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2024 Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Massachusetts

12 Colleges in Massachusetts
946 Design Degrees Awarded
$34,757 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 12 schools in Massachusetts to determine which ones were the best for design & applied arts students pursuing a degree. Combined, these schools handed out 946 degrees in design & applied arts to qualified students.

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

Choosing a Great Design & Applied Arts School

Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Massachusetts 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. 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.

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

When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Massachusetts list to help you make the college 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 Massachusetts

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 Massachusetts Schools in Design

1
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
75 Design Degrees Awarded
14.7% Growth in Graduates

Northeastern University is a good decision for students interested in a degree in design & applied arts. Northeastern is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Boston. A Best Colleges rank of #59 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Northeastern is a great university overall.

There were roughly 75 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at Northeastern in the most recent year we have data available. Those design & applied arts students who get their degree from Northeastern University receive $10,358 more than the typical design student.

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

2
Boston U crest
Boston University
Boston, MA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
51 Design Degrees Awarded
5.9% Growth in Graduates

Boston University is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in design & applied arts. Boston U is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Boston. A Best Colleges rank of #54 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Boston U is a great university overall.

There were approximately 51 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at Boston U in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the design & applied arts major at Boston University earn $11,687 more than the typical college graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

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

3
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
214 Design Degrees Awarded
18.2% Growth in Graduates

Massachusetts College of Art and Design is a wonderful choice for students interested in a degree in design & applied arts. Located in the large city of Boston, Massachusetts College of Art and Design is a public college with a small student population.

There were roughly 214 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at Massachusetts College of Art and Design in the most recent year we have data available. After graduation, design degree recipients generally earn about $28,792 in their early careers.

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

4
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
62 Design Degrees Awarded
4.8% Growth in Graduates

Every student who is interested in design & applied arts needs to check out Wentworth Institute of Technology. Located in the large city of Boston, WIT is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #234 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means WIT is a great school overall.

There were roughly 62 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at WIT in the most recent year we have data available. Design & Applied Arts degree recipients from Wentworth Institute of Technology earn a boost of around $15,741 over the average income of design & applied arts graduates.

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

5
Endicott crest
Endicott College
Beverly, MA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
48 Design Degrees Awarded
12.5% Growth in Graduates

Endicott is a small private not-for-profit college located in the large suburb of Beverly. This college ranks 25th out of 63 schools for overall quality in the state of Massachusetts.

There were approximately 48 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at Endicott in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the design & applied arts degree program at Endicott College earn $10,201 above the standard college graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

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

6
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
43 Design Degrees Awarded
11.6% Growth in Graduates

Suffolk is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the city of Boston. A Best Colleges rank of #165 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Suffolk is a great university overall.

There were about 43 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at Suffolk in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the design & applied arts major at Suffolk University make $5,879 above the standard college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

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

7
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
59 Design Degrees Awarded
25.4% Growth in Graduates

UMass Dartmouth is a moderately-sized public university located in the midsize suburb of North Dartmouth. This university ranks 41st out of 63 colleges for overall quality in the state of Massachusetts.

There were approximately 59 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at UMass Dartmouth in the most recent year we have data available. After graduation, design degree recipients usually make an average of $32,703 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a degree in design & applied arts from University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth

8
Lesley crest
Lesley University
Cambridge, MA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
74 Design Degrees Awarded
9.5% Growth in Graduates

Located in the midsize city of Cambridge, Lesley is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. This university ranks 27th out of 63 colleges for overall quality in the state of Massachusetts.

There were approximately 74 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at Lesley in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduation, design degree recipients typically make about $30,949 at the beginning of their careers.

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

9
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
10th Most Popular In MA
44 Design Degrees Awarded

Located in the suburb of Lowell, UMass Lowell is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #288 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UMass Lowell is a great university overall.

There were approximately 44 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at UMass Lowell in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in design & applied arts from University of Massachusetts - Lowell

10
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
$23,416 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of Springfield, STCC is a public college with a small student population. This college ranks 46th out of 63 colleges for overall quality in the state of Massachusetts.

There were approximately 15 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at STCC in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, design degree recipients usually make around $23,416 at the beginning of their careers.

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

Best Design & Applied Arts Colleges in the New England Region

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

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Connecticut 241 241
New Hampshire 210 456
Maine 202 24
Rhode Island 200 159
Vermont 194 99

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 316
Illustration 137
Visual Communications 104
Interior Design 83
Commercial & Advertising Art 67
Game & Interactive Media Design 63
Industrial Design 62
Fashion Design 62
Other Design & Applied Arts 45
Commercial Photography 7

View All Design Focus Areas >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Music 1,491
Fine & Studio Arts 942
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 757
Drama & Theater Arts 570
Arts & Media Management 312
General Visual & Performing Arts 171
Dance 114
Other Visual Art 41
Crafts, Folk Art & Artisanry 5

View All Design Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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