by our College Data Analytics Team
When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual has developed its “Most Well Attended Design Major in the Great Lakes Region” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
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 Great Lakes region, there were 5,375 design and applied arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $32,734 and $25,957 respectively.
For this year’s “Most Well Attended Design Major in the Great Lakes Region” ranking, we looked at 198 colleges that offer a degree in design and applied arts. This ranking identifies schools that graduate the most students in design and applied arts.
Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
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 “Most Well Attended Design Major in the Great Lakes Region”.
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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
The colleges and universities below are the best for great lakes region design students.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Columbia College Chicago. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Design Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school awarded 271 degrees to qualified ’s design students in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Columbia College Chicago
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Cincinnati - Main Campus. The school came in at #2 for the Most Well Attended Design Major in the Great Lakes Region. This large school is located in Cincinnati, Ohio, and it awarded 253 ’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Design & Applied Arts at University of Cincinnati - Main Campus
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Kent State University at Kent. The school came in at #3 for the Most Well Attended Design Major in the Great Lakes Region. Kent State University at Kent is a large school located in Kent, Ohio that handed out 238 ’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend College for Creative Studies. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Design Major in the Great Lakes Region list. CCS is a private not-for-profit institution located in Detroit, Michigan. The school has a small population, and it awarded 165 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
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.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Wisconsin - Stout. The school came in at #5 for the Most Well Attended Design Major in the Great Lakes Region. Menomonie, Wisconsin is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s design degrees to 135 students in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Columbus College of Art and Design landed the #6 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Design Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. CCAD is a small school located in Columbus, Ohio that handed out 119 ’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
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.
Ferris State University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Design Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Ferris is a public institution located in Big Rapids, Michigan. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 112 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Design Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #8. MIAD is a private not-for-profit institution located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The school has a small population, and it awarded 106 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #9 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Design Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. UIUC is a large public school situated in Champaign, Illinois. It awarded 105 ’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. 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%.
Full University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Design & Applied Arts Report
Madison Area Technical College came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Design Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This fairly large school is located in Madison, Wisconsin, and it awarded 94 ’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
DePaul University landed the #11 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Design Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this large private not-for-profit school awarded 89 diplomas to qualified ’s design students in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.7% 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%.
Michigan State University landed the #12 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Design Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Michigan State University is a public institution located in East Lansing, Michigan. The school has a large population, and it awarded 97 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
University of Illinois at Chicago ranked #12 on this year’s Most Well Attended Design Major in the Great Lakes Region list. UIC is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 83 ’s design degrees to qualified students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.5% 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 University of Illinois at Chicago Design & Applied Arts Report
Ivy Tech Community College landed the #14 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Design Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Ivy Tech Community College is a large public school situated in Indianapolis, Indiana. It awarded 190 ’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
Full Ivy Tech Community College Design & Applied Arts Report
Miami University - Oxford landed the #15 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Design Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This fairly large school is located in Oxford, Ohio, and it awarded 76 ’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Miami University - Oxford
Bowling Green State University - Main Campus did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Design Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #16. BGSU is a fairly large public school situated in Bowling Green, Ohio. It awarded 88 ’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
Macomb Community College landed the #17 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Design Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This fairly large school is located in Warren, Michigan, and it awarded 73 ’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Macomb Community College
With a ranking of #18, The Modern College of Design did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Design Major in the Great Lakes Region list. The Modern College of Design is located in Kettering, Ohio and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 70 ’s design degrees to qualified students.
With a freshman retention rate of 92%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Design & Applied Arts at The Modern College of Design
Central Michigan University landed the #19 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Design Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Central Michigan University is located in Mount Pleasant, Michigan and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 69 ’s design degrees to qualified students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Design & Applied Arts at Central Michigan University
With a ranking of #20, Cleveland Institute of Art did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Design Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Cleveland Institute of Art is a small school located in Cleveland, Ohio that handed out 66 ’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.9% 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%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Full Cleveland Institute of Art Design & Applied Arts Report
With a ranking of #21, Purdue University - Main Campus did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Design Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in West Lafayette, Indiana, this large public school awarded 63 diplomas to qualified ’s design students in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. 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 ranking of #22, Western Michigan University did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Design Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in Kalamazoo, Michigan, this fairly large public school awarded 59 degrees to qualified ’s design students in 2020-2021.
Full Western Michigan University Design & Applied Arts Report
Oakland University ranked #23 on this year’s Most Well Attended Design Major in the Great Lakes Region list. This fairly large school is located in Rochester Hills, Michigan, and it awarded 58 ’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.6% 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%.
Eastern Michigan University ranked #24 on this year’s Most Well Attended Design Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in Ypsilanti, Michigan, this fairly large public school handed out 55 degrees to qualified ’s design students in 2020-2021.
Gateway Technical College came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Design Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This medium-sized school is located in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and it awarded 54 ’s design degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Not only did these schools make the top 30 list, but they also landed in the top 15% of this year’s ranking:
Read more about our data sources and methodologies