2025 Best Design & Applied Arts Master's Degree Schools in Minnesota

If you plan on getting your master's degree in design & applied arts, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #72 in the country in terms of popularity. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

College Factual looked at 2 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Design & Applied Arts Master's Degree Schools in Minnesota ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 23 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

Early-Career Earnings

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

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

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Design & Applied Arts in Minnesota

Learn about the top ranked colleges and universities for design & applied arts students seeking a a master's degree.

Top Minnesota Schools for a Master's in Design

1

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Minneapolis, MN

12 Annual Graduates

It is hard 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

2

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 fairly 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 in the Plains States Region

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

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

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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	23

Most Popular Majors Related to Design

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Fine & Studio Arts	42
Music	26
General Visual & Performing Arts	7
Drama & Theater Arts	5
Arts & Media Management	5

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.