| Ranking | School | % |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yale University | Top 1% |
| 2 | Cranbrook Academy of Art | Top 1% |
| 3 | California Institute of the Arts | Top 1% |
| 4 | Rhode Island School of Design | Top 2% |
| 5 | Maryland Institute College of Art | Top 2% |
| 6 | Pratt Institute | Top 2% |
| 7 | ArtCenter College of Design | Top 3% |
| 8 | The New School's Parsons School of Design | Top 3% |
| 9 | Carnegie Mellon University | Top 4% |
| 10 | School of Visual Arts | Top 4% |
| 11 | Ringling College of Art and Design | Top 4% |
| 12 | School of the Art Institute of Chicago | Top 5% |
| 13 | California College of the Arts | Top 5% |
| 14 | Savannah College of Art and Design | Top 6% |
| 15 | Minneapolis College of Art and Design | Top 6% |
| 16 | Otis College of Art and Design | Top 6% |
| 17 | Cooper Union | Top 7% |
| 18 | Boston University | Top 7% |
| 19 | Washington University in St. Louis | Top 8% |
| 20 | Kansas City Art Institute | Top 8% |
| 21 | College for Creative Studies | Top 8% |
| 22 | Syracuse University | Top 9% |
| 23 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | Top 9% |
| 24 | The University of the Arts | Top 10% |
| 25 | Brigham Young University | Top 10% |
Our 2018 list of the Top 25 Private Graphic Design School Programs in the US. For an explanation of ranking criteria, click here.
Established in 1869, Yale University School of the Arts was the nation’s first art school connected with an institution of higher learning. With an enrollment of more than 100 students, the School of Art offers MFA degrees in Graphic Design, Painting and Printmaking, Photography, and Sculpture. An interdisciplinary Film & Video program is also available.
Graphic Design MFA (YGDMFA) is a competitive program that accepts just 10 students each year and up to seven students into the preliminary-year program. Per the School, MFA applicants are expected to have “substantial and distinguished experience in visual studies and related professional experience.” Students can expect support for their graphic design collections in several ways including, “studio work led by faculty meeting weekly, small five- or six-person thesis groups meeting biweekly and individual sessions with writing and editing tutors.”
Lectures, presentations, and workshops are also part of the program as well as access to “extraordinary” resources including Yale University courses, conferences, films, lectures, museums, and the “extensive” research and rare book collections of Sterling and Beinecke libraries. The Yale Graphic Design MFA takes two years to complete, full-time.
About Yale University: Founded in 1701, Yale University is home to more than 12,450 students enrolled in dozens of programs in the areas of art, architecture, divinity, drama, forestry and environmental studies, law, management, music, public health, and more. The school houses more than 145 departments and schools and it attracts students from roughly 118 countries around the world.
Cranbrook Academy has a unique selection process. Students are selected for admission by full-time Artists- or Designers-in-Residence who are the sole faculty members and the heads of the departments. Programs are “free of the formal course structure typical of most art schools and universities. Instead the studio environment is the core of the curriculum with emphasis on developing an individual body of work.”
The 2D Department is the Graduate Graphic Design Department, which places emphasis on “the experimental.” Work being produced in the department “falls on a continuum from book, poster and letterform design, through installation, social practices and contemporary art,” says the Academy. “Issues systematically pursued in the department include work situated at the intersection of design and art, an exploration of the relationship between writing, criticism and production, the process of critique as a generative tool, an interdisciplinary approach to design, and objects first: theory, language, and writing all in support of the object.”
This program leads to an MFA in 2D Design (Graphic Design).
About Cranbrook Academy: Cranbrook Academy began “informal art education” in the late 1920s. It consists of 10 programs/departments including 2D Design, 3D Design, Architecture, Ceramics, Fiber, Metalsmithing, Painting, Print Media, Photography and Sculpture. Each department has an enrollment of approximately 15 students.
California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is home to the School of Art, which houses the Graphic Design program. Two degree options are available including a BFA or MFA in Graphic Design. The BFA program is a full-time, four-year program that prepares students for a career in print and publication design, web and interface design, motion graphics for broadcast and film, branding, identity and type design, and design history and education. The MFA program offers two- and three-year options, including a Specialization in Motion Graphics. The Specialization prepares students to enter the commercial field of motion graphics.
About CalArts: California Institute of the Arts is the nation's first postsecondary institution to offer graduate and undergraduate degrees in both the Visual and Performing Arts. Established in 1961 by Walt and Roy Disney, the school is home to nearly 1,500 students enrolled in more than 70 programs across six schools including the Schools of Art, Critical Studies, Theater, and Film/Video, the Herb Alpert School of Music, and the Sharon Disney Lund School of Dance.
Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) has two programs for aspiring graphic designers—aspiring a BFA or MFA in Graphic Design. One of the largest departments at RISD, Graphic Design offers “countless opportunities to collaborate within and beyond the discipline,” thanks to access to approximately 165 undergraduate majors. The MFA program offers the same opportunity, as well as two tracks: a two-year option and a three-year option.
The two-year option is designed for students entering with undergraduate degrees in graphic design or other visual communication. The three-year option is designed for students with degrees in liberal arts, the sciences or fine arts.
An impressive 96 percent of all RISD graphic design graduates are employed one year after graduation. Seventy percent are employed in positions directly related to their major.
About RISD: Founded in 1877, Rhode Island School of Design is a private art and design school that serves approximately 2,480 students from across the U.S. and 57 other countries. The school offers 32 graduate and undergraduate art and design programs leading to a BFA, MFA, five-year Professional Baccalaureate, or a Bachelor of Architecture.
Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) offers a BFA in Graphic Design with three Concentrations including Graphic Design Studio, Book Arts Studio, and Graphic Design + Humanistic Studies. An MFA in Graphic Design (GD MFA) is also available. The undergraduate graphic design curriculum features a three-year sequence of core design courses, while the 60-credit MFA program features two years of full-time study that combines “critical seminars, guided studio courses, and independent work.”
Per the school, students in the MFA program may choose a concentration in Critical Studies or Curatorial Practices or “take advantage of electives in many MICA departments, including video, printmaking, and digital media.”
About MICA: Founded in 1826, Maryland Institute College of Art is the oldest degree-granting college of art in the nation. The school serves nearly 3,500 undergraduate, graduate, and continuing studies students from 49 states and 65 countries in fine arts, design, electronic media, art education, liberal arts, and professional studies degree and non-credit programs. MICA’s more than 80 art and design programs lead to either a BFA, MA, MFA, MPS or Certificate.
Founded in 2014, The School of Design at Pratt Institute offers “up to four of Pratt’s oldest and most esteemed disciplines,” including Communications Design (ComD), Fashion Design, Industrial Design, and Interior Design. Per the School of Design, the ComD program is the “the only program in the country that recognizes and embodies the convergence and integration of Illustration, Advertising, and Graphic Design as the primary forces for the visual expression of ideas.” Students may Concentrate in any of the three areas. The School of Design also houses the Graduate Communications Design Department, which also offers MFA and MS degrees in Communications Design and an MS in Package Design.
For students that are not ready to commit to a degree program, the School of Continuing and Professional Studies (SCPS) offers Certificate Programs in Digital Design including Graphic Design, Computer Graphics, Motion Graphics and others. These programs may be taken individually or “stacked,” producing an “accelerated path to completion.” Like the undergraduate and graduate ComD programs, Certificate programs offer the opportunity to complete an internship.
Students in all programs will have the opportunity to enroll on one of more than Pratt offers more than 20 study abroad programs and international exchange programs in more than a dozen locations including Florence, Milan, Copenhagen, London, and Tokyo.
About Pratt Institute: Founded in 1887, Pratt institute is home to more than 4,600 students enrolled in 22 undergraduate degree programs, 26 graduate degree programs, and a variety of Certificate and Minor programs across five schools and The Center for Continuing and Professional Studies.
ArtCenter College of Design offers a BFA in Graphic Design and an MFA Graduate Graphic Design (MGx) degree. Interdisciplinary programs such as the Desginmatters Concentration and Integrated Studies are also available. Designmatters leads to a Certificate in Art and Design for Social Impact. Integrated Studies covers essential skills and competencies, critical thinking and the creative process, cultural literacy and contextual reference, interdisciplinary experience, and quality of execution and professional practices.
Offered through the Graphic Design Department (GX), all programs offer internship opportunities and study abroad experiences.
About ArtCenter College of Design: Established in 1930, ArtCenter College of Design spans two campuses and four structures in the U.S. and Berlin. Home to approximately 2,100 students, ArtCenter offers 11 undergraduate and seven graduate degrees in the areas of Industrial Design and Visual and Applied Arts, as well as a joint MS/MBA program with Drucker School of Management—the business school of Claremont Graduate University.
The New School's Parsons School of Design is home to the School of Art, Media, and Technology, which offers several degree programs for aspiring graphic designers. Options include an AAS in Graphic Design and a BFA in Communication Design.
The AAS program provides a “solid foundation in the traditional practices and concepts of graphic design,” while the BFA covers typography and interaction. Sponsored projects are in the areas of publication, interaction design, branding, advertising, type design, information design, motion graphics, and environmental design.
Note that Parsons also offers a Graphic and Digital Design Certificate through its continuing education department. The program, which consists of six courses, can be completed online or through a combination of online and on-campus courses.
About The New School's Parsons School of Design: Founded in 1896, The New School's Parsons School of Design is home to more than 5,000 students enrolled in 27 degree programs across five schools. They include the School of Art and Design History and Theory, the School of Art, Media, and Technology (AMT), the School of Constructed Environments, the School of Design Strategies, and the School of Fashion.
The College of Fine Art-School of Design at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) offers a Bachelor of Design (BDes), formerly BFA, with three tracks: Products, Communication and Environments. Students may focus in one or all three areas, or pursue a more interdisciplinary focus that combines two of the three. Other undergraduate options include the Minor in Design Application and the Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Degree known as “BXA.”
The BXA degree provides students with the ability to evenly balance their study of humanities or sciences with design. While BXA majors may take 26 design courses and 15 outside courses, most BXA students take 12 design courses, with the balance of their courses taken outside of the School of Design.
The Minor is for students admitted to other programs on campus who are interested in gaining “fundamental design skills and/or exposure to design.” Graduate options include a one-year Master of Arts (MA) in Design program, a one-year Master of Professional Studies (MPS) in Design for Interactions, a two-year Master of Design (MDes) in Design for Interactions program, and a PhD in Design Studies.
About CMU: Founded in 1900, Carnegie Mellon University is a global research university that serves nearly 14,000 students from 109 countries. The school offers more than 100 programs across seven colleges and schools.
School of Visual Arts (SVA) offers a BFA in Graphic Design that consists of 72 credits of studio art courses, 30 credits in humanities & sciences, 12 in art history, and six elective credits. An internship is part of the program, as well as the opportunity to focus in Package Design, Editorial Design, Information Graphics, Corporate Identity, Publication Design, CD Packaging, Book Jacket Design, Environmental Design, or Website Design.
Students who would like to earn an advanced degree have several options including an MFA in Design and a MFA Design / Designer as Author + Entrepreneur. Per the school, the MFA in Design “emphasizes entrepreneurship as an alternative to conventional practice, and as a means to raise the level of design expertise and achievement. It teaches “a broad set of visual, verbal and textual approaches as foundation for design, and focuses on “creation to optimize the designer’s abilities to rise to the next professional level.”
The MFA Design/Designer as Author + Entrepreneur is “suited for students and professionals with backgrounds in graphic design.” The school also encourages “those with environmental, product, Web, interaction design, film and photography backgrounds who are interested in further developing their ability to create content of value.”
All graduate students have access to SVA MFA studios, which are open hours a day and “designed to simulate an operational design/media firm with spacious work-stations that allow for individual and collaborative work.”
About SVA: Founded in 1947 as “Cartoonists and Illustrators School,” School of Visual Arts serves nearly 4,300 students from across the U.S. and abroad. The school offers 11 undergraduate and 21 graduate degree programs in areas ranging from fine arts and graphic design to filmmaking and photography. The programs at SVA lead to a BFA, MFA, MA, MAT or MPS degree.
Ringling College of Art and Design (RCAD) offers a BFA in Graphic Design that prepares students to design “show-stopping solutions for print and interactive media.” Launched in 1980, the program allows students to collaborate with other artists such as copywriters, printers, photographers, illustrators, and developers to “make their ideas a reality.”
Graduates of the RCAD Graphic Design program have been hired by companies such as Google, Facebook, Adult Swim, CBS Interactive, ESPN, Apple iTunes, Leo Burnett, Microsoft, Yahoo!, American Greetings, IGN Entertainment, Wieden + Kennedy, Walt Disney Company, Birchbox, Inc. and many others.
About RCAD: Ringling College of Art and Design was established in 1931 by circus baron, art collector, and real estate developer John Ringling. The school opened with 111 courses and just 75 students. Today, RCAD sits on a 35-acre campus and it is home to 1,300 degree-seeking students with 94% enrolled full-time, and 6% enrolled part-time. Students come from 42 states, DC, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Military Bases, and 56 countries.
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) offers several programs for aspiring graphic designers through its Visual Communication Design Department. Options include a BFA, MFA or Certificate in Graphic Design. The BFA program has two major areas of focus including Physical Media (print, objects, and environments) and Virtual Media (interactive and time-based media).
The MFA program offers the opportunity to explore other related departments at SAIC such as Printmedia, Writing, Photography, Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects, and Film, Video, New Media, and Animation (FVNMA). The purpose of this opportunity is to “extend students’ design work into new territories.” The Graphic Design Certificate is designed for “students with an interest in exploring graphic design with an emphasis on print media,” says the Department.
Other Graphic Design Program highlights include an active AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts) student chapter, Exploratory Languages (a lecture series featuring leading designers and design educators from across the country), and CIPB (Chicago International Poster Biennial), which is an international competition representing leading designers from throughout the world. Internship opportunities and the option to study abroad are other highlights.
About SAIC: The School of the Art Institute of Chicago was founded in 1866 as the Chicago Academy of Design. It is one of the oldest accredited independent schools of art and design in the country. The school serves 3,650 students enrolled in more than 25 programs.
California College of the Arts (CCA) offers BFA degrees in Graphic Design and Interaction Design and a BA in Visual Studies. Graduate options include an MA in Visual and Critical Studies and an MDes in Interaction Design. Highlights for all programs include the opportunity to immerse in the areas of Brand Identity, Print, Motion Graphics, and Screen-Based and Interactive Design, elective offerings that will “strengthen” students “design toolkit,” and the opportunity to gain real-world experience through CCA’s extensive internship program.
Graduates of CCA’s Graphic Design Programs have landed positions at innovative design firms, museums, publishing houses, technology companies, nonprofits, and more.
About CCA: Founded in 1907, California College of the Arts is home to nearly 2,000 students from 55 countries and 46 states. The school offers 22 undergraduate and 12 graduate degree programs, plus two minors.
Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) offers more graphic design programs than just about any other school on our list. Options include BA, BFA, MA, and MFA degrees in Graphic Design and a Design Management MA. A Minor and a Certificate are also available.
All programs highlight Product Packaging, Entrepreneurship, Mobile Technology, Interface Design and User Experience. Students have the opportunity to declare a double major in the areas of Advertising, Branded Entertainment, Illustration, Motion Media Design, Sequential Art and more, and access to Minors such as Mobile and Interactive Design, Advertising Copywriting. Students may complement their degree with Certificates in Digital Publishing or Interactive Design as well.
The BA degree is offered in Atlanta, Savannah and online and the BFA, MA, MFA, and Minor programs are offered in Atlanta, Hong Kong, Savannah, and online. The Certificate program is offered in Atlanta, Savannah and online.
About SCAD: Founded in 1978, Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) is home to nearly 13,000 students from close to 50 states and 115 countries. The school offers more than 40 degree programs, 70 minors and certificate programs, and dozens of online programs across campuses in Atlanta, Hong Kong, and Lacoste, France.
Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD) offers a BFA in Graphic Design, Post-Baccalaureate Certificates in Graphic Design and Interactive Design and Marketing, and an MFA in Visual Studies. Per the school, students in the 120 credit hour BFA program will develop their own voice and produce original work, they will Research, engage with, and create innovative concepts, content, and form, and learn to communicate ideas visually. Students will also refine their technical and conceptual design skills in preparation for a professional career in graphic design.
The 60 credit hour MFA program allow students to pursue creative work in Graphic Design, Illustration, Interactive Media, Paper and Book Arts, Printmaking, and many others. Students in all graphic design programs have the opportunity to gain practical, real-world experience through a required internship. The option to study abroad or elsewhere in the U.S. is also highlighted.
About MCAD: Minneapolis College of Art and Design was established in 1886. The school serves 800 students enrolled in Design (50% of the student body), Media Arts (25%) and other areas. More than 20 programs are available across several departments.
Otis College of Art and Design (OTIS) offers several programs for aspiring graphic designers through the Communication Arts Department. Options include BFA degrees in Graphic Design and Communication Arts with an Emphasis in Graphic Design or Illustration or a Minor in Advertising Design, an MFA in Graphic Design and a Graphic Design Certificate. Graduates of the Graphic Design programs at OTIS have landed positions at major companies such as Apple, Anthropologie, LACMA, Guess, Metro, Capitol Records, and others.
About OTIS: Otis College of Art and Design was established in 1918 by General Harrison Gray Otis—founder and publisher of the Los Angeles Times. Home to 1,100 BFA and MFA students, OTIS offers more than a dozen interdisciplinary art and design programs from Animation and Motion Design to Illustration and Graphic Design.
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art (CU) is home to the School of Art, which offers a flexible BFA in Art with a Focus Graphic Design. Students in the program may take elective studio classes and seminars, offered on a rotating basis, they may choose to focus their work in one or more areas of specialization, and they may enroll in advanced studio classes with the same course number multiple times. Students are also “encouraged to follow an integrated approach by selecting from various areas while observing a prerequisite system designed to allow in-depth study in specific disciplines.” Other program highlights include Internship opportunities and study abroad opportunities.
About CU: The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art was founded in 1859 by inventor, industrialist and philanthropist Peter Cooper. The school offers programs in the areas of Art, Architecture and Engineering, and courses in the Humanities and Social Sciences. With nearly 1,000 students enrolled (2016-2017), CU’s art students account for 32 percent of the student body.
Boston University’s (BU), College of Fine Arts, School of Visual Arts has several programs for aspiring graphic designers. Options include BFA and MFA degrees in Graphic Design and a new Graduate Certificate. The programs take “a studio-driven approach to design thinking and visual communication. With an emphasis on process and critical design thinking, the program sets itself apart as a maker-based design department set within an art school.”
Students in the BFA program begin in the Foundation program. “Freshman year Foundation courses introduce visual concepts in two and three dimensions, with an emphasis on drawing from observation. Students specialize in graphic design coursework beginning in their sophomore year. Yearlong graphic design and typography studios emphasize form and communication.”
Students in the MFA program spend most of their time in the studio. Electives complement the graphic design studios, affording the opportunity to “specialize in areas of interest and provide the essential curricular agility to navigate in a changing practice.” Students participate in lectures “by nationally and internationally distinguished designers” and “direct contact with the industry further enhance the studio experience.”
The Certificate is a full-time, one-year intensive program that is designed for those who are entering the graphic design field for the first time. Students in all programs have access to more than 100 study abroad programs in more than 25 countries.
About BU: Boston University (BU) was founded in 1839. It serves more than 33,000 students enrolled in 250+ programs of study across 10 colleges and schools and a graduate school.
Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis consists of three units—the College of Art (est. 1879), the College of Architecture (est. 1910) and Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum (est. 1881). The College of Art houses the Communication Design major, which leads to a BFA. This collaborative program explores disciplines across art and design, selecting from introductory courses in graphic design, typography, illustration, fashion design, painting, photography, printmaking, and sculpture. Students will also take drawing, two-dimensional design, three-dimensional design, digital design, and a weekly lecture course (first year).
In their junior year, students choose their own major courses. Sample courses include Art Practice, Design for Social Impact, Content to Cover: The Design of Books, Interaction Design: User-Centered Applications, and Illustration Concepts & Media/Visual Journalism. Seniors pursue a capstone project that “culminates in an illustrated book, zine, screen-based presentation, graphic novel/mini-comic, or digital experience.” The final project is displayed in a public exhibition and reviewed by external design professionals.
The 128 credit hour degree program is accredited by the College Art Association of American (CAA) and the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD).
About Washington University in St. Louis: Founded in 1853, Washington University in St. Louis serves 14,385 students from 90 countries and all 50 states + the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The university houses seven schools including Arts & Sciences, the Brown School, Olin Business School, the School of Law, the School of Medicine, the School of Engineering & Applied Science and Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts.
Kansas City Art Institute (KCAI) offers BFA degrees in Graphic Design, Interactive Arts and Printmaking. Per the school, the Graphic Design Program “goes beyond the traditional division between Web and print design to give students a cross-media skill set that adapts to context, audience and participant input.” The programs “rigorous approach to audience research, theory and conceptual problem-solving” helps position students as thought leaders in their chosen fields. KCAI design students “are exposed to professional practices, concepts and skills required to build rewarding careers.”
The Interactive Art BFA uses emerging technology as the “backbone of creation,” so students become “versed in software coding, physical computing and sensors, performance, games and play mechanics, rapid prototyping, user testing and experiential design.”
The Printmaking BFA covers the traditional printmaking processes and concepts including etching, lithography, drawing, collage, silkscreen, letterpress and book arts, as well as post-modern processes, including mass media, collaboration, simulation, appropriation and dissemination.
All programs offer access to KCAI’s internship program, three to five week long faculty-led travel programs, and full semester programs that can take them to one of several participating art and design colleges in the U.S. or overseas.
About KCAI: Established in 1885, Kansas City Art Institute (KCAI) has a 130+ year history that includes notable name such as Walt Disney, who took classes there as a child, multimedia artist Robert Rauschenberg, who studied fashion design, writer Robert Morris, and performance artist and fabric sculptor Nick Cave, to name a few. Besides a long list of notable alumni and students, KCAI offers 13 academic disciplines in Art, Design and Media to a population of nearly 700 students.
The College for Creative Studies (CCS) houses a Graphic Design Department that is one of the top five largest departments at the school. The Department is home to 114 students enrolled in BFA degree programs in Communication Design (Graphic Design), Interaction Design or Motion Graphics and MFA programs in Interaction Design and Integrated Design. Degrees that complement Graphic Design include BFAs in Advertising: Copywriting, Advertising: Design and Fine Arts.
All students have the opportunity to study abroad for a semester or a year in places such as Italy, Austria, Germany, Mexico, Paris, Australia, and more. Graduates of the Design programs at CCS are prepared to work in Graphic Design, Editorial Design, Environmental Design, Information Design, Interactive Design, Package Design, Publication Design, Web Design, and many others.
About CCS: The College for Creative Studies (CCS) was established in 1906 as The Detroit Society of Arts and Crafts. The school is home to more than 1,400 students enrolled in over a dozen degree programs across 14 academic departments.
The S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communication, Department of Multimedia Photography and Design at Syracuse University (SU) is home to 1,900 undergraduate students, 250 master’s degree students and 13 doctoral degree students. Programs for aspiring graphic designers include BS degrees in Graphic Design and Multimedia Photography & Design (Graphic Design). Second degree and advanced degree options include BS degrees in Magazine or Advertising, an MA in Advertising, and an online MS in Communications with a Concentration in Advertising.
Students in the Graphic Design programs will learn how to create visual communications for newspapers, magazines and multimedia presentations. Multimedia photography and design coursework “emphasizes computer production techniques.” Students will also learn photography, communications writing and communications law and ethics. Sample courses include Motion Graphics and User Experience, Multimedia Storytelling, Diversity and Media Issues, Typographic Design, Graphic Design Problems, Type and Image for Multimedia, Ethics and Media Professions, and Introduction to Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises. A Global Experience is also part of the program.
About SU: Founded in 1870, Syracuse University is home to nearly 22,000 students from all 50 U.S. states and 123 countries. The school offers more than 400 programs across 12 colleges and schools, and a graduate school.
The School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) is home to the Department of Communication and Media (C&M), which offers a BS in Communications with a Concentration in Graphic Design. A dual major—BS in Communication (Concentration in Graphic Design) and Design, Innovation, and Society (COMM/DSIS) is also available, as well Communication Design and Graduate Graphics Certificates.
Graduates of HAAS Department of Communication programs go on to establish careers in industry and government as graphic designers, brand managers, product designers, marketing strategists; content developers and editors; interaction designers; user experience designers; art directors; web designers, game designers, analysts and developers and more.
About RPI: Founded in 1824, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) is a collection of five schools offering more than 145 programs to a population of more than 7,600 students.
The University of the Arts (UArts) consists of three colleges—the College of Art, Media and Design, the College of Performing Arts, and the Division of Liberal Arts. The College of Art, Media and Design houses the School of Design, which offers BFA degrees in Graphic Design and Design, Art + Technology and an MFA in Book Arts + Printmaking. Minors in Book Arts, Typography, and Multimedia are also available.
Students in the Graphic Design Program have the opportunity to choose courses from the Schools of Art, Film and Illustration or any cross-college program. All students have access to international opportunities such as study abroad, festivals, and workshops in countries such as Canada, France, and South Korea.
About UArts: The University of the Arts is the nation’s only comprehensive arts university. The school, which traces its roots back to 1868, is home to around 1,900 students enrolled in 41 undergraduate and graduate programs through the College of Art, Media and Design, the College of Performing Arts, and the Division of Liberal Arts.
Brigham Young University (BYU) is home to the College of Fine Arts and Communications, which serves 3,655 students enrolled in programs in the Department of Art, the School of Communications, the Department of Dance, the Department of Design, the School of Music, and the Department of Theater and Media Arts. Communications is one of the College’s top six majors by graduation.
Programs for aspiring graphic designers are offered through several departments and schools. Options include BA and BFA degrees in Graphic Design, a BFA in Art with a Focus in New Genres or Printmaking in the Department of Art, and Minors in Design or Advertising Design in the Department of Design. Other areas of study include Interaction Design, Motion Design, Visual Development, and Branding. Note that because the Graphic Design Program is so competitive, enrollment is limited to just 40 students.
About BYU: Brigham Young University was founded in 1875 by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). Home to around 33,360 students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries, BYU offers more than 380 undergraduate majors and minors, master’s programs and doctorate programs. The school houses dozens of colleges, schools, and departments that offer everything from Accounting to Visual Communications.