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2024 Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in North Carolina

13 Colleges in North Carolina
2,174 Design Degrees Awarded
$30,342 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.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 13 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in North Carolina ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 2,174 degrees in design & applied arts to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Design & Applied Arts School

Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in North Carolina 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
Master's Degrees in Design

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 North Carolina. 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 North Carolina

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 North Carolina Schools in Design

1
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
82 Design Degrees Awarded
$42,693 Median Starting Salary

It is difficult to beat North Carolina State University if you wish to pursue a degree in design & applied arts. Located in the large city of Raleigh, NC State is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #92 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means NC State is a great university overall.

There were approximately 82 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at NC State in the most recent year we have data available. Design & Applied Arts degree recipients from North Carolina State University earn a boost of around $12,351 over the typical income of design & applied arts graduates.

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

2
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
167 Design Degrees Awarded
13.8% Growth in Graduates

Any student who is interested in design & applied arts has to check out Appalachian State University. Appalachian State is a fairly large public university located in the distant town of Boone. A Best Colleges rank of #445 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Appalachian State is a great university overall.

There were about 167 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at Appalachian State in the most recent year we have data available. Design & Applied Arts degree recipients from Appalachian State University earn a boost of about $4,075 over the typical earnings of design & applied arts majors.

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

3
Meredith crest
Meredith College
Raleigh, NC

Every student pursuing a degree in design & applied arts has to check out Meredith College. Located in the city of Raleigh, Meredith is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #517 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Meredith is a great college overall.

There were about 30 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at Meredith in the most recent year we have data available. Those design & applied arts students who get their degree from Meredith College receive $4,501 more than the average design graduate.

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

4
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
757 Design Degrees Awarded
$20,031 Median Starting Salary

Any student pursuing a degree in design & applied arts needs to check out Wake Technical Community College. Wake Technical Community College is a fairly large public college located in the suburb of Raleigh. This college ranks 13th out of 93 colleges for overall quality in the state of North Carolina.

There were roughly 757 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at Wake Technical Community College in the most recent data year. After graduation, design degree recipients typically make an average of $20,031 in their early careers.

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

5
High Point crest
High Point University
High Point, NC
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
46 Design Degrees Awarded
15.2% Growth in Graduates

High Point is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the city of High Point. This university ranks 18th out of 93 colleges for overall quality in the state of North Carolina.

There were roughly 46 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at High Point in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the design & applied arts degree program at High Point University get $9,904 more than the typical college grad in this field shortly after graduation.

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

6
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
180 Design Degrees Awarded
48.3% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of Charlotte, Central Piedmont Community College is a public college with a large student population. This college ranks 19th out of 93 schools for overall quality in the state of North Carolina.

There were roughly 180 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at Central Piedmont Community College 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 earnings of $20,735.

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

7
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
45th Most Popular In NC

UNC Charlotte is a very large public university located in the city of Charlotte. A Best Colleges rank of #378 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UNC Charlotte is a great university overall.

There were about 1 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at UNC Charlotte in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in design & applied arts from University of North Carolina at Charlotte

8
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
42 Design Degrees Awarded
19.0% Growth in Graduates

Located in the large city of Greensboro, UNC Greensboro is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #623 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UNC Greensboro is a great university overall.

There were about 42 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at UNC Greensboro in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the design & applied arts program at University of North Carolina at Greensboro make $4,214 above the typical college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in design & applied arts from University of North Carolina at Greensboro

9

Located in the city of Greenville, ECU is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #414 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means ECU is a great university overall.

There were roughly 24 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at ECU in the most recent data year. Design & Applied Arts degree recipients from East Carolina University earn a boost of around $9,917 above the average income of design & applied arts majors.

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

10
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
52 Design Degrees Awarded
15.4% Growth in Graduates

Located in the medium-sized suburb of Jamestown, Guilford Technical Community College is a public college with a large student population. This college ranks 26th out of 93 schools for overall quality in the state of North Carolina.

There were approximately 52 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at Guilford Technical Community College in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduating, design degree recipients usually earn about $23,000 in the first five years of their career.

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

Best Design & Applied Arts Colleges in the Southeast Region

Explore all the Best Design & Applied Arts Colleges in the Southeast Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Georgia 287 1,446
Florida 282 1,127
Virginia 274 889
Tennessee 269 296
South Carolina 248 316
Kentucky 244 84
Louisiana 242 84
Mississippi 234 81
Arkansas 234 228
Alabama 233 246
West Virginia 207 114

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
Commercial & Advertising Art 797
Game & Interactive Media Design 691
Interior Design 313
Graphic Design 223
Industrial Design 64
Commercial Photography 42
Visual Communications 36
Fashion Design 5
Other Design & Applied Arts 3

View All Design Concentrations >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Fine & Studio Arts 725
Music 511
Drama & Theater Arts 498
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 261
Dance 125
Arts & Media Management 119
General Visual & Performing Arts 73
Other Visual Art 12
Crafts, Folk Art & Artisanry 10

View All Design Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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