Kean University get an earnings boost of about $8,074 above the average income of design & applied arts graduates.

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

5
Centenary crest
Centenary University
Hackettstown, NJ
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$31,145 Median Starting Salary
$27,000 Median Student Debt

Located in the large suburb of Hackettstown, Centenary is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. This university ranks 18th out of 44 colleges for overall quality in the state of New Jersey.

There were roughly 25 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at Centenary in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the design & applied arts degree program at Centenary University earn $3,074 more than the typical college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.

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

6
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
70 Design Degrees Awarded
$31,117 Median Starting Salary

Located in the suburb of Woodland Park, Berkeley College - Woodland Park is a private for-profit college with a small student population. This college ranks 34th out of 44 schools for overall quality in the state of New Jersey.

There were approximately 70 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at Berkeley College - Woodland Park in the most recent data year. Those design & applied arts students who get their degree from Berkeley College - Woodland Park earn $3,046 more than the standard design graduate.

More information about a degree in design & applied arts from Berkeley College - Woodland Park

7
Monmouth crest
Monmouth University
West Long Branch, NJ
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
8th Most Popular In NJ
41.7% Growth in Graduates

Monmouth is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of West Long Branch. A Best Colleges rank of #627 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Monmouth is a great university overall.

There were about 24 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at Monmouth in the most recent data year.

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

8

Located in the rural area of Lincroft, Brookdale Community College is a public college with a medium-sized student population. This college ranks 39th out of 44 schools for overall quality in the state of New Jersey.

There were approximately 26 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at Brookdale Community College in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, design degree recipients typically make an average of $24,969 in their early careers.

More information about a degree in design & applied arts from Brookdale Community College

9
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
$23,827 Median Starting Salary

County College of Morris is a medium-sized public college located in the large suburb of Randolph. This college ranks 30th out of 44 colleges for overall quality in the state of New Jersey.

There were approximately 27 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at County College of Morris in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the design program make about $23,827 in their early career salary.

More information about a degree in design & applied arts from County College of Morris

10
Seton Hall crest
Seton Hall University
South Orange, NJ
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$22,934 Median Starting Salary
$25,000 Median Student Debt

Located in the large suburb of South Orange, Seton Hall is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #404 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Seton Hall is a great university overall.

There were roughly 16 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at Seton Hall in the most recent data year. Soon after graduating, design degree recipients usually earn around $22,934 in the first five years of their career.

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

Best Design & Applied Arts Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region

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

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Pennsylvania 334 1,234
New York 333 4,391
Maryland 279 617
District of Columbia 188 83
Delaware 175 59

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
Graphic Design 153
Visual Communications 129
Fashion Design 100
Interior Design 89
Commercial & Advertising Art 41
Industrial Design 30
Game & Interactive Media Design 23
Illustration 20

View All Design Concentrations >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Fine & Studio Arts 821
Music 593
Drama & Theater Arts 210
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 183
General Visual & Performing Arts 180
Dance 92
Arts & Media Management 21
Other Visual Art 2

View All Design Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

Popular Reports

College Rankings
Best by Location
Degree Guides by Major
Graduate Programs

Compare Your School Options