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2025 Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Wisconsin

13 Colleges in Wisconsin
798 Design Degrees Awarded
$32,983 Avg Early-Career Salary
Design & Applied Arts is of the hottest degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #36 most popular major in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.

College Factual looked at 13 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Wisconsin ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 798 degrees in design & applied arts to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Design & Applied Arts School

Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Wisconsin Your choice of design & applied arts school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. We derive our Best Overall Design & Applied Arts School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Design & Applied Arts Rankings by Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Design
Bachelor's Degrees in Design
Master's Degrees in Design

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in Wisconsin ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.

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.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.

Best Schools for Design & Applied Arts in Wisconsin

Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the design degree levels they offer.

10 Top Wisconsin Schools in Design

1
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
76 Design Degrees Awarded
$30,710 Median Starting Salary

Madison Area Technical College is a great decision for students interested in a degree in design & applied arts. Madison College is a fairly large public college located in the large city of Madison. A Best Colleges rank of #223 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Madison College is a great college overall.

There were approximately 76 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at Madison College in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the design program state that they receive average early career wages of $30,710.

More information about a degree in design & applied arts from Madison Area Technical College

2
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
124 Design Degrees Awarded
14.5% Growth in Graduates

Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in design & applied arts. MIAD is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Milwaukee.

There were roughly 124 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at MIAD in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the design program earn around $28,801 in their early career salary.

More information about a degree in design & applied arts from Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design

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Bachelors Degree Type
BA in Graphic Design & Media Arts Program Name

Translate your creative ideas through concept, design and digital media with a bachelor's in graphic design online from Southern New Hampshire University.

More information about a degree in BA in Graphic Design & Media Arts from Southern New Hampshire University

Related Programs

3
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
92 Design Degrees Awarded
26.1% Growth in Graduates

Every student pursuing a degree in design & applied arts has to take a look at University of Wisconsin - Madison. UW - Madison is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Madison. A Best Colleges rank of #40 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UW - Madison is a great university overall.

There were approximately 92 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at UW - Madison in the most recent year we have data available. Those design & applied arts students who get their degree from University of Wisconsin - Madison earn $16,797 more than the average design student.

More information about a degree in design & applied arts from University of Wisconsin - Madison

4
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
149 Design Degrees Awarded
9.4% Growth in Graduates

Any student pursuing a degree in design & applied arts needs to look into University of Wisconsin - Stout. Located in the town of Menomonie, UW - Stout is a public university with a medium-sized student population. This university ranks 29th out of 46 schools for overall quality in the state of Wisconsin.

There were roughly 149 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at UW - Stout in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the design & applied arts program at University of Wisconsin - Stout make $7,632 more than the typical graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in design & applied arts from University of Wisconsin - Stout

5
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
$29,734 Median Starting Salary

Gateway Technical College is a large public college located in the small city of Kenosha. A Best Colleges rank of #160 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Gateway Technical College is a great college overall.

There were approximately 30 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at Gateway Technical College in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the design program state that they receive average early career wages of $29,734.

More information about a degree in design & applied arts from Gateway Technical College

6
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
$23,032 Median Starting Salary

Western Technical College is a small public college located in the small city of La Crosse. A Best Colleges rank of #292 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Western Technical College is a great college overall.

There were approximately 28 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at Western Technical College in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, design degree recipients typically earn an average of $23,032 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a degree in design & applied arts from Western Technical College

7
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
31 Design Degrees Awarded
6.5% Growth in Graduates

Located in the large city of Milwaukee, MATC is a public college with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #465 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means MATC is a great college overall.

There were about 31 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at MATC in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduating, design degree recipients generally earn around $27,795 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a degree in design & applied arts from Milwaukee Area Technical College

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Associates Degree Type
AA in Digital Photography Program Name

Take the first step toward a career of visual expression and doing what you love with this online associate degree from Southern New Hampshire University.

More information about a degree in AA in Digital Photography from Southern New Hampshire University

Related Programs

8
Carthage crest
Carthage College
Kenosha, WI

Carthage is a small private not-for-profit college located in the city of Kenosha. This college ranks 37th out of 46 schools for overall quality in the state of Wisconsin.

There were roughly 15 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at Carthage in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the design & applied arts program at Carthage College get $2,528 more than the typical college grad in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in design & applied arts from Carthage College

9
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
49 Design Degrees Awarded
24.5% Growth in Graduates

Located in the suburb of Pewaukee, WCTC is a public college with a medium-sized student population. This college ranks 27th out of 46 colleges for overall quality in the state of Wisconsin.

There were roughly 49 design & applied arts students who graduated with this degree at WCTC in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the design & applied arts degree program at Waukesha County Technical College get $6,112 more than the standard college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in design & applied arts from Waukesha County Technical College

10
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type

UWM is a very large public university located in the city of Milwaukee. This university ranks 23rd out of 46 colleges for overall quality in the state of Wisconsin.More information about a degree in design & applied arts from University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee

Best Design & Applied Arts Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Design & Applied Arts Schools in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Michigan 322 997
Ohio 314 1,443
Illinois 304 978
Indiana 294 417

View All Rankings >

One of 10 majors within the Visual & Performing Arts area of study, Design & Applied Arts has other similar majors worth exploring.

Design Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Graphic Design 332
Interior Design 161
Game & Interactive Media Design 81
Illustration 78
Visual Communications 53
Industrial Design 51
Commercial Photography 25
Other Design & Applied Arts 9
Fashion Design 8

View All Design Concentrations >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Fine & Studio Arts 660
Music 394
Drama & Theater Arts 228
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 225
General Visual & Performing Arts 112
Dance 52
Arts & Media Management 30
Other Visual Art 10

View All Design Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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