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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Design & Applied Arts (Income $30-$48k) in Iowa

7 Ranked Colleges
350 Degrees Awarded
$20,100 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor's in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k

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 Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k” 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.

Across Iowa, there were 524 design and applied arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $33,460 and $23,539 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 350 design and applied arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,922 and $25,876 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, we looked at 7 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.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the design and applied arts program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k

The colleges and universities below are the best for iowa bachelor’s degree design students whose families make $30-$48k.

Top 7 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Design & Applied Arts (Income $30-$48k) in Iowa

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Iowa State University landed the #1 spot on the list. Iowa State University is located in Ames, Iowa and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 227 bachelors’s design degrees to qualified students.

Iowa State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list. It costs about $10,843 for Iowa Bachelor’s Degree Design students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Iowa State University.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Design & Applied Arts at Iowa State

#2

University of Northern Iowa

Cedar Falls, Iowa

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Northern Iowa landed the #2 spot on the list. UNI is a public institution located in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 36 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UNI did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” list. It costs about $12,495 for iowa bachelor’s degree design students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend University of Northern Iowa.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. The low student loan default rate of 3.6% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Full University of Northern Iowa Design & Applied Arts Report

#3

Luther College

Decorah, Iowa
#2 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Luther College. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k list. Luther is a small school located in Decorah, Iowa that handed out 3 bachelors’s design degrees in 2019-2020.

Luther also took the #2 spot in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. It costs about $17,630 for iowa bachelor’s degree design students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Luther.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Luther College

#4

Grand View University

Des Moines, Iowa

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Grand View University. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k list. Located in Des Moines, Iowa, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 12 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s design students in 2019-2020.

Grand View University also took the #6 spot in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Grand View University is $19,245 for iowa bachelor’s degree design students whose families make $30-$48k.

Read more about Design & Applied Arts at Grand View University

#5

Clarke University

Dubuque, Iowa
#5 in overall quality

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Clarke University landed the #5 spot on the list. Clarke is located in Dubuque, Iowa and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 2 bachelors’s design degrees to qualified students.

Clarke also took the #5 spot in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Clarke University is $31,801 for iowa bachelor’s degree design students whose families make $30-$48k.

The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The low student loan default rate of 4.6% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Full Clarke Design & Applied Arts Report

#6

Drake University

Des Moines, Iowa

Drake University landed the #6 spot on the 2022 Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Drake University is located in Des Moines, Iowa and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 7 bachelors’s design degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our iowa bachelor’s degree design students whose families make $30-$48k list, Drake has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Drake is $24,060 for iowa bachelor’s degree design students whose families make $30-$48k.

The student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full Drake Design & Applied Arts Report

#7

Saint Ambrose University

Davenport, Iowa

With a ranking of #7, Saint Ambrose University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Design Schools for a Bachelor’s in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k list. Davenport, Iowa is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s design degrees to 6 students in 2019-2020.

St. Ambrose University also took the #7 spot in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Iowa” ranking. It costs about $24,516 for iowa bachelor’s degree design students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Saint Ambrose University.

Full St. Ambrose University Design & Applied Arts Report

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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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