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Best Industrial Design Schools Near Indianapolis, IN (2026)
Updated September 5, 2026BLS dataCollege ScorecardOn this page
Indianapolis, Indiana has 1 accredited school offering industrial design programs. Indianapolis has a population of about 1,550,488. In the Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN metro area, the top-earning industrial design-related role is Architectural and Engineering Managers at a median $159,640 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Closest Industrial Design Schools to Indianapolis
The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer industrial design programs near Indianapolis, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Indianapolis city center. The list is rebuilt from federal IPEDS data on every site update.
How We Rank Schools
Every school list on this site is ordered by the BOC Score, computed from the most
recent school-level data published by the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and IPEDS).
To qualify, a school must be currently operating and accredited by an agency recognized by the
U.S. Department of Education. Each eligible school is then scored on five measures, percentile-ranked
against schools at the same credential level:
BOCSCORE
Graduation rate 30%
Median earnings, 10 years after entry 25%
Average net price (lower is better) 20%
Retention rate 15%
Fully online availability 10%
Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score.
On this page, schools are ordered by distance from Indianapolis.
Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
BOC
Ranked by BOC Score — U.S. Dept. of Education outcome data. Advertising never affects rankings.
Sort:
#1
Purdue University-Main Campus
📍
West Lafayette, IN
•
60.6 miles from Indianapolis
Indianapolis is part of the Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN metro area (BLS area code 26900). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to Indiana statewide.
Occupation
Median Wage
Source
COL-Adjusted (US=100)
Commercial and Industrial Designers
$88,040
Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN
$91,996
Industrial Engineers
$100,730
Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN
$105,256
Graphic Designers
$60,520
Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN
$63,239
Mechanical Drafters
$69,240
Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN
$72,351
Interior Designers
$66,150
Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN
$69,122
Architectural and Engineering Managers
$159,640
Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN
$166,813
Set and Exhibit Designers
$72,960
Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN
$76,238
Mechanical Engineers
$98,680
Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN
$103,114
Source: BLS, May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes wage data at the metro (MSA) and state level – not by individual city.
Indianapolis at a Glance
Metric
Value
Source
Regional Price Parity (US=100)
95.7 (below U.S. average)
BEA RPP 2024
Other Indianapolis-Area Cities With Industrial Design Programs
How many accredited industrial design schools are near Indianapolis, IN?
Our directory has 1 accredited schools offering industrial design programs near Indianapolis. The closest is Purdue University-Main Campus in West Lafayette, IN (60.6 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is Purdue University-Main Campus (60.6 miles). 1 of the highlighted schools is flagged as offering distance education.
What are the highest-paying industrial design roles near Indianapolis?
Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying industrial design-related roles near Indianapolis are: Architectural and Engineering Managers ($159,640), Industrial Engineers ($100,730), Mechanical Engineers ($98,680). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with Indiana statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.
Should I look at programs in Lawrence instead of Indianapolis?
Lawrence, IN is 10.3 miles from Indianapolis and has its own set of local industrial design programs – see the city’s page. For online programs, distance matters less; for hybrid or in-person formats, comparing both can help.
How do I verify a program is accredited?
Confirm institutional accreditation via the U.S. Department of Education database (U.S. Dept. of Education database), and check for any program-specific accreditation listed by the school.
Data verified: September 5, 2026.
Salary, employment, and tuition figures on this page are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2024–2034) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2023 cohort). The source agency and data year are cited inline with every statistic.
