2025 Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region

Ranked #27 in popularity, design & applied arts is one of the most sought-after bachelor's degree programs in the nation. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.

For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 26 schools in the Plains States Region to determine which ones were the best for design & applied arts students pursuing a bachelor's degree. Combined, these schools handed out 1,410 bachelor's degrees in design & applied arts to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Bachelor’s Degree Schools List

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

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. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:

Overall Quality Is a Must

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 Early-Career Salaries

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their bachelor's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your bachelor's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.

Other Factors We Consider

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

• Major Focus - How much a school focuses on design & applied arts students vs. other majors.
• Major Demand - The number of design & applied arts students who choose to seek a bachelor's degree at the school.
• Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
• Student Debt - How easy is it for design & applied arts to pay back their student loans after receiving their bachelor's degree.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized design & applied arts related body.

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

More Ways to Rank Design & Applied Arts Schools

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 the Best Design & Applied Arts Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region.

To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

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

Learn about the top ranked colleges and universities for design & applied arts students seeking a a bachelor's degree.

10 Top Plains States Region Schools for a Bachelor's in Design

1

Iowa State University
Ames, IA

216 Annual Graduates

$37,565 Median Starting Salary

$32,090 Median Student Debt

It is hard to beat Iowa State University if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in design & applied arts. Located in the city of Ames, Iowa State is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Design & Applied Arts bachelor's degree recipients from Iowa State University earn a boost of around $2,508 above the typical income of design & applied arts graduates.

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

2

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Minneapolis, MN

108 Annual Graduates

$42,462 Median Starting Salary

$24,350 Median Student Debt

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities is a wonderful choice for individuals pursuing a bachelor's degree in design & applied arts. Located in the large city of Minneapolis, UMN Twin Cities is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Those design & applied arts students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Minnesota - Twin Cities earn $7,405 more than the typical design graduate.

More information about a bachelor’s in design & applied arts from University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

3

Washington University in St Louis
Saint Louis, MO

69 Annual Graduates

$33,615 Median Starting Salary

Any student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in design & applied arts needs to check out Washington University in St Louis. Located in the suburb of Saint Louis, WUSTL is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the design program earn about $33,615 for their early career.

More information about a bachelor’s in design & applied arts from Washington University in St Louis

4

University of Kansas
Lawrence, KS

56 Annual Graduates

$37,508 Median Starting Salary

$26,616 Median Student Debt

It is difficult to beat University of Kansas if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in design & applied arts. KU is a very large public university located in the small city of Lawrence.

Design & Applied Arts bachelor's degree recipients from University of Kansas earn a boost of around $2,451 over the typical earnings of design & applied arts graduates.

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

5

Minneapolis College of Art and Design
Minneapolis, MN

58 Annual Graduates

$23,687 Median Starting Salary

$45,270 Median Student Debt

MCAD is a small private not-for-profit college located in the city of Minneapolis.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the design program report average early career earnings of $23,687.

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

6

University of Northern Iowa
Cedar Falls, IA

46 Annual Graduates

$38,637 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of Cedar Falls, UNI is a public university with a moderately-sized student population.

Design & Applied Arts bachelor's degree recipients from University of Northern Iowa earn a boost of about $3,580 above the typical earnings of design & applied arts majors.

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

7

Luther College
Decorah, IA

15 Annual Graduates

Luther is a small private not-for-profit college located in the town of Decorah.More information about a bachelor’s in design & applied arts from Luther College

8

Kansas City Art Institute
Kansas City, MO

46 Annual Graduates

$29,513 Median Starting Salary

$47,960 Median Student Debt

Located in the large city of Kansas City, Kansas City Art Institute is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.

Soon after graduating, design bachelor's recipients typically earn about $29,513 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in design & applied arts from Kansas City Art Institute

9

Maryville University of Saint Louis
Saint Louis, MO

47 Annual Graduates

$39,623 Median Starting Salary

Located in the suburb of Saint Louis, Maryville U is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population.

Those design & applied arts students who get their bachelor's degree from Maryville University of Saint Louis receive $4,566 more than the standard design graduate.

More information about a bachelor’s in design & applied arts from Maryville University of Saint Louis

10

University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Lincoln, NE

45 Annual Graduates

$38,585 Median Starting Salary

UNL is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Lincoln.

Bachelor's recipients from the design & applied arts major at University of Nebraska - Lincoln get $3,528 more than the standard college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a bachelor’s in design & applied arts from University of Nebraska - Lincoln

Best Design & Applied Arts Colleges by State

Explore the best design & applied arts colleges for a specific state in the Plains States Region .

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Missouri	228	342
Minnesota	215	351
Iowa	197	378
Kansas	184	137
Nebraska	180	119
North Dakota	149	22
South Dakota	148	51

View All Rankings >

Design & Applied Arts Related Rankings by Major

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

Design Concentrations

Major	Annual Graduates
Graphic Design	575
Interior Design	244
Visual Communications	225
Commercial & Advertising Art	125
Industrial Design	94
Illustration	76
Game & Interactive Media Design	47
Fashion Design	24

Majors Similar to Design

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Fine & Studio Arts	1,347
Music	858
Drama & Theater Arts	648
Film, Video & Photographic Arts	452
General Visual & Performing Arts	222
Dance	76
Arts & Media Management	44
Other Visual Art	4

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• 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 the rest 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). More about our data sources and methodologies.