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University Park, PA · Art & design

Art & design at Penn State

Penn State graduates about 79 art & design majors a year. That puts it 90th of 828 schools we score for art & design, a standout program at 82 out of 100. Graduates in the major earn a median $47,000 four years out, about the national figure for the same major. Research spending in the field runs about $1 million a year, a rough guide to how many labs and projects undergraduates can join.

82/100Standout#90 of 828 for art & design →
Graduates a year79under 1% of the class
Median pay 4 years out$47,0001.04× the same major nationally
Research in the field$1Ma year, NSF
Admit rate61%whole school
SAT middle 50%1280–1410whole school

Around Penn State

An artificial waterfall in front of the Osmond Laboratory on the campus of Penns
2025-08-30 10 54 20 An artificial waterfall in front of the Osmond Laboratory onPhoto: Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
University Park, PA, USA
University Park, PA, USA - panoramio (8)Photo: thomasrive · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
The Thomas Building at Penn State University Park. It contains classrooms, the s
Thomas Building Penn State University ParkPhoto: JohnDziak · CC0 · source
Hetzel Union Building-Robeson Center at Penn State University
HUB Robeson Center, west side entrancePhoto: JohnDziak · CC0 · source

Where art & design happens

Buildings on campus that fit the field: Engineering Design and Innovation Building, Turfgrass Museum, Palmer Museum at the Arboretum, Susan Welch Liberal Arts Building, Visual Arts Ceramics Studio, Arts Cottage, Visual Arts Building.

Named buildings on the campus map: Academic 279 · Dorm 62 · Student housing 45 · Athletics 13 · Arts 13 · Dining 8.

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Nearby in the art & design ranking

  1. University of California San Diego 82
  2. University of Miami 82
  3. Duke University 82
  4. Skidmore College 82
  5. Michigan State University 82
  6. University of Pennsylvania 82
  7. CUNY New York City College of Technology 81
  8. Trinity College 81

Other strong majors at Penn State

How the score works

The score is out of 100 and compares Penn State with every school we score in art & design. It weighs what graduates earn four years out against the same major nationally (25%), research spending in the field (20%, NSF), how many undergraduate courses the department lists (20%), the student body's test scores (20%) and the size of the program (15%, capped so size alone can't win). 80+ is a standout program, 65+ strong, 45+ solid. Sources: US Department of Education (College Scorecard, IPEDS), NSF HERD, each school's current course catalog, OpenStreetMap and Wikimedia Commons.

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