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

8 Colleges in Missouri
389 Bachelor's Degrees
$34,271 Avg Early-Career Salary
Design & Applied Arts is of the hottest bachelor's degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #27 most popular major in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.

For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 8 schools in Missouri to determine which ones were the best for design & applied arts students pursuing a bachelor's degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 389 bachelor's degrees in design & applied arts during the 2022-2023 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

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

Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in Missouri 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. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.

A Great Overall School

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 consider a school's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a combination of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Early-Career Earnings

One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of bachelor's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their bachelor's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

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

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

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Design Rankings Other Ranking Categories

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 Bachelor's Degree Schools in Missouri list, to help you choose the best school for you.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

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

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in design & applied arts.

Top Missouri Schools for a Bachelor's in Design

1

Washington University in St Louis is a great decision for students pursuing a bachelor's degree in design & applied arts. WUSTL is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Saint Louis.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the design program report average early career earnings of $33,615.

More information about a bachelor’s in design & applied arts from Washington University in St Louis

2
46 Annual Graduates
$29,513 Median Starting Salary
$47,960 Median Student Debt

Any student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in design & applied arts has to check out Kansas City Art Institute. Kansas City Art Institute is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Kansas City.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the design program earn an average of $29,513 for their early career.

More information about a bachelor’s in design & applied arts from Kansas City Art Institute

3

Maryville University of Saint Louis is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in design & applied arts. Maryville U is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Saint Louis.

Design & Applied Arts bachelor's degree recipients from Maryville University of Saint Louis receive an earnings boost of approximately $5,353 over the average income of design & applied arts majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in design & applied arts from Maryville University of Saint Louis

4
Lindenwood University crest
Lindenwood University
Saint Charles, MO
19 Annual Graduates

Lindenwood University is one of the best schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in design & applied arts. Located in the city of Saint Charles, Lindenwood University is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population.More information about a bachelor’s in design & applied arts from Lindenwood University

5
Park University crest
Park University
Parkville, MO

Park University is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Parkville.

Bachelor's recipients from the design & applied arts degree program at Park University get $12,070 above the typical college grad in this field shortly after graduation.

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

6
Webster crest
Webster University
Saint Louis, MO

Webster is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Saint Louis.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the design program make about $20,257 in the first couple years of working.

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

7

Located in the distant town of Warrensburg, UCM is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the design program make around $33,921 in their early career salary.

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

8

Missouri State is a very large public university located in the midsize city of Springfield.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the design program earn around $33,695 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a bachelor’s in design & applied arts from Missouri State University - Springfield

Best Design & Applied Arts Colleges in the Plains States Region

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

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Minnesota 215 351
Iowa 197 378
Kansas 184 137
Nebraska 180 119
North Dakota 149 22
South Dakota 148 51

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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 112
Visual Communications 105
Interior Design 50
Game & Interactive Media Design 39
Commercial & Advertising Art 32
Illustration 31
Fashion Design 20

Related Major Annual Graduates
Fine & Studio Arts 414
Music 224
Drama & Theater Arts 183
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 160
General Visual & Performing Arts 89
Dance 28
Arts & Media Management 11

Notes and References

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