2022 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Design & Applied Arts (Income $0-$30k)

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Design Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking.

Design & Applied Arts is the 34th most popular major in the country with 36,854 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, design and applied arts graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $29,542 and had an average of $27,114 in loans still to pay off.

At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 14 design and applied arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $72,680 and $116,043 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Design Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 5 colleges that offer a degree in design and applied arts. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality design and applied arts programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the design and applied arts program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Design Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $0-$30k” list to help you make the college decision.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. 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 Value Design Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for doctor’s degree design students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 5 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Design & Applied Arts (Income $0-$30k)

#1

Cornell University

Ithaca, New York

#2 in overall quality

$30,042 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Cornell University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Design Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $0-$30k list. Cornell University is a large school located in Ithaca, New York that handed out 2 doctorate’s design degrees in 2019-2020.

Cornell also made our “Best Design & Applied Arts Doctor’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #2. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Cornell are $30,042.

Read more about Design & Applied Arts at Cornell

#2

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Minneapolis, Minnesota

#3 in overall quality

$28,845 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Design Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities landed the #2 spot on the list. Located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, this large public school awarded 5 degrees to qualified doctorate’s design students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UMN Twin Cities, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Doctor’s Degree Schools” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities are $28,845, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Design & Applied Arts at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

#3

Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

#1 in overall quality

$47,326 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Carnegie Mellon University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Design Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $0-$30k. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctorate’s design degrees to 3 students in 2019-2020.

Carnegie Mellon did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Design & Applied Arts Doctor’s Degree Schools” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Carnegie Mellon University are $47,326, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Design & Applied Arts at Carnegie Mellon

#4

Illinois Institute of Technology

Chicago, Illinois

#5 in overall quality

$30,695 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Illinois Institute of Technology. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Design Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $0-$30k. Illinois Institute of Technology is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 2 doctorate’s design degrees to qualified students.

Illinois Tech also took the #5 spot in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Doctor’s Degree Schools” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Illinois Institute of Technology are $30,695, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Design & Applied Arts at Illinois Tech

#5

Auburn University

Auburn, Alabama

#4 in overall quality

$31,956 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Auburn University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Design Schools for a Doctorate For Those Making $0-$30k. Auburn is a public institution located in Auburn, Alabama. The school has a large population, and it awarded 2 doctorate’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Auburn also made our “Best Design & Applied Arts Doctor’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #4. Average graduate tuition and fees at Auburn are $31,956, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Design & Applied Arts at Auburn University

Notes and References

References

• 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 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).
• Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

• *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
• Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

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