The Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, Rhode Island, is consistently rated very high in U.S. News and World Report’s rankings of fine-arts programs. RISD offers a four-year BFA degree in Graphic Design. Like all other majors at RISD, students planning to study graphic design must complete a Foundation Studies Program in their first year. One of RISD’s resources is its program of visiting designers and critics.
Rhode Island School of Design
Two College St.
Providence, RI 02903
(401) 454-6100
www.risd.edu/graphic.cfm
The Yale University School of Art offers an undergraduate major in addition to a top-ranked graduate program. To be accepted into the major, you must go through a portfolio review in your second year. You will earn a BA degree rather than a BFA at Yale. Studying art within a renowned university can be particularly stimulating.
Yale University School of Art
P.O.Box 208339
New Haven, CT 06520-8339
(203) 432-2608
yale.edu/yalecollege/publications/ycps/chapter_iii/art.html
The Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore offers BFA degrees in graphic design and interaction design and art. You can also concentrate on book arts within the graphic design program. Students must complete a foundation year before entering the concentration of their choice.
Maryland Institute College of Art
1300 Mount Royal Ave.
Baltimore, MD 21217
(410) 669-9200
mica.edu/Programs_of_Study/Undergraduate_Departments_(BFA)/Graphic_Design/Overview.html
The Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, offers BFA degrees in 2-dimensional or 3-dimensional design. If you are interested in fashion or industrial design, look into the 3-D program. Cranbrook also has a lively series of visiting designers and critics.
Cranbrook Academy of Art
39221 Woodward Ave.
Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304
(248) 645-3300
cranbrookart.edu/Pages/2D.html
The California Institute of the Arts, commonly known as CalArts, offers a rigorous, four-year BFA in Graphic Design. To be able to stay in the program, you must pass a review at the end of each year.
California Institute of the Arts
24700 McBean Parkway
Valencia, CA 91355-2340
(661) 255-1050
library.calarts.edu/art/programs/graphicdesign
The Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, offers BFA degrees in several design fields, including interior design, industrial design, and communications design. Pratt’s proximity to the Manhattan art world is a real asset to young artists.
Pratt Institute
200 Willoughby Ave.
Brooklyn NY 11205
(718) 636-3600
pratt.edu/academics/art_design/art_ug/