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College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
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2025 Best Design & Applied Arts Associate Degree Schools in New York

11 Colleges in New York
1,336 Associate Degrees
$22,736 Avg Early-Career Salary
Ranked #19 in popularity, design & applied arts is one of the most sought-after associate degree programs in the nation. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.

College Factual looked at 11 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Design & Applied Arts Associate Degree Schools in New York ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,336 associate degrees in design & applied arts during the 2022-2023 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

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Choosing a Great Design & Applied Arts School for Your Associate Degree

Best Design & Applied Arts Associate Degree Schools in New York The design associate degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality design program can vary widely even among the top schools. 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 account for this we consider a school's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a combination of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Average Earnings

One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of associate graduates during the early years of their career. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their associate degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

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 associate degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Design Rankings Other Ranking Categories

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

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Best Schools for Associate Students to Study Design & Applied Arts in New York

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

10 Top New York Schools for an Associate in Design

1
749 Annual Graduates
$14,361 Median Starting Salary
$25,100 Median Student Debt

Any student who is interested in an associate degree in design & applied arts needs to check out Fashion Institute of Technology. FIT SUNY is a medium-sized public school located in the large city of New York.

Associate graduates who receive their degree from the design program earn about $14,361 in their early career salary.

More information about a associate in design & applied arts from Fashion Institute of Technology

2
New School University crest
The New School
New York, NY

It's hard to beat The New School if you want to pursue an associate degree in design & applied arts. Located in the city of New York, New School University is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.

Associate recipients from the design & applied arts degree program at The New School earn $21,905 more than the standard college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a associate in design & applied arts from The New School

3
30 Annual Graduates
$73,993 Median Student Debt

Every student who is interested in an associate degree in design & applied arts needs to check out Pratt Institute - Main. Pratt Institute is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Brooklyn.More information about a associate in design & applied arts from Pratt Institute - Main

4
12 Annual Graduates

Any student who is interested in an associate degree in design & applied arts needs to look into Rochester Institute of Technology. Located in the large suburb of Rochester, RIT is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.More information about a associate in design & applied arts from Rochester Institute of Technology

5

Located in the large suburb of Rochester, Monroe Community College is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

Those design & applied arts students who get their associate degree from Monroe Community College receive $4,983 more than the typical design grad.

More information about a associate in design & applied arts from Monroe Community College

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Nassau Community College crest
Nassau Community College
Garden City, NY

Nassau Community College is a fairly large public college located in the large suburb of Garden City.

Associate graduates who receive their degree from the design program earn about $18,107 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a associate in design & applied arts from Nassau Community College

7

MVCC is a medium-sized public college located in the small city of Utica.

Students who graduate with their associate from the design program state that they receive average early career earnings of $21,012.

More information about a associate in design & applied arts from Mohawk Valley Community College

8

Suffolk County Community College is a fairly large public college located in the large suburb of Selden.

Those design & applied arts students who get their associate degree from Suffolk County Community College receive $2,172 more than the standard design graduate.

More information about a associate in design & applied arts from Suffolk County Community College

9
LaGuardia crest
LaGuardia Community College
Long Island City, NY

LaGuardia is a fairly large public college located in the large city of Long Island City.

After graduating, design associate recipients typically make about $13,554 in their early careers.

More information about a associate in design & applied arts from LaGuardia Community College

10
21 Annual Graduates

City Tech is a large public college located in the city of Brooklyn.More information about a associate in design & applied arts from New York City College of Technology

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Best Design & Applied Arts Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region

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

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Pennsylvania 179 170
New Jersey 137 174
Maryland 126 178
Delaware 60 31
District of Columbia 36 12
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Design & Applied Arts is one of 10 different types of Visual & Performing Arts programs to choose from.

Design Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Fashion Design 447
Commercial & Advertising Art 278
Interior Design 168
Illustration 149
Graphic Design 140
Commercial Photography 64
Visual Communications 48
Game & Interactive Media Design 35
Industrial Design 7
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Related Major Annual Graduates
Fine & Studio Arts 401
Drama & Theater Arts 335
General Visual & Performing Arts 259
Music 125
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 95
Dance 7
Arts & Media Management 6

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Notes and References

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