Best Colleges for Design & Applied Arts
50 Design & Applied Arts programs ranked by real graduate earnings, debt, and completion — from the College Scorecard Field-of-Study data.
For Design & Applied Arts, University of Washington-Seattle Campus (Washington) ranks #1 by our outcome score, with median graduate earnings of $89,193. Rankings reflect earnings, debt, and completion — not reputation or cost — across 50 programs with published outcome data.
| # | School | Credential | Median earnings | Median debt | Completers | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA | Bachelor's Degree | $89,193 | $12,250 | 38 | 93 |
| 2 | University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA | Bachelor's Degree | $89,022 | $18,000 | 55 | 92 |
| 3 | The New School New York, NY | Associate's Degree | $66,896 | $14,750 | 101 | 89 |
| 4 | San Jose State University San Jose, CA | Bachelor's Degree | $93,917 | — | 229 | 88.9 |
| 5 | University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN | Bachelor's Degree | $83,414 | $19,250 | 28 | 88.3 |
| 6 | The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX | Bachelor's Degree | $69,846 | $18,000 | 48 | 88.2 |
| 7 | California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, CA | Bachelor's Degree | $66,435 | $16,500 | 114 | 88 |
| 8 | Western Washington University Bellingham, WA | Bachelor's Degree | $69,715 | $19,833 | 60 | 87.9 |
| 9 | Washington University in St Louis Saint Louis, MO | Bachelor's Degree | $67,771 | $19,089 | 62 | 86.9 |
| 10 | Florida State University Tallahassee, FL | Bachelor's Degree | $73,888 | $22,625 | 46 | 86.5 |
| 11 | Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA | Bachelor's Degree | $138,588 | $24,500 | 31 | 86.2 |
| 12 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA | Bachelor's Degree | $72,213 | $23,900 | 70 | 85.9 |
| 13 | University of California-Davis Davis, CA | Bachelor's Degree | $62,209 | $14,924 | 244 | 85.8 |
| 14 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL | Bachelor's Degree | $65,186 | $18,178 | 100 | 85.5 |
| 15 | Boston University Boston, MA | Bachelor's Degree | $72,809 | $21,000 | 25 | 85.3 |
| 16 | Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus Atlanta, GA | Bachelor's Degree | $95,697 | $26,354 | 75 | 85 |
| 17 | Northeastern University Boston, MA | Bachelor's Degree | $87,336 | $25,500 | 53 | 84.9 |
| 18 | University of Cincinnati-Main Campus Cincinnati, OH | Bachelor's Degree | $71,605 | $25,500 | 219 | 84.7 |
| 19 | Chapman University Orange, CA | Bachelor's Degree | $78,121 | $23,823 | 32 | 84.6 |
| 20 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy, NY | Bachelor's Degree | $87,358 | $25,000 | 41 | 84.6 |
| 21 | Ohio State University-Main Campus Columbus, OH | Bachelor's Degree | $68,151 | $21,694 | 42 | 84.5 |
| 22 | University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA | Bachelor's Degree | $66,259 | $19,000 | 38 | 84.3 |
| 23 | Rhode Island School of Design Providence, RI | Master's Degree | $93,136 | — | — | 84.1 |
| 24 | Miami Ad School Miami, FL | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | $90,812 | — | — | 83.9 |
| 25 | Miami Ad School-San Francisco | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | $90,812 | — | — | 83.9 |
| 26 | Miami Ad School-New York Astoria, NY | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | $90,812 | — | — | 83.9 |
| 27 | University of Florida Gainesville, FL | Bachelor's Degree | $65,656 | $19,839 | 51 | 83.8 |
| 28 | University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI | Bachelor's Degree | $65,874 | $17,875 | 31 | 83.7 |
| 29 | Lawrence Technological University Southfield, MI | Bachelor's Degree | $99,444 | — | 20 | 83.6 |
| 30 | The Creative Circus | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | $84,233 | $25,714 | 34 | 83 |
| 31 | Clemson University Clemson, SC | Bachelor's Degree | $66,150 | $23,250 | 84 | 82.7 |
| 32 | University of Arkansas Fayetteville, AR | Bachelor's Degree | $65,780 | $22,750 | 71 | 82.5 |
| 33 | Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago, IL | Master's Degree | $144,324 | — | 11 | 82.3 |
| 34 | Texas Christian University Fort Worth, TX | Bachelor's Degree | $68,313 | — | 52 | 81.9 |
| 35 | University of California-Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA | Bachelor's Degree | $66,333 | — | 114 | 81.8 |
| 36 | San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA | Bachelor's Degree | $59,678 | $15,000 | 194 | 81.6 |
| 37 | University of Redlands Redlands, CA | Bachelor's Degree | $75,374 | — | 22 | 81.5 |
| 38 | Massachusetts College of Art and Design Boston, MA | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | $71,901 | — | 26 | 81.3 |
| 39 | University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN | Bachelor's Degree | $62,414 | $22,500 | 123 | 81.3 |
| 40 | North Carolina State University at Raleigh Raleigh, NC | Bachelor's Degree | $61,382 | $19,500 | 65 | 80.8 |
| 41 | University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN | Non-Credential Program (Preparatory Coursework/Teacher Certification) | $70,550 | — | — | 80.6 |
| 42 | Norwich University Northfield, VT | Master's Degree | $70,269 | — | — | 80.5 |
| 43 | Bellevue College Bellevue, WA | Bachelor's Degree | $67,797 | — | 41 | 80.5 |
| 44 | Washington State University Pullman, WA | Bachelor's Degree | $69,224 | $24,604 | 28 | 80.3 |
| 45 | Seattle Pacific University Seattle, WA | Bachelor's Degree | $68,547 | $25,000 | 35 | 80.2 |
| 46 | Miami Ad School-Atlanta Atlanta, GA | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | $90,812 | — | 4 | 80 |
| 47 | Liberty University Lynchburg, VA | Master's Degree | $112,935 | $30,991 | 79 | 80 |
| 48 | Weber State University Ogden, UT | Bachelor's Degree | $62,281 | $20,500 | 34 | 79.6 |
| 49 | Miami University-Oxford Oxford, OH | Bachelor's Degree | $67,981 | $26,000 | 59 | 79.5 |
| 50 | University of Houston Houston, TX | Bachelor's Degree | $64,612 | $24,000 | 51 | 79.3 |
How we ranked this
Programs are scored 0–100 within the Design & Applied Arts field (CIP 50.04) using three College Scorecard figures: median graduate earnings (weighted 70%), median federal-loan debt (20%, inverted so lower debt scores higher), and completer count (10%, log-scaled). Each input is percentile-ranked against the other Design & Applied Arts programs, so the score is robust to outliers and comparable across schools. Programs with no published earnings are excluded — never given a fabricated number. This is the same engine that powers our interactive Major Rankings. Minimum 5 scorable programs required to publish.
Frequently asked questions
Which college has the best Design & Applied Arts program?+
By our outcome score, University of Washington-Seattle Campus (Washington) ranks #1 for Design & Applied Arts, with median graduate earnings of $89,193.
How are these Design & Applied Arts programs ranked?+
Each program gets a 0–100 outcome score from three real College Scorecard figures: median graduate earnings (70%), median federal-loan debt (20%, lower is better), and completer count (10%). Programs are compared within the major so the score reflects the best schools for this field specifically.
Where does the earnings and debt data come from?+
The U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard Field-of-Study file, which publishes median earnings and median debt by institution and major (4-digit CIP). Figures are post-graduation medians; programs without published earnings are not scored and are omitted from this ranking.
Can I filter Design & Applied Arts programs by state or degree level?+
Yes. This page shows the national top programs; use the interactive Major Rankings tool to filter the same data by state, and by credential level (bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral).
Keep exploring
Data sources: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (Field of Study) · IPEDS Completions. Figures are the most recent values published in each federal dataset; cells with no published value are shown as “—” and never estimated. CertiHomes Education does not sell rankings or accept placement fees.