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

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 Arkansas ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 158 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 account for this we include a school's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a collection 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

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in Arkansas ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

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 Arkansas

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

Top Arkansas Schools for a Bachelor's in Design

1

University of Arkansas
Fayetteville, AR

31 Annual Graduates

$41,782 Median Starting Salary

Every student pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in design & applied arts has to check out University of Arkansas. UARK is a very large public university located in the city of Fayetteville.

Those design & applied arts students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Arkansas make $9,834 more than the average design student.

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

2

John Brown University
Siloam Springs, AR

25 Annual Graduates

$24,893 Median Starting Salary

John Brown University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in design & applied arts. Located in the town of Siloam Springs, JBU is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the design program earn about $24,893 for their early career.

More information about a bachelor’s in design & applied arts from John Brown University

3

University of Central Arkansas
Conway, AR

17 Annual Graduates

$43,106 Median Starting Salary

University of Central Arkansas is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in design & applied arts. Located in the small city of Conway, UCA is a public university with a medium-sized student population.

Design & Applied Arts bachelor's degree recipients from University of Central Arkansas receive an earnings boost of approximately $11,158 over the typical earnings of design & applied arts majors.

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

4

Southern Arkansas University Main Campus
Magnolia, AR

12 Annual Graduates

$22,016 Median Starting Salary

Every student pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in design & applied arts has to take a look at Southern Arkansas University Main Campus. Located in the town of Magnolia, Southern Arkansas University Main Campus is a public university with a medium-sized student population.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the design program earn around $22,016 in their early career salary.

More information about a bachelor’s in design & applied arts from Southern Arkansas University Main Campus

5

Arkansas Tech University
Russellville, AR

34 Annual Graduates

$20,285 Median Starting Salary

Located in the remote town of Russellville, ATU is a public university with a medium-sized student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the design program state that they receive average early career income of $20,285.

More information about a bachelor’s in design & applied arts from Arkansas Tech 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
North Carolina	213	529
Virginia	213	635
South Carolina	195	224
Kentucky	187	64
Alabama	184	196
Louisiana	171	50
Mississippi	169	25
West Virginia	147	106

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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	43
Game & Interactive Media Design	32
Visual Communications	31
Interior Design	23
Commercial & Advertising Art	16
Illustration	13

Majors Similar to Design

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Fine & Studio Arts	200
Music	106
Drama & Theater Arts	75
Film, Video & Photographic Arts	58
Other Visual Art	15
Dance	4
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.