Find Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Design & Applied Arts

Find Schools Near

2022 Best Value Design Schools in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k

11 Ranked Colleges
524 Degrees Awarded
$15,600 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Design Schools 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 in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking.

In 2019-2020, 36,854 people earned their degree in design and applied arts, making the major the 34th most popular in the United States. 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.

This year’s “Best Value Design Schools in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking analyzed 11 colleges that offered a degree in design and applied arts. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent design and applied arts programs, but they also cost less that 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

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Design Schools in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

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. 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 in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Design Schools in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k.

Top 11 Best Value Colleges for Design & Applied Arts (Income $30-$48k) in Iowa

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Iowa State University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Design Schools in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k. Iowa State University is a large public school situated in Ames, Iowa. It awarded 252 ’s design degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Iowa State, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Iowa” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Iowa State is $10,843 for Iowa Design students whose families make $30-$48k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. The low student loan default rate of 3.3% 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%.

Read more about Design & Applied Arts at Iowa State

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Des Moines Area Community College. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Design Schools in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k list. DMACC is a public institution located in Ankeny, Iowa. The school has a large population, and it awarded 98 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

DMACC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Iowa” list. The estimated yearly cost for DMACC is $8,543 for Iowa Design students whose families make $30-$48k.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Des Moines Area Community College

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Design Schools in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Western Iowa Tech Community College landed the #3 spot on the list. Western Iowa Tech Community College is a medium-sized public school situated in Sioux City, Iowa. It awarded 25 ’s design degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Western Iowa Tech Community College, the school also landed the #10 spot in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Iowa” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Western Iowa Tech Community College is $5,287 for Iowa Design students whose families make $30-$48k.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Western Iowa Tech Community College

#4

University of Northern Iowa

Cedar Falls, Iowa

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Northern Iowa. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Design Schools in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k list. University of Northern Iowa is located in Cedar Falls, Iowa and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 36 ’s design degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our iowa design students whose families make $30-$48k list, UNI has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Iowa” ranking. It costs about $12,495 for iowa design students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend UNI.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full UNI Design & Applied Arts Report

#5

Kirkwood Community College

Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Design Schools in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Kirkwood Community College landed the #5 spot on the list. Kirkwood Community College is a public institution located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 13 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Kirkwood Community College, the school also landed the #9 spot in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Iowa” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Kirkwood Community College is $8,831 for Iowa Design students whose families make $30-$48k.

Read more about Design & Applied Arts at Kirkwood Community College

Iowa Central Community College ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Design Schools in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k list. Iowa Central Community College is located in Fort Dodge, Iowa and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 5 ’s design degrees to qualified students.

Iowa Central Community College not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #11 on our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Iowa” list. The yearly cost to attend Iowa Central Community College is $8,734 for iowa design students whose families make $30-$48k.

Read more about Design & Applied Arts at Iowa Central Community College

#7

Luther College

Decorah, Iowa

With a ranking of #7, Luther College did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Design Schools in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k list. Luther is a small school located in Decorah, Iowa that handed out 3 ’s design degrees in 2019-2020.

Luther also made our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Iowa” list, coming in at #2. The yearly cost to attend Luther College is $17,630 for iowa design students whose families make $30-$48k.

The low student loan default rate of 2.2% 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 Luther College Design & Applied Arts Report

#8

Grand View University

Des Moines, Iowa

Grand View University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Design Schools in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k list. Located in Des Moines, Iowa, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 12 degrees to qualified ’s design students in 2019-2020.

Grand View University did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Iowa” list. The yearly cost to attend Grand View University is $19,245 for iowa design students whose families make $30-$48k.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Grand View University

#9

Clarke University

Dubuque, Iowa

Clarke University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Design Schools in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. This small school is located in Dubuque, Iowa, and it awarded 2 ’s design degrees in 2019-2020.

Clarke did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Iowa” list. It costs about $31,801 for iowa design students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Clarke.

The student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. 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%.

Read more about Design & Applied Arts at Clarke

#10

Drake University

Des Moines, Iowa

Drake University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Design Schools in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k list. Drake University is a small school located in Des Moines, Iowa that handed out 7 ’s design degrees in 2019-2020.

Drake also made our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Iowa” list, coming in at #3. The yearly cost to attend Drake is $24,060 for iowa design students whose families make $30-$48k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. 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 Drake University

#11

Saint Ambrose University

Davenport, Iowa

Saint Ambrose University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Design Schools in Iowa For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. St. Ambrose University is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Davenport, Iowa. It awarded 6 ’s design degrees in 2019-2020.

St. Ambrose University not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Iowa” list. The estimated yearly cost for Saint Ambrose University is $24,516 for Iowa Design students whose families make $30-$48k.

Full St. Ambrose University Design & Applied Arts Report

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.

Featured Performing Arts Schools

Find Schools Near You