2023 Most Focused Master’s Degree Colleges for Design & Applied Arts in the Great Lakes Region
23
Ranked Colleges
197
Degrees Awarded
$77,462
Avg Salary
Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. 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 Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Great Lakes Region” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.
Design & Applied Arts is the 36th most popular major in the country with 36,323 degrees awarded in 2021-2022. 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.
Across the Great Lakes region, there were 5,430 design & applied arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $33,626 and $22,786 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 197 design & applied arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $59,182 and $43,142 respectively.
This year’s “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Great Lakes Region” ranking looked at 23 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in design & applied arts. The colleges and universities that top this list are recognized because their design & applied arts program is one of the largest majors offered at the school.
Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
More Ways to Rank Design & Applied Arts Schools
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 “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Great Lakes Region” list to help you make the college 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. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.
Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Great Lakes Region
The colleges and universities below are the best for great lakes region master’s degree design students.
Top 23 Most Focused Master’s Degree Colleges for Design & Applied Arts in the Great Lakes Region
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Cranbrook Academy of Art. The school came in at #1 for the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Great Lakes Region. Cranbrook Academy of Art is a small school located in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan that handed out 12 masters’s design degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Carnbrook Academy
Out of the 23 schools in the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, College for Creative Studies landed the #2 spot on the list. Detroit, Michigan is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s design degrees to 12 students in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.6% 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%. 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 full report on Design & Applied Arts at College for Creative Studies
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend School of the Art Institute of Chicago. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Great Lakes Region list. School of the Art Institute of Chicago is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 20 masters’s design degrees in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.8% 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 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Read more about Design & Applied Arts at School of the Art Institute of Chicago
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Bowling Green State University - Main Campus. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Great Lakes Region list. This fairly large school is located in Bowling Green, Ohio, and it awarded 28 masters’s design degrees in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad 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%.
Read more about Design & Applied Arts at BGSU
Out of the 23 schools in the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Illinois Institute of Technology landed the #5 spot on the list. Illinois Institute of Technology is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 11 masters’s design degrees to qualified students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.8% 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 Illinois Tech
University of Chicago did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #6. This fairly large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 8 masters’s design degrees in 2021-2022.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 99%. 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%. 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.
Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at UChicago
Kent State University at Kent did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #7. Kent State is a large public school situated in Kent, Ohio. It awarded 21 masters’s design degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Kent State
Ohio University - Athens Campus ranked #8 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Ohio University - Athens Campus is located in Athens, Ohio and, has a large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 13 masters’s design degrees to qualified students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full Ohio University - Athens Campus Design & Applied Arts Report
With a ranking of #9, University of Illinois at Chicago did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Great Lakes Region list. UIC is a large public school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 21 masters’s design degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full UIC Design & Applied Arts Report
DePaul University ranked #10 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Great Lakes Region list. DePaul is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 13 masters’s design degrees to qualified students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Design & Applied Arts at DePaul
University of Wisconsin - Stout landed the #11 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. UW - Stout is located in Menomonie, Wisconsin and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 5 masters’s design degrees to qualified students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at UW - Stout
Ferris State University landed the #12 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Ferris is a fairly large school located in Big Rapids, Michigan that handed out 2 masters’s design degrees in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.6% 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 Ferris State University
University of Cincinnati - Main Campus landed the #13 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Cincinnati, Ohio is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s design degrees to 8 students in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Full University of Cincinnati - Main Campus Design & Applied Arts Report
With a ranking of #14, Ball State University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in Muncie, Indiana, this fairly large public school awarded 5 degrees to qualified masters’s design students in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full Ball State Design & Applied Arts Report
Northwestern University came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. 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 4 students in 2021-2022.
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%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 99%.
Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Northwestern University
Purdue University - Main Campus came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Purdue is a large school located in West Lafayette, Indiana that handed out 65 masters’s design degrees in 2021-2022.
With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. 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%.
Read more about Design & Applied Arts at Purdue University - Main Campus
Miami University - Oxford ranked #17 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Oxford, Ohio is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s design degrees to 3 students in 2021-2022.
With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.8% 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 Miami University - Oxford
With a ranking of #18, Eastern Michigan University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Eastern Michigan is a public institution located in Ypsilanti, Michigan. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 2 masters’s degrees in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.3% 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 full report on Design & Applied Arts at Eastern Michigan University
University of Notre Dame ranked #19 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Great Lakes Region list. This fairly large school is located in Notre Dame, Indiana, and it awarded 1 masters’s design degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 98%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Notre Dame
Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis landed the #20 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Indianapolis, Indiana is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s design degrees to 2 students in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.3% 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 full report on Design & Applied Arts at IUPUI
Columbia College Chicago came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s design degrees to 239 students in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.8% 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 Columbia College Chicago
Ohio State University - Main Campus did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #21. Located in Columbus, Ohio, this large public school awarded 42 degrees to qualified masters’s design students in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.2% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Ohio State University - Main Campus
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor landed the #21 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Design Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is a large school located in Ann Arbor, Michigan that handed out 0 masters’s design degrees in 2021-2022.
With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Design & Applied Arts at U-M
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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
- *Avg Salary and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate 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.
