2022 Best Value Design Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Design Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking - to help you make that decision.

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 Illinois, there were 1,178 design and applied arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $31,274 and $37,640 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 53 design and applied arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $57,267 and $46,814 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Design Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking looked at 5 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.

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. 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 for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k” list to help you make the college decision.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Best Value Design Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois master’s degree design students whose families make $75-$110k.

Top 5 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Design & Applied Arts (Income $75-$110k) in Illinois

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

$56,567 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Northwestern University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Design Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k. Evanston, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s design degrees to 3 students in 2019-2020.

Northwestern also took the #0 spot in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Northwestern University are $56,567, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Northwestern University

#2

Illinois Institute of Technology

Chicago, Illinois

#1 in overall quality

$30,695 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$110,432 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Illinois Institute of Technology. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Design Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k list. Illinois Institute of Technology is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 8 masters’s design degrees in 2019-2020.

Illinois Tech not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Design & Applied Arts Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Illinois Institute of Technology are $30,695.

Full Illinois Tech Design & Applied Arts Report

#3

University of Illinois at Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

#2 in overall quality

$27,036 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Chicago. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Design Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k list. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s design degrees to 15 students in 2019-2020.

UIC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Design & Applied Arts Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Illinois at Chicago are $27,036, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at UIC

#4

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois

#3 in overall quality

$19,760 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Design Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k that were part of this year’s ranking, DePaul University landed the #4 spot on the list. This large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 8 masters’s design degrees in 2019-2020.

DePaul also made our “Best Design & Applied Arts Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #3. Average graduate tuition and fees at DePaul are $19,760, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Design & Applied Arts at DePaul University

#5

School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

#4 in overall quality

$43,912 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend School of the Art Institute of Chicago. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Design Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k. School of the Art Institute of Chicago is a small school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 19 masters’s design degrees in 2019-2020.

School of the Art Institute of Chicago not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Design & Applied Arts Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at School of the Art Institute of Chicago are $43,912, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full School of the Art Institute of Chicago Design & Applied Arts Report

• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Design & Applied Arts (Income $75-$110k) in the Great Lakes Region
• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Design & Applied Arts (Income $75-$110k)

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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