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2025 Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region

10 Colleges in the Rocky Mountains Region
674 Bachelor's Degrees
$32,764 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you pursue a bachelor's degree in design & applied arts, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #27 most popular program in the country. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.

College Factual looked at 10 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 674 bachelor's degrees in design & applied arts during the 2022-2023 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Design & Applied Arts School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region The design bachelor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Average Earnings

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their bachelor's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their bachelor's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for design & applied arts students working on their bachelor's degree.

More Ways to Rank Design & Applied Arts Schools

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Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

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. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Design & Applied Arts in the Rocky Mountains Region

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in design & applied arts.

10 Top Rocky Mountains Region Schools for a Bachelor's in Design

1
U of U crest
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, UT
52 Annual Graduates

Any student pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in design & applied arts needs to look into University of Utah. U of U is a very large public university located in the medium-sized city of Salt Lake City.More information about a bachelor’s in design & applied arts from University of Utah

2

It is difficult to beat University of Denver if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in design & applied arts. Located in the city of Denver, DU is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the design program state that they receive average early career wages of $31,104.

More information about a bachelor’s in design & applied arts from University of Denver

3

Brigham Young University - Provo is a great option for students interested in a bachelor's degree in design & applied arts. BYU is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Provo.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the design program earn an average of $33,915 for their early career.

More information about a bachelor’s in design & applied arts from Brigham Young University - Provo

4
176 Annual Graduates
$29,829 Median Starting Salary
$38,361 Median Student Debt

Every student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in design & applied arts has to check out Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design. Located in the large suburb of Lakewood, RMCAD is a private for-profit college with a small student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the design program state that they receive average early career wages of $29,829.

More information about a bachelor’s in design & applied arts from Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design

5

Located in the small city of Orem, UVU is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the design program report average early career wages of $31,888.

More information about a bachelor’s in design & applied arts from Utah Valley University

6

Located in the midsize city of Boise, Boise State is a public university with a fairly large student population.

After graduating, design bachelor's recipients generally earn about $31,083 in their early careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in design & applied arts from Boise State University

7

WSU is a very large public university located in the small city of Ogden.

Bachelor's recipients from the design & applied arts program at Weber State University earn $7,743 above the average graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a bachelor’s in design & applied arts from Weber State University

8

MSU Denver is a fairly large public university located in the city of Denver.

Design & Applied Arts bachelor's degree recipients from Metropolitan State University of Denver earn a boost of about $6,686 above the average earnings of design & applied arts graduates.

More information about a bachelor’s in design & applied arts from Metropolitan State University of Denver

9
18 Annual Graduates

Southern Utah University is a fairly large public university located in the remote town of Cedar City.More information about a bachelor’s in design & applied arts from Southern Utah University

10
Colorado Mesa crest
Colorado Mesa University
Grand Junction, CO
17 Annual Graduates

Located in the small city of Grand Junction, Colorado Mesa is a public university with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a bachelor’s in design & applied arts from Colorado Mesa University

Best Design & Applied Arts Colleges by State

Explore the best design & applied arts schools for a specific state in the Rocky Mountains Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Utah 204 307
Colorado 190 208
Idaho 171 108
Montana 134 1

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Design & Applied Arts is one of 10 different types of Visual & Performing Arts programs to choose from.

Design Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Visual Communications 213
Illustration 95
Graphic Design 93
Game & Interactive Media Design 93
Interior Design 76
Industrial Design 65
Commercial & Advertising Art 26
Fashion Design 13

Related Major Annual Graduates
Fine & Studio Arts 998
Music 693
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 532
Drama & Theater Arts 438
Dance 156
General Visual & Performing Arts 74
Other Visual Art 10
Arts & Media Management 4

Notes and References

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