2025 Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Maryland

Ranked #36 in popularity, design & applied arts is one of the most sought-after degree programs in the nation. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.

For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 5 schools in Maryland 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 683 degrees in design & applied arts annually.

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

• Best Overall Design & Applied Arts Schools List

Choosing a Great Design & Applied Arts School

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. For our Best Overall Design & Applied Arts School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.

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

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 Maryland list to help you make the college decision. More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.

To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Read more about College Factual's methodology.

Best Schools for Design & Applied Arts in Maryland

The schools below may not offer all types of design degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.

Top Maryland Schools in Design

1

Maryland Institute College of Art
Baltimore, MD

Master's Degree Highest Degree Type

314 Design Degrees Awarded

$33,663 Median Starting Salary

Any student pursuing a degree in design & applied arts has to look into Maryland Institute College of Art. Located in the large city of Baltimore, MICA is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

There were approximately 314 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at MICA 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 $33,663.

More information about a degree in design & applied arts from Maryland Institute College of Art

2

Stevenson University
Owings Mills, MD

Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type

37.9% Growth in Graduates

$27,969 Median Starting Salary

It is hard to beat Stevenson University if you wish to pursue a degree in design & applied arts. Stevenson is a small private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Owings Mills. This university ranks 18th out of 35 colleges for overall quality in the state of Maryland.

There were approximately 29 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at Stevenson in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the design program earn an average of $27,969 in their early career salary.

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

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Southern New Hampshire University

Bachelors Degree Type

BA in Graphic Design & Media Arts Program Name

Translate your creative ideas through concept, design and digital media with a bachelor's in graphic design online from Southern New Hampshire University.

More information about a degree in BA in Graphic Design & Media Arts from Southern New Hampshire University

Related Programs

• AA in Digital Photography
• BA in Digital Photography
• BA in Game Art & Development
• BA in Graphic Design & Media Arts - Web Design
• BS in Game Programming & Development

3

University of Maryland - Baltimore County
Baltimore, MD

Master's Degree Highest Degree Type

26.7% Growth in Graduates

$34,020 Median Starting Salary

Any student who is interested in design & applied arts needs to check out University of Maryland - Baltimore County. Located in the suburb of Baltimore, UMBC is a public university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #211 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UMBC is a great university overall.

There were approximately 30 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at UMBC in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduation, design degree recipients typically earn an average of $34,020 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a degree in design & applied arts from University of Maryland - Baltimore County

4

Community College of Baltimore County
Baltimore, MD

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

9th Most Popular In MD

It is difficult to beat Community College of Baltimore County if you wish to pursue a degree in design & applied arts. CCBC is a fairly large public college located in the large suburb of Baltimore. A Best Colleges rank of #414 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means CCBC is a great college overall.

There were approximately 15 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at CCBC in the most recent year we have data available.

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

5

Bowie State University
Bowie, MD

Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type

3rd Most Popular In MD

Located in the suburb of Bowie, Bowie State University is a public university with a moderately-sized student population. This university ranks 31st out of 35 colleges for overall quality in the state of Maryland.

There were roughly 25 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at Bowie State University in the most recent data year.

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

Best Design & Applied Arts Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region

Explore all the Best Design & Applied Arts Colleges 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
New Jersey	273	532
District of Columbia	188	83
Delaware	175	59

View All Rankings >

Design & Applied Arts Related Rankings by Major

Design & Applied Arts is one of 10 different types of Visual & Performing Arts programs to choose from.

Design Concentrations

Major	Annual Graduates
Other Design & Applied Arts	199
Visual Communications	126
Commercial & Advertising Art	124
Illustration	115
Graphic Design	34
Interior Design	29
Game & Interactive Media Design	28
Fashion Design	14
Commercial Photography	13
Industrial Design	1

View All Design Focus Areas >

Majors Similar to Design

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Fine & Studio Arts	648
Music	454
Drama & Theater Arts	159
Film, Video & Photographic Arts	85
General Visual & Performing Arts	82
Dance	56
Other Visual Art	24
Arts & Media Management	4

View All Design Related Majors >

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
• Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).

More about our data sources and methodologies.