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2023 Most Focused Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Design & Applied Arts

7 Ranked Colleges
21 Degrees Awarded
$35,600 Avg Cost*
Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Design Major

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Design Major” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

In 2021-2022, 36,323 people earned their degree in design & applied arts, making the major the 36th most popular in the United States. In , design & applied arts graduates who were awarded their degree in , earned an average of $32,210 and had an average of $24,297 in loans still to pay off.

At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 21 design & applied arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $75,735 and $124,256 respectively.

For this year’s “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Design Major” ranking, we looked at 7 colleges that offer a degree in design & applied arts. That schools that top this list have a program in design & applied arts in which the largest percentage of students at the school are enrolled.

See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Design & Applied Arts Schools

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The design school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Design Major”.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Design Major

The colleges and universities below are the best for doctor’s degree design students.

Top 7 Most Focused Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Design & Applied Arts

1

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Illinois Institute of Technology. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Design Major list. Illinois Tech is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 1 doctorate’s design degrees in 2021-2022.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read more about Design & Applied Arts at Illinois Institute of Technology

2
Auburn crest
Auburn University
Auburn, Alabama

Out of the 7 schools in the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Design Major that were part of this year’s ranking, Auburn University landed the #2 spot on the list. Auburn, Alabama is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s design degrees to 4 students in 2021-2022.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Design & Applied Arts at Auburn University

3

Out of the 7 schools in the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Design Major that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities landed the #3 spot on the list. Minneapolis, Minnesota is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s design degrees to 12 students in 2021-2022.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 92%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.6% 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 full report on Design & Applied Arts at UMN Twin Cities

4
UB crest
University of Baltimore
Baltimore, Maryland

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Baltimore. The school came in at #4 for the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Design Major. UB is a small public school situated in Baltimore, Maryland. It awarded 14 doctorate’s design degrees in 2021-2022.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full UB Design & Applied Arts Report

4
Cornell crest
Cornell University
Ithaca, New York

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Cornell University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Design Major list. Cornell University is a large school located in Ithaca, New York that handed out 0 doctorate’s design degrees in 2021-2022.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.4% 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%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read more about Design & Applied Arts at Cornell University

4
KU crest
University of Kansas
Lawrence, Kansas

Out of the 7 schools in the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Design Major that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Kansas landed the #4 spot on the list. KU is a large school located in Lawrence, Kansas that handed out 83 doctorate’s design degrees in 2021-2022.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at University of Kansas

4
Carnegie Mellon crest
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Out of the 7 schools in the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Design Major that were part of this year’s ranking, Carnegie Mellon University landed the #4 spot on the list. Carnegie Mellon is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It awarded 4 doctorate’s design degrees in 2021-2022.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Carnegie Mellon

Notes and References

References

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

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