2025 Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region
67Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region
6,935Design Degrees Awarded
$32,983Avg Early-Career Salary
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 67 schools in the Middle Atlantic Region 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 6,935 degrees in design & applied arts annually.
Translate your creative ideas through concept, design and digital media with a bachelor's in graphic design online from Southern New Hampshire University.
Take the first step toward a career of visual expression and doing what you love with this online associate degree from Southern New Hampshire University.
Learn to create a striking portfolio and hone the skills you need to succeed in the world of professional photography with this online digital photography degree from Southern New Hampshire University.
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.
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 the Middle Atlantic Region.
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.
Translate your creative ideas through concept, design and digital media with a bachelor's in graphic design online from Southern New Hampshire University.
Take the first step toward a career of visual expression and doing what you love with this online associate degree from Southern New Hampshire University.
Learn to create a striking portfolio and hone the skills you need to succeed in the world of professional photography with this online digital photography degree from Southern New Hampshire University.
Best Schools for Design & Applied Arts in the Middle Atlantic Region
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. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
It's difficult to beat Fashion Institute of Technology if you wish to pursue a degree in design & applied arts. Located in the city of New York, FIT SUNY is a public school with a medium-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #32 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means FIT SUNY is a great school overall.
There were about 1313 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at FIT SUNY in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the design program earn an average of $23,920 for their early career.
It's difficult to beat Carnegie Mellon University if you want to pursue a degree in design & applied arts. Located in the city of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #8 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Carnegie Mellon is a great university overall.
There were roughly 46 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at Carnegie Mellon in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the design & applied arts degree program at Carnegie Mellon University make $49,027 more than the average college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.
Translate your creative ideas through concept, design and digital media with a bachelor's in graphic design online from Southern New Hampshire University.
Every student who is interested in design & applied arts has to take a look at Syracuse University. Syracuse is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Syracuse. A Best Colleges rank of #62 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Syracuse is a great university overall.
There were approximately 115 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at Syracuse in the most recent year we have data available. Design & Applied Arts degree recipients from Syracuse University get an earnings boost of approximately $13,198 above the average income of design & applied arts graduates.
Pratt Institute - Main is a great choice for students interested in a degree in design & applied arts. Located in the city of Brooklyn, Pratt Institute is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.
There were about 413 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at Pratt Institute in the most recent year we have data available. Those design & applied arts students who get their degree from Pratt Institute - Main receive $4,400 more than the typical design graduate.
Located in the city of Philadelphia, Drexel is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 10th out of 103 schools for overall quality in the state of Pennsylvania.
There were about 178 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at Drexel in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the design & applied arts major at Drexel University make $5,171 more than the typical graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.
New School University is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large city of New York. This school ranks 22nd out of 136 colleges for overall quality in the state of New York.
There were roughly 668 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at New School University in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the design program state that they receive average early career wages of $29,331.
Located in the large city of Baltimore, MICA is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
There were roughly 314 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at MICA in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the design program report average early career wages of $33,663.
Take the first step toward a career of visual expression and doing what you love with this online associate degree from Southern New Hampshire University.
RIT is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Rochester. This school ranks 13th out of 136 schools for overall quality in the state of New York.
There were about 155 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at RIT in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the design program make an average of $34,709 in the first couple years of working.
Located in the large city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #2 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UPenn is a great university overall.
There were roughly 15 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at UPenn in the most recent year we have data available.
Located in the city of Philadelphia, Thomas Jefferson University is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #89 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Thomas Jefferson University is a great university overall.
There were roughly 65 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at Thomas Jefferson University in the most recent data year. Those design & applied arts students who get their degree from Thomas Jefferson University make $3,450 more than the standard design grad.
Located in the city of Philadelphia, Temple is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 8th out of 103 schools for overall quality in the state of Pennsylvania.
There were roughly 60 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at Temple in the most recent data year. Those design & applied arts students who get their degree from Temple University make $10,547 more than the average design graduate.
Learn to create a striking portfolio and hone the skills you need to succeed in the world of professional photography with this online digital photography degree from Southern New Hampshire University.
UD is a fairly large public university located in the large suburb of Newark. A Best Colleges rank of #96 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UD is a great university overall.
There were about 44 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at UD in the most recent year we have data available. Design & Applied Arts degree recipients from University of Delaware receive an earnings boost of approximately $9,602 over the average income of design & applied arts graduates.
Located in the city of New York, SVA is a private for-profit school with a small student population.
There were about 297 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at SVA in the most recent year we have data available. After graduating, design degree recipients generally make around $23,053 in their early careers.
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Here are some additional great schools for Design & Applied Arts students in the Middle Atlantic Region that almost earned our Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region award.
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).
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.
