2025 Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in North Carolina

Ranked #27 in popularity, design & applied arts is one of the most sought-after bachelor's 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.

College Factual looked at 9 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in North Carolina ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 548 bachelor's degrees in design & applied arts to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

• Best Bachelor’s Degree Schools List

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

Your choice of design & applied arts for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality design program can vary widely even among the top schools. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:

Overall Quality Is a Must

The overall quality of a bachelor's degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we consider a college's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a combination of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Average Early-Career Salaries

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their bachelor's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your bachelor'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

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

• Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to design & applied arts students as compared to other majors.
• Major Demand - How many other design & applied arts students want to attend this school to pursue a bachelor's degree.
• Educational Resources - How many resources are allocated to students. These resources may include educational expenditures per student, number of students per instructor, and graduation rate among other things.
• Student Debt - How much debt design & applied arts students go into to obtain their bachelor'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 schools for design & applied arts students working on their bachelor's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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 Bachelor's Degree Schools in North Carolina.

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.

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Design & Applied Arts in North Carolina

Explore the top ranked colleges and universities for design & applied arts students seeking a a bachelor's degree.

Top North Carolina Schools for a Bachelor's in Design

1

North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC

77 Annual Graduates

$44,930 Median Starting Salary

North Carolina State University is one of the best schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in design & applied arts. Located in the large city of Raleigh, NC State is a public university with a very large student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the design & applied arts major at North Carolina State University get $9,006 more than the average college grad in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a bachelor’s in design & applied arts from North Carolina State University

2

Appalachian State University
Boone, NC

131 Annual Graduates

$34,722 Median Starting Salary

$18,939 Median Student Debt

Appalachian State University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in design & applied arts. Appalachian State is a fairly large public university located in the distant town of Boone.

Soon after graduating, design bachelor's recipients usually earn about $34,722 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in design & applied arts from Appalachian State University

3

Meredith College
Raleigh, NC

35 Annual Graduates

$36,357 Median Starting Salary

Meredith College is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in design & applied arts. Located in the city of Raleigh, Meredith is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Soon after graduation, design bachelor's recipients typically earn around $36,357 in their early careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in design & applied arts from Meredith College

4

University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Charlotte, NC

21 Annual Graduates

University of North Carolina at Charlotte is a good choice for individuals interested in a bachelor's degree in design & applied arts. UNC Charlotte is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Charlotte.More information about a bachelor’s in design & applied arts from University of North Carolina at Charlotte

5

East Carolina University
Greenville, NC

28 Annual Graduates

$39,992 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of Greenville, ECU is a public university with a very large student population.

Those design & applied arts students who get their bachelor's degree from East Carolina University make $4,068 more than the typical design student.

More information about a bachelor’s in design & applied arts from East Carolina University

6

University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Greensboro, NC

42 Annual Graduates

$38,858 Median Starting Salary

Located in the large city of Greensboro, UNC Greensboro is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Those design & applied arts students who get their bachelor's degree from University of North Carolina at Greensboro receive $2,934 more than the average design student.

More information about a bachelor’s in design & applied arts from University of North Carolina at Greensboro

7

Western Carolina University
Cullowhee, NC

23 Annual Graduates

$32,842 Median Starting Salary

Located in the town of Cullowhee, WCU is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the design program make an average of $32,842 in their early career salary.

More information about a bachelor’s in design & applied arts from Western Carolina University

8

North Carolina A & T State University
Greensboro, NC

19 Annual Graduates

$30,470 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of Greensboro, NC A&T is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the design program earn about $30,470 for their early career.

More information about a bachelor’s in design & applied arts from North Carolina A & T State University

9

William Peace University
Raleigh, NC

18 Annual Graduates

$33,536 Median Starting Salary

Located in the large city of Raleigh, WPU is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly small student population.

Soon after graduating, design bachelor's recipients typically earn around $33,536 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in design & applied arts from William Peace University

Best Design & Applied Arts Colleges in the Southeast Region

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

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Florida	225	707
Georgia	224	1,028
Tennessee	220	208
Virginia	213	635
South Carolina	195	224
Kentucky	187	64
Alabama	184	196
Louisiana	171	50
Mississippi	169	25
Arkansas	167	216
West Virginia	147	106

View All Rankings >

Rankings in Majors Related to Design

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	201
Interior Design	196
Industrial Design	49
Game & Interactive Media Design	37
Visual Communications	30
Commercial Photography	30
Fashion Design	3
Other Design & Applied Arts	2

Majors Similar to Design

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Fine & Studio Arts	705
Drama & Theater Arts	442
Music	363
Film, Video & Photographic Arts	190
Dance	115
Arts & Media Management	97
General Visual & Performing Arts	68
Other Visual Art	24

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.