2023 Best Value Design Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $48-$75k
13
Ranked Colleges
1,124
Degrees Awarded
When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Design Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking is part of that endeavor.
Design & Applied Arts is the 36th most popular major in the country with 36,301 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, design and applied arts graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $31,426 and had an average of $25,481 in loans still to pay off.
Across the Rocky Mountains region, there were 1,124 design and applied arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $31,459 and $32,125 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Design Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking looked at 13 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in design and applied arts. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great design and applied arts programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.
To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the design and applied arts program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.
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 in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $48-$75k” 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 by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.
Best Value Design Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $48-$75k
The colleges and universities below are the best for rocky mountains region design students whose families make $48-$75k.
Top 13 Best Value Colleges for Design & Applied Arts (Income $48-$75k) in the Rocky Mountains Region
Out of the 13 schools in the Best Value Design Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, Brigham Young University - Provo landed the #1 spot on the list. BYU is located in Provo, Utah and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 95 ’s design degrees to qualified students.
In addition to being on our rocky mountains region design students whose families make $48-$75k list, BYU has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for BYU is $12,676 for rocky mountains region design students whose families make $48-$75k.
With a freshman retention rate of 92%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Brigham Young University - Provo
Out of the 13 schools in the Best Value Design Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, Salt Lake Community College landed the #2 spot on the list. Salt Lake City, Utah is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s design degrees to 66 students in 2020-2021.
Salt Lake Community College also took the #8 spot in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking. It costs about $7,366 for rocky mountains region design students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend Salt Lake Community College.
Read more about Design & Applied Arts at Salt Lake Community College
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Arapahoe Community College. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Design Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $48-$75k. Arapahoe Community College is a fairly large school located in Littleton, Colorado that handed out 59 ’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our rocky mountains region design students whose families make $48-$75k list, Arapahoe Community College has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Arapahoe Community College is $11,068 for rocky mountains region design students whose families make $48-$75k.
Read more about Design & Applied Arts at Arapahoe Community College
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Utah Valley University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Design Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $48-$75k. Utah Valley University is a large school located in Orem, Utah that handed out 287 ’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our rocky mountains region design students whose families make $48-$75k list, UVU has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking. It costs about $11,196 for rocky mountains region design students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend UVU.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Utah Valley University
Out of the 13 schools in the Best Value Design Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Utah landed the #5 spot on the list. U of U is a large public school situated in Salt Lake City, Utah. It awarded 28 ’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
U of U did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list. The yearly cost to attend U of U is $13,842 for Rocky Mountains Region Design students whose families make $48-$75k.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at U of U
With a ranking of #6, Northwest College did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Design Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. Powell, Wyoming is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s design degrees to 12 students in 2020-2021.
Northwest Community College did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #13 on our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list. The yearly cost to attend Northwest College is $7,665 for rocky mountains region design students whose families make $48-$75k.
Full Northwest College Design & Applied Arts Report
With a ranking of #7, Weber State University did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Design Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. WSU is located in Ogden, Utah and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 51 ’s design degrees to qualified students.
WSU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #9 on our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list. It costs about $12,318 for Rocky Mountains Region Design students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend Weber State University.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.1% 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 WSU
Boise State University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Design Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. Boise State University is a public institution located in Boise, Idaho. The school has a large population, and it awarded 104 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Boise State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list. The yearly cost to attend Boise State is $16,204 for rocky mountains region design students whose families make $48-$75k.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Boise State
With a ranking of #9, Metropolitan State University of Denver did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Design Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. Metropolitan State University of Denver is located in Denver, Colorado and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 56 ’s design degrees to qualified students.
MSU Denver not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #12 on our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list. The yearly cost to attend MSU Denver is $14,679 for rocky mountains region design students whose families make $48-$75k.
Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at MSU Denver
Southern Utah University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Design Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. Southern Utah University is a fairly large school located in Cedar City, Utah that handed out 18 ’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
Southern Utah University did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #14 on our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list. It costs about $13,460 for Rocky Mountains Region Design students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend Southern Utah University.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Design & Applied Arts at Southern Utah University
With a ranking of #11, Montana State University did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Design Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. Bozeman, Montana is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s design degrees to 16 students in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at MSU Bozeman, the school also landed the #10 spot in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Montana State University is $19,942 for rocky mountains region design students whose families make $48-$75k.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full MSU Bozeman Design & Applied Arts Report
Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Design Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. This small school is located in Lakewood, Colorado, and it awarded 117 ’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
RMCAD also made our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” list, coming in at #5. The yearly cost to attend Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design is $18,002 for Rocky Mountains Region Design students whose families make $48-$75k.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Read more about Design & Applied Arts at RMCAD
University of Denver ranked #13 on this year’s Best Value Design Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. DU is a fairly large school located in Denver, Colorado that handed out 31 ’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
DU also took the #3 spot in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Denver is $27,767 for Rocky Mountains Region Design students whose families make $48-$75k.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at DU
Focus on a Specific Degree Level
Switch to a More General Major
Switch to a Similar Major
Switch to a More Focused Major
Switch to a Different Ranking Method
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
- *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.
