Best Commercial programs in Indiana, ranked by enrollment
Design and develop manufactured products, such as cars, home appliances, and children's toys.
17 schools in Indiana run programs that feed this job, graduating 444 people a year. The job pays a median of $88,040 in Indiana across about 1,110 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Indiana that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
5 programs in Indiana that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Indiana (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Indiana page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 50.0401In Indiana → | 366 | 82.4% | 12 | $31,611 | $26,000 |
| 2 | CIP 15.1701In Indiana → | 28 | 6.3% | 1 | $63,554 | $17,750 |
| 3 | CIP 50.0404In Indiana → | 26 | 5.9% | 1 | $31,611 | $26,000 |
| 4 | CIP 50.0402In Indiana → | 20 | 4.5% | 5 | $31,611 | $26,000 |
| 5 | CIP 15.1503In Indiana → | 4 | 0.9% | 1 | $68,912 | $25,236 |
Top 17 schools in Indiana
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 6 of the 17 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ivy Tech Community College Indianapolis, IN Public · 2 feeder programs | 267 | Design and Visual Communications, General | $26,602 | 40% | — | — |
| 2 | Purdue University - Main Campus West Lafayette, IN Public · 2 feeder programs | 54 | Design and Visual Communications, General | $44,602 | 83% | — | 50% |
| 3 | Indiana University - Bloomington Bloomington, IN Public · 1 feeder programs | 31 | Design and Visual Communications, General | $26,421 | 80% | — | 78% |
| 4 | Ball State University Muncie, IN Public · 2 feeder programs | 29 | Design and Visual Communications, General | $36,864 | 62% | — | 85% |
| 5 | University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 20 | Design and Visual Communications, General | $46,825 | 95% | $19,452 | 11% |
| 6 | Huntington University Huntington, IN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 9 | Commercial and Advertising Art | — | 64% | $13,056 | 76% |
| 7 | University of Indianapolis Indianapolis, IN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Commercial and Advertising Art | — | 56% | $18,930 | 66% |
| 8 | University of Saint Francis - Fort Wayne Fort Wayne, IN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Design and Visual Communications, General | $35,439 | 55% | $20,012 | 96% |
| 9 | Indiana State University Terre Haute, IN Public · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Packaging Science | — | 43% | — | 81% |
| 10 | Indiana University - Indianapolis Indianapolis, IN Public · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Design and Visual Communications, General | — | 54% | — | 76% |
| 11 | Indiana Wesleyan University - Marion Marion, IN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Design and Visual Communications, General | — | 67% | $21,351 | 89% |
| 12 | University of Evansville Evansville, IN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Design and Visual Communications, General | — | 64% | $19,593 | 78% |
| 13 | Vincennes University Vincennes, IN Public · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Commercial and Advertising Art | — | 39% | — | — |
| 14 | Anderson University Anderson, IN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Design and Visual Communications, General | — | 54% | $21,789 | 79% |
| 15 | DePauw University Greencastle, IN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Design and Visual Communications, General | — | 75% | $20,874 | 57% |
| 16 | Marian University Indianapolis, IN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Commercial and Advertising Art | — | 67% | $23,371 | 95% |
| 17 | Saint Mary - of - the - Woods College Saint Mary of the Woods, IN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Design and Visual Communications, General | — | 47% | $43,857 | 72% |
All 17 schools in Indiana
Every school in Indiana with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ivy Tech Community College | Indianapolis | Public | 267 | 2 |
| Purdue University - Main Campus | West Lafayette | Public | 54 | 2 |
| Indiana University - Bloomington | Bloomington | Public | 31 | 1 |
| Ball State University | Muncie | Public | 29 | 2 |
| University of Notre Dame | Notre Dame | Private not-for-profit | 20 | 1 |
| Huntington University | Huntington | Private not-for-profit | 9 | 1 |
| University of Indianapolis | Indianapolis | Private not-for-profit | 6 | 1 |
| University of Saint Francis - Fort Wayne | Fort Wayne | Private not-for-profit | 6 | 1 |
| Indiana State University | Terre Haute | Public | 4 | 1 |
| Indiana University - Indianapolis | Indianapolis | Public | 4 | 1 |
| Indiana Wesleyan University - Marion | Marion | Private not-for-profit | 3 | 1 |
| University of Evansville | Evansville | Private not-for-profit | 3 | 1 |
| Vincennes University | Vincennes | Public | 3 | 1 |
| Anderson University | Anderson | Private not-for-profit | 2 | 1 |
| DePauw University | Greencastle | Private not-for-profit | 1 | 1 |
What commercial and industrial designers earn in Indiana
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $83,910. Indiana pays above the national figure.
Concentrated here: Indiana employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.
Metro areas in Indiana
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Commercial and Industrial Designers page.
How to become a Commercial
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Indiana
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 5 majors mapped to Commercial and Industrial Designers5 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 15.1503Packaging Science
- 15.1701Energy Systems Technology/Technician
- 50.0401Design and Visual Communications, General
- 50.0402Commercial and Advertising Art
- 50.0404Industrial and Product Design
Common questions
Answers for people weighing commercial and industrial designers programs in Indiana.
What degree do you need to become a Commercial?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Design and Visual Communications, General, which awarded 366 degrees in Indiana in 2024-25, 82.4% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Commercial?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 5 programs to this occupation. The largest are Design and Applied Arts, Energy Systems Technologies/Technicians, Engineering-Related Fields. Together they graduate about 444 people a year in Indiana.
How much do commercial and industrial designers earn in Indiana?+
The median is $88,040 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 4.9% above the U.S. median of $83,910. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for commercial and industrial designers growing?+
BLS projects a +3.2% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 2,500 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Indiana?+
17 institutions in Indiana reported graduates from at least one of the 5 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do commercial and industrial designers work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Designer, Design Engineer, Product Designer, Industrial Designer among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 27-1021.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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