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

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.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 5 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in Oregon ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 261 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 quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To take this into account we include a college's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a host 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 complete 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 Oregon.

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 Oregon

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

Top Oregon Schools for a Bachelor's in Design

1

University of Oregon
Eugene, OR

38 Annual Graduates

$28,844 Median Starting Salary

University of Oregon is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in design & applied arts. Located in the midsize city of Eugene, UO is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the design program earn an average of $28,844 in their early career salary.

More information about a bachelor’s in design & applied arts from University of Oregon

2

Portland State University
Portland, OR

95 Annual Graduates

$35,304 Median Starting Salary

Every student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in design & applied arts needs to check out Portland State University. Located in the large city of Portland, Portland State University is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Those design & applied arts students who get their bachelor's degree from Portland State University make $5,561 more than the average design grad.

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

3

Oregon State University
Corvallis, OR

66 Annual Graduates

$35,614 Median Starting Salary

$40,975 Median Student Debt

Oregon State University is a wonderful choice for individuals pursuing a bachelor's degree in design & applied arts. Located in the small city of Corvallis, Oregon State is a public university with a very large student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the design & applied arts major at Oregon State University get $5,871 more than the average college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

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

4

George Fox University
Newberg, OR

16 Annual Graduates

George Fox University is a wonderful decision for students interested in a bachelor's degree in design & applied arts. GFU is a small private not-for-profit university located in the fringe town of Newberg.More information about a bachelor’s in design & applied arts from George Fox University

5

Pacific Northwest College of Art
Portland, OR

42 Annual Graduates

$19,501 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of Portland, Pacific Northwest College of Art is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the design program make about $19,501 in their early career salary.

More information about a bachelor’s in design & applied arts from Pacific Northwest College of Art

Best Design & Applied Arts Colleges in the Far Western US Region

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

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
California	262	2,446
Washington	226	348
Nevada	129	61
Hawaii	112	10

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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	149
Other Design & Applied Arts	46
Illustration	42
Interior Design	24

Majors Similar to Design

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Fine & Studio Arts	328
Music	183
Film, Video & Photographic Arts	169
Drama & Theater Arts	120
General Visual & Performing Arts	20
Other Visual Art	19
Dance	11
Arts & Media Management	2

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.