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Best Schools for Design and Applied Arts in 2026

92 schools ranked by TSW Score · Updated 2026

These are the top schools offering Design and Applied Arts, ranked by TradeSchoolOutlook Score. The score combines graduate earnings, AI automation resilience, job market demand, and return on tuition investment. The average Design and Applied Arts graduate earns $28,654/yr across 92 schools.

Programs Ranked

Avg Earnings

$28,654/yr

Avg TSW Score

46/100

AI-Proof Rating

Moderate

42% task exposure

All Design and Applied Arts Programs Ranked

Click any row for full AI scenario analysis, earnings projections, and career path breakdown.

#	School	TSW Score	Earnings	ROI
1	Miami Ad School-Atlanta Atlanta, GA · Design and Applied Arts	60 56–62	$56,833/yr	36.5x
2	Century College White Bear Lake, MN · Design and Applied Arts	64 61–66	$43,778/yr	69.8x
3	Miami Ad School Miami, FL · Design and Applied Arts	60 56–62	$56,833/yr	36.5x
4	Gnomon Hollywood, CA · Design and Applied Arts	60 56–62	$80,221/yr	26.5x
5	Austin Community College District Austin, TX · Design and Applied Arts	64 61–67	$40,289/yr	85.2x
6	Scottsdale Community College Scottsdale, AZ · Design and Applied Arts	64 60–65	$38,676/yr	77.4x
7	Oakland Community College Auburn Hills, MI · Design and Applied Arts	61 58–63	$38,657/yr	63.0x
8	Palm Beach State College Lake Worth, FL · Design and Applied Arts	59 56–61	$36,768/yr	59.3x
9	Gwinnett Technical College Lawrenceville, GA · Design and Applied Arts	56 51–58	$32,851/yr	57.5x
10	Waukesha County Technical College Pewaukee, WI · Design and Applied Arts	56 53–57	$39,095/yr	35.8x
11	Collin County Community College District McKinney, TX · Design and Applied Arts	61 58–63	$33,456/yr	88.7x
12	Arapahoe Community College Littleton, CO · Design and Applied Arts	54 48–56	$32,100/yr	51.1x
13	College of DuPage Glen Ellyn, IL · Design and Applied Arts	58 55–60	$32,133/yr	73.4x
14	Johnson County Community College Overland Park, KS · Design and Applied Arts	59 55–61	$32,030/yr	80.9x
15	Century College White Bear Lake, MN · Design and Applied Arts	53 51–55	$39,850/yr	31.8x
16	Central Piedmont Community College Charlotte, NC · Design and Applied Arts	54 51–56	$30,979/yr	57.2x
17	Wake Technical Community College Raleigh, NC · Design and Applied Arts	65 60–67	$32,153/yr	187.0x
18	Dallas College Dallas, TX · Design and Applied Arts	57 54–59	$31,478/yr	65.4x
19	Miami Dade College Miami, FL · Design and Applied Arts	53 51–55	$30,466/yr	52.7x
20	Seminole State College of Florida Sanford, FL · Design and Applied Arts	53 50–55	$31,347/yr	47.6x
21	Minneapolis Community and Technical College Minneapolis, MN · Design and Applied Arts	54 51–56	$40,230/yr	25.9x
22	Metropolitan Community College Area Omaha, NE · Design and Applied Arts	53 48–55	$29,902/yr	54.8x
23	Forsyth Technical Community College Winston-Salem, NC · Design and Applied Arts	55 52–57	$29,715/yr	64.9x
24	Salt Lake Community College Salt Lake City, UT · Design and Applied Arts	52 50–54	$34,227/yr	37.9x
25	Interior Designers Institute Newport Beach, CA · Design and Applied Arts	52 49–54	$52,768/yr	7.2x
26	Fox Valley Technical College Appleton, WI · Design and Applied Arts	50 47–52	$32,673/yr	35.9x
27	College of DuPage Glen Ellyn, IL · Design and Applied Arts	49 47–51	$31,463/yr	35.4x
28	Montana State University Bozeman, MT · Design and Applied Arts	49 46–51	$36,931/yr	21.8x
29	Alexandria Technical & Community College Alexandria, MN · Design and Applied Arts	48 44–51	$31,830/yr	32.1x
30	Guilford Technical Community College Jamestown, NC · Design and Applied Arts	53 46–55	$24,827/yr	75.2x
31	Oklahoma City Community College Oklahoma City, OK · Design and Applied Arts	48 46–50	$30,101/yr	36.1x
32	Northern Virginia Community College Annandale, VA · Design and Applied Arts	48 46–50	$33,232/yr	28.1x
33	Milwaukee Area Technical College Milwaukee, WI · Design and Applied Arts	49 41–51	$27,795/yr	42.5x
34	Kirkwood Community College Cedar Rapids, IA · Design and Applied Arts	47 45–49	$32,116/yr	25.9x
35	Delgado Community College New Orleans, LA · Design and Applied Arts	47 45–49	$30,248/yr	31.9x
36	Saint Louis Community College Bridgeton, MO · Design and Applied Arts	47 43–49	$25,929/yr	43.2x
37	The New School New York, NY · Design and Applied Arts	48 43–50	$44,640/yr	4.0x
38	Sinclair Community College Dayton, OH · Design and Applied Arts	48 42–51	$24,490/yr	52.2x
39	Portland Community College Portland, OR · Design and Applied Arts	47 40–49	$26,285/yr	44.3x
40	Virginia Western Community College Roanoke, VA · Design and Applied Arts	47 45–49	$31,440/yr	29.5x
41	Madison Area Technical College Madison, WI · Design and Applied Arts	48 45–50	$30,710/yr	31.1x
42	Gateway Technical College Kenosha, WI · Design and Applied Arts	47 44–49	$29,734/yr	34.2x
43	Cuyahoga Community College District Cleveland, OH · Design and Applied Arts	46 39–48	$22,517/yr	48.0x
44	Seattle Central College Seattle, WA · Design and Applied Arts	46 44–48	$29,775/yr	29.6x
45	Des Moines Area Community College Ankeny, IA · Design and Applied Arts	44 38–47	$25,265/yr	39.3x
46	Monroe Community College Rochester, NY · Design and Applied Arts	45 40–48	$27,718/yr	31.9x
47	Front Range Community College Westminster, CO · Design and Applied Arts	44 42–46	$21,397/yr	44.1x
48	Macomb Community College Warren, MI · Design and Applied Arts	40 34–43	$17,057/yr	61.9x
49	Nashville State Community College Nashville, TN · Design and Applied Arts	44 42–46	$27,412/yr	29.5x
50	Ivy Tech Community College Indianapolis, IN · Design and Applied Arts	44 40–46	$26,602/yr	30.1x
51	Rasmussen University-Minnesota St. Cloud, MN · Design and Applied Arts	44 40–46	$32,246/yr	13.8x
52	Rasmussen University-North Dakota Fargo, ND · Design and Applied Arts	43 39–45	$32,246/yr	11.7x
53	Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology Okmulgee, OK · Design and Applied Arts	44 41–46	$28,438/yr	23.6x
54	Lehigh Carbon Community College Schnecksville, PA · Design and Applied Arts	44 41–46	$27,896/yr	25.7x
55	Western Technical College La Crosse, WI · Design and Applied Arts	43 37–46	$23,032/yr	35.9x
56	Rasmussen University-Wisconsin Green Bay, WI · Design and Applied Arts	43 40–45	$32,246/yr	12.5x
57	Rasmussen University-Florida Ocala, FL · Design and Applied Arts	42 39–44	$32,246/yr	9.7x
58	Suffolk County Community College Selden, NY · Design and Applied Arts	42 36–45	$24,907/yr	29.2x
59	Rasmussen University-Illinois Rockford, IL · Design and Applied Arts	43 39–45	$32,246/yr	10.9x
60	Rasmussen University-Kansas Topeka, KS · Design and Applied Arts	42 38–44	$32,246/yr	9.5x
61	Henry Ford College Dearborn, MI · Design and Applied Arts	41 37–43	$19,911/yr	36.0x
62	International Business College-Indianapolis Indianapolis, IN · Design and Applied Arts	40 37–42	$30,284/yr	8.1x
63	Horry-Georgetown Technical College Conway, SC · Design and Applied Arts	41 36–43	$22,024/yr	30.5x
64	Chattanooga State Community College Chattanooga, TN · Design and Applied Arts	41 34–43	$20,165/yr	33.2x
65	CUNY Kingsborough Community College Brooklyn, NY · Design and Applied Arts	39 32–41	$19,146/yr	31.1x
66	Fashion Institute of Technology New York, NY · Design and Applied Arts	34 28–37	$14,361/yr	35.1x
67	Tidewater Community College Norfolk, VA · Design and Applied Arts	40 35–42	$22,935/yr	25.2x
68	Spokane Falls Community College Spokane, WA · Design and Applied Arts	39 36–41	$21,508/yr	25.5x
69	Texas State Technical College Waco, TX · Design and Applied Arts	39 34–41	$23,345/yr	21.5x
70	Northampton County Area Community College Bethlehem, PA · Design and Applied Arts	39 32–41	$19,022/yr	27.8x
71	Moraine Park Technical College Fond du Lac, WI · Design and Applied Arts	38 35–40	$21,388/yr	21.7x
72	Community Care College Tulsa, OK · Design and Applied Arts	39 35–41	$17,889/yr	—
73	Clary Sage College Tulsa, OK · Design and Applied Arts	39 35–41	$17,889/yr	—
74	Bryant & Stratton College-Buffalo Buffalo, NY · Design and Applied Arts	37 32–39	$25,506/yr	9.4x
75	CUNY Hostos Community College Bronx, NY · Design and Applied Arts	34 28–37	$12,863/yr	30.8x
76	Nassau Community College Garden City, NY · Design and Applied Arts	37 30–39	$18,107/yr	26.3x
77	Academy of Art University San Francisco, CA · Design and Applied Arts	37 32–39	$26,478/yr	6.8x
78	Bryant & Stratton College-Syracuse North Liverpool, NY · Design and Applied Arts	37 32–39	$25,506/yr	9.3x
79	Bryant & Stratton College-Greece Rochester, NY · Design and Applied Arts	37 32–39	$25,506/yr	9.1x
80	Mohawk Valley Community College Utica, NY · Design and Applied Arts	36 33–38	$21,012/yr	16.2x
81	New England Institute of Technology East Greenwich, RI · Design and Applied Arts	36 32–39	$26,282/yr	5.6x
82	Bryant & Stratton College-Wauwatosa Wauwatosa, WI · Design and Applied Arts	37 32–39	$25,506/yr	8.9x
83	FIDM-Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising Los Angeles, CA · Design and Applied Arts	35 31–37	$24,393/yr	5.2x
84	Sessions College for Professional Design Tempe, AZ · Design and Applied Arts	34 29–36	$19,275/yr	16.0x
85	Full Sail University Winter Park, FL · Design and Applied Arts	34 30–36	$23,719/yr	3.5x
86	CUNY LaGuardia Community College Long Island City, NY · Design and Applied Arts	35 29–37	$13,554/yr	19.7x
87	Keiser University-Ft Lauderdale Fort Lauderdale, FL · Design and Applied Arts	33 28–35	$20,360/yr	4.3x
88	NUC University Bayamon, PR · Design and Applied Arts	31 28–33	$9,509/yr	10.8x
89	EDP University of Puerto Rico Inc-San Sebastian San Sebastian, PR · Design and Applied Arts	31 27–33	$12,994/yr	8.2x
90	EDP University of Puerto Rico Inc-San Juan San Juan, PR · Design and Applied Arts	31 27–33	$12,994/yr	8.2x
91	EDP University of Puerto Rico-Humacao Humacao, PR · Design and Applied Arts	31 27–33	$12,994/yr	8.2x
92	EDP University of Puerto Rico-Manati Manati, PR · Design and Applied Arts	31 27–33	$12,994/yr	8.2x

Methodology

Programs are ranked by TradeSchoolOutlook Score, which combines four equally weighted factors: graduate earnings (Year 1 after graduation), AI automation resilience (based on OpenAI and academic research), job market size (BLS annual openings), and earnings-to-tuition multiple (projected earnings vs. program tuition).

Earnings data comes from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, which reports actual median earnings of graduates — not self-reported surveys.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best school for Design and Applied Arts?

Based on our TradeSchoolOutlook Score, Miami Ad School-Atlanta ranks #1 for Design and Applied Arts with a score of 60/100 and graduate earnings of $56,833/yr.

How much do Design and Applied Arts graduates earn?

Across 92 schools, Design and Applied Arts graduates earn an average of $28,654/yr in their first year. The highest-earning program reports $80,221/yr.

Is Design and Applied Arts an AI-proof career?

Design and Applied Arts has an average AI task exposure of 42%, rated "Moderate". This trade has moderate AI exposure — some career paths are more resilient than others.

Data: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (earnings, debt), Bureau of Labor Statistics 2024–2034 (employment projections), OpenAI GPTs-are-GPTs research (AI task exposure), Felten et al. AIOE. Last updated 2025.