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2025 Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Arizona

10 Colleges in Arizona
806 Design Degrees Awarded
$32,983 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 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 10 schools in Arizona to determine which ones were the best for design & applied arts students pursuing a degree. Combined, these schools handed out 806 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 Arizona 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 Arizona. 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 Arizona

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 Arizona Schools in Design

1
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
199 Design Degrees Awarded
3.5% Growth in Graduates

Arizona State University - Tempe is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in design & applied arts. Located in the city of Tempe, ASU - Tempe is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #108 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means ASU - Tempe is a great university overall.

There were roughly 199 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at ASU - Tempe in the most recent year we have data available. Those design & applied arts students who get their degree from Arizona State University - Tempe receive $4,908 more than the standard design grad.

More information about a degree in design & applied arts from Arizona State University - Tempe

2
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
18th Most Popular In AZ
87.5% Growth in Graduates

It is difficult to beat University of Arizona if you want to pursue a degree in design & applied arts. University of Arizona is a very large public university located in the large city of Tucson. A Best Colleges rank of #110 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means University of Arizona is a great university overall.

There were about 8 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at University of Arizona in the most recent data year.

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

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Bachelors Degree Type
BA in Graphic Design & Media Arts Program Name

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

Related Programs

3
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
115 Design Degrees Awarded
13.9% Growth in Graduates

It is hard to beat Northern Arizona University if you wish to pursue a degree in design & applied arts. NAU is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Flagstaff. A Best Colleges rank of #221 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means NAU is a great university overall.

There were about 115 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at NAU 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 income of $33,964.

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

4
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
58 Design Degrees Awarded
6.9% Growth in Graduates

Scottsdale Community College is a good option for students pursuing a degree in design & applied arts. Scottsdale Community College is a medium-sized public college located in the rural area of Scottsdale. This college ranks 16th out of 26 colleges for overall quality in the state of Arizona.

There were roughly 58 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at Scottsdale Community College in the most recent year we have data available. Those design & applied arts students who get their degree from Scottsdale Community College make $5,693 more than the average design student.

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

5
Phoenix College crest
Phoenix College
Phoenix, AZ
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
8th Most Popular In AZ
70 Design Degrees Awarded

Phoenix College is a fairly large public college located in the city of Phoenix. This college ranks 13th out of 26 colleges for overall quality in the state of Arizona.

There were about 70 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at Phoenix College in the most recent data year.

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

6
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
10th Most Popular In AZ

Glendale Community College is a fairly large public college located in the large suburb of Glendale. This college ranks 15th out of 26 schools for overall quality in the state of Arizona.

There were about 12 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at Glendale Community College in the most recent data year.

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

7
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
81 Design Degrees Awarded
14.8% Growth in Graduates

Grand Canyon University is a fairly large private for-profit university located in the large city of Phoenix. A Best Colleges rank of #144 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Grand Canyon University is a great university overall.

There were roughly 81 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at Grand Canyon University in the most recent year we have data available. Those design & applied arts students who get their degree from Grand Canyon University earn $5,993 more than the typical design graduate.

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

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Associates Degree Type
AA in Digital Photography Program Name

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More information about a degree in AA in Digital Photography from Southern New Hampshire University

Related Programs

8
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
34 Design Degrees Awarded
20.6% Growth in Graduates

ASU - Skysong is a very large public university located in the midsize city of Scottsdale. This university ranks 8th out of 26 schools for overall quality in the state of Arizona.

There were about 34 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at ASU - Skysong in the most recent data year. Those design & applied arts students who get their degree from Arizona State University - Skysong receive $12,099 more than the standard design graduate.

More information about a degree in design & applied arts from Arizona State University - Skysong

9
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
32 Design Degrees Awarded
40.6% Growth in Graduates

Located in the medium-sized city of Tempe, University of Advancing Technology is a private for-profit university with a small student population.

There were about 32 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at University of Advancing Technology in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the design program earn around $30,640 for their early career.

More information about a degree in design & applied arts from University of Advancing Technology

10
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
60 Design Degrees Awarded
$19,275 Median Starting Salary

Sessions College is a fairly small private for-profit college located in the city of Tempe.

There were roughly 59.99999999999999 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at Sessions College in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the design program report average early career earnings of $19,275.

More information about a degree in design & applied arts from Sessions College for Professional Design

Best Design & Applied Arts Colleges in the Southwest Region

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

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Texas 317 1,449
Oklahoma 257 211
New Mexico 219 30

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 243
Interior Design 180
Visual Communications 96
Fashion Design 88
Game & Interactive Media Design 75
Other Design & Applied Arts 45
Industrial Design 36
Commercial Photography 22
Illustration 17
Commercial & Advertising Art 4

View All Design Concentrations >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Fine & Studio Arts 5,411
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 457
Music 260
Drama & Theater Arts 191
General Visual & Performing Arts 151
Dance 96
Arts & Media Management 59
Other Visual Art 9

View All Design Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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