Applied Design
What you'll do in college
Less time interpreting feelings, more time interpreting client briefs. You'll obsess over kerning, bleed margins, grid systems, and ergonomic radii to the millimeter.
CAD software will crash the night before a crit, prototypes will warp in the 3D printer, and you'll learn that "good design" means solving someone else's problem, not just making something pretty. The critiques are blunt, the deadlines are real, and the iteration count is brutal.
What you'll do after college
Good news: you are highly employable. Grads land at design agencies, tech giants, consumer product companies, automotive studios, and in-house creative teams. You might design the next viral sneaker, a sleek medical device, packaging for something on every Target shelf, or the UI for an app everyone uses.
The pay ceiling here is substantially higher than fine art, especially if you pivot toward UX/UI or product design at a tech company. Industrial designers at Apple, Google, and Tesla make doctor money.
Famous graduates
- Tinker Hatfield — Legendary Nike shoe designer (Air Jordans III–XV); B.Arch. from University of Oregon
- Shepard Fairey — Street artist and graphic designer (OBEY, 'Hope' poster); B.F.A. in Illustration from RISD
- Paula Scher — Pentagram partner, designed the Citibank logo and Public Theater identity; degree from Tyler School of Art
Selectivity vs. earnings
By acceptance rate
By SAT median
Earnings vs. selectivity rank
Majors in this category
| Major | Colleges | Degrees ▼ | Male/Female | Intl | Earnings | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Applied Design | 449 | 9,690 | 32% / 68% | 7% | $53,615 | 94% |
| Graphic Design | 323 | 4,704 | 28% / 72% | 5% | $49,172 | 95% |
| Design and Visual Communications | 54 | 1,286 | 27% / 73% | 3% | $53,569 | 93% |
| Industrial Design | 49 | 1,153 | 48% / 52% | 12% | $59,024 | 93% |
| Design | 14 | 581 | 26% / 74% | 7% | $66,832 | 93% |
| Design and Applied Arts | 22 | 537 | 37% / 63% | 4% | $54,950 | 92% |
| Design and Technology | 1 | 196 | 19% / 81% | 50% | $68,669 | 100% |
| Advertising Design | 10 | 147 | 37% / 63% | 2% | $46,900 | 95% |
| Printmaking | 29 | 133 | 23% / 77% | 5% | $36,334 | 91% |
| Graphic Communications | 12 | 110 | 38% / 62% | 0% | $50,404 | 98% |
| Transportation Design | 2 | 102 | 84% / 16% | 49% | $68,780 | 92% |
| Product Design | 2 | 81 | 60% / 40% | 48% | $104,695 | 100% |
| Graphic Communication | 1 | 81 | 14% / 86% | 0% | $78,643 | 94% |
| Printing Management | 3 | 56 | 32% / 68% | 2% | $53,690 | 98% |
| Design and Production | 1 | 55 | 29% / 71% | 0% | $32,005 | 100% |
| Applied Design | 5 | 41 | 20% / 80% | 2% | $47,405 | 98% |
| Industrial and Product Design | 6 | 37 | 49% / 51% | 3% | $60,748 | 97% |
| Medical Illustration | 5 | 35 | 14% / 86% | 3% | $53,780 | 91% |
| Speculative Design | 1 | 34 | 41% / 59% | 12% | $67,813 | |
| Design for Human Health | 1 | 31 | 6% / 94% | 6% | $62,133 | |
| Communications Design | 1 | 29 | 14% / 86% | 7% | $63,639 | 94% |
| Design and Construction Integration | 1 | 28 | 18% / 82% | 4% | $55,504 | 100% |
| Graphic Design and Digital Media | 1 | 28 | 32% / 68% | 0% | $42,420 | 100% |
| Collaborative Design | 1 | 27 | 48% / 52% | 0% | $50,555 | 96% |
| Commercial Art | 6 | 24 | 58% / 42% | 8% | $46,239 | 97% |
| Furniture Design | 1 | 22 | 45% / 55% | 27% | $45,246 | 85% |
| Industrial and Interaction Design | 1 | 20 | 60% / 40% | 10% | $63,639 | 94% |
| Graphic and Experience Design | 1 | 18 | 6% / 94% | 0% | $69,057 | 100% |
| Communications Technology/Technician | 4 | 17 | 71% / 29% | 0% | $53,978 | 100% |
| Technology and Applied Design | 1 | 16 | 50% / 50% | 6% | $57,478 | 94% |
| Commercial Art and Design | 2 | 15 | 33% / 67% | 7% | $46,602 | |
| Applied Arts | 3 | 13 | 38% / 62% | 0% | $45,252 | |
| Medical Illustration/Medical Illustrator | 2 | 10 | 0% / 100% | 0% | $54,727 | |
| Printing Technology | 1 | 7 | 43% / 57% | 0% | $28,526 | 89% |
| Communications Technologies/Technicians and Support Services | 1 | 6 | 50% / 50% | 0% | $55,490 | |
| Graphic Technology | 1 | 5 | 80% / 20% | 0% | $53,495 | 85% |
| Furniture Design and Manufacturing | 1 | 3 | 33% / 67% | 0% | $43,316 | |
| Furniture | 1 | 2 | 100% / 0% | 0% | $47,088 |