2025 Best Design & Applied Arts Master's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region

Design & Applied Arts is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #72 most popular master's degree program in the country. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.

College Factual reviewed 4 schools in the Plains States Region to determine which ones were the best for master's degree seekers in the field of design & applied arts. Combined, these schools handed out 76 master's degrees in design & applied arts to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Master’s Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great Design & Applied Arts School for Your Master's Degree

Your choice of design & applied arts for getting your master's degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:

Overall Quality Is a Must

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Average Early-Career Salaries

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their master's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your master's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

• Major Focus - How much a school focuses on design & applied arts students vs. other majors.
• Major Demand - How many other design & applied arts students want to attend this school to pursue a master's degree.
• Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
• Student Debt - How much debt design & applied arts students go into to obtain their master's degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized design & applied arts related body.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for design & applied arts students working on their master's degree.

More Ways to Rank Design & Applied Arts Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Design & Applied Arts Master's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list, to help you choose the best school for you.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Design & Applied Arts in the Plains States Region

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in design & applied arts.

Top Plains States Region Schools for a Master's in Design

1

Washington University in St Louis
Saint Louis, MO

14 Annual Graduates

Washington University in St Louis is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in design & applied arts. Located in the large suburb of Saint Louis, WUSTL is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in design & applied arts from Washington University in St Louis

2

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Minneapolis, MN

12 Annual Graduates

It is difficult to beat University of Minnesota - Twin Cities if you want to pursue a master's degree in design & applied arts. Located in the large city of Minneapolis, UMN Twin Cities is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in design & applied arts from University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

3

Iowa State University
Ames, IA

19 Annual Graduates

$35,702 Median Starting Salary

Iowa State University is one of the best schools in the country for getting a master's degree in design & applied arts. Located in the city of Ames, Iowa State is a public university with a very large student population.

Students who graduate with their master's from the design program state that they receive average early career wages of $35,702.

More information about a master’s in design & applied arts from Iowa State University

4

Minneapolis College of Art and Design
Minneapolis, MN

11 Annual Graduates

Minneapolis College of Art and Design is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in design & applied arts. MCAD is a small private not-for-profit college located in the city of Minneapolis.More information about a master’s in design & applied arts from Minneapolis College of Art and Design

Best Design & Applied Arts Colleges by State

Explore the best design & applied arts colleges for a specific state in the Plains States Region .

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Missouri	193	13
Minnesota	174	17
Iowa	154	11
Kansas	149	6

View All Rankings >

Design & Applied Arts Related Rankings by Major

One of 10 majors within the Visual & Performing Arts area of study, Design & Applied Arts has other similar majors worth exploring.

Design Concentrations

Major	Annual Graduates
Other Design & Applied Arts	37
Industrial Design	16
Graphic Design	9
Game & Interactive Media Design	7
Interior Design	5
Visual Communications	2

Majors Similar to Design

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Music	311
Fine & Studio Arts	201
Drama & Theater Arts	93
General Visual & Performing Arts	16
Arts & Media Management	13
Film, Video & Photographic Arts	6
Dance	4

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.