Career Advice
December 23, 2021

10 Best Graphic Design Schools in the US

10 Best Graphic Design Schools in the US

10 Best Graphic Design Schools in the US

High five! You have made up your mind to pursue your study in graphic design. The next step is to choose which graphic design school in the USA would suit you best. One of these 10 best graphic design schools might have the school criteria that you are looking for. Click on the link provided for each school for more information on application, requirements, curriculums, and others. 


Graphic design school is one of the education routes that you could take to become a graphic designer.

10 Best Graphic Design Schools in the US



Rhode Island School of Design

Rhode Island School of Design



Program offers: 

  • Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design- 4-year undergraduate program
  • Master of Fine Arts in Graphic Design- 2 and 3-year graduate program


Curriculum includes:

  • Design for publishing
  • Package Graphics
  • Motion, Sound & Vision
  • Reframing the poster
  • Virtual Space and Interactivity With Unity

Parsons School of Design at the New School

Parsons School of Design


Program offers: 

  • Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communication Design - 4 years program
  • Master of Professional Studies program in Communication Design -1 year program
  • Associate of Applied Science in Communication Design - 2 years (or less) program

Curriculum includes:

  • Interaction Design & Coding
  • Design History & Practice
  • Visual Cultures
  • Typography & Interaction
  • Professional Practices & Portfolio

Pratt Institute

Pratt Institute


Program offers: 

  • Communications Design, BFA (Emphasis in Graphic Design)- 4-year program
  • Graphic Design, AOS - 2-year program
  • Graphic Design/Illustrations, AAS- 2-year program


Curriculum includes:

  •  UI/UX Interactive Media
  •  Light, Color, and Design
  • Advertising Design
  • Image as Communication
  • Branding and Messaging


Yale University School of Art

Yale School of Art



Program offers: 

  • Master of Fine Arts Degree(MFA)- 2 years minimum


Curriculum includes:

  •  Expression, Structure, and Sequence: Typography
  •  Programming as Writing
  • Communicating with Time, Motion, and Sound
  • Letterform Design
  • Mobile Computing

Maryland Institute College of Art

Maryland Institute College of Art



Program offers: 

  • Undergraduate Graphic Design Major - 3-year program
  • Undergraduate Graphic Design Studio Minor
  • Graphic Design Graduate Program, MFA - 2-year program
  • Graphic Design Graduate Program, M.A. - Less than a 2-year program


Curriculum includes:

  • Drawing: Tradition & Innovation
  • Fashion Graphics
  • Sustainable Graphic Design
  • Design for Music
  • Product Design & Prototyping




Rochester Institute of Technology

Rochester Institute of Technology



Program offers: 

  • Graphic Design, BFA - 4-year program


Curriculum includes:

  • History of Graphic Design
  • Professional Practices
  • Experiential Graphic Design
  • Graphic Design Capstone
  • Interactive Design




ArtCenter College of Design

ArtCenter College of Design



Program offers: 

  • Undergraduate Graphic Design
  • Graduate Graphic Design - 2-year program or 3-year program


Curriculum includes:

  • Narrative Sketching
  • Art of Research
  • Transmedia
  • Generative Media
  • Photo for Graphic Design


University of Southern California

University of Southern California



Program offers: 

  • BFA Design & BA Art - 4-year program
  • MFA Design Program - 2-year program

Curriculum includes:

  • Drawing & Illustration
  • Artistic Media
  • Communication Design
  • 3D Design
  • Critical Theory Seminars



School of Visual Arts New York City

School of Visual Arts New York City


Program offers: 

  • Bachelor of Fine Arts in Design- 4 year-program


Curriculum includes:

  • Foundations of Visual Computing
  • Designer as Image Maker
  • Advanced Advertising
  • Design for Social Change
  • Toys and Games


Virginia Commonwealth University


Program offers: 

  • Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design- 1 year (Art Foundation program) + 3- year program
  • Master of Fine Arts in Design with a concentration in visual communications- 2- year program


Curriculum includes:

  • Design Activism
  • Book Arts
  • Research Methods in Visual Communications
  • Web Design
  • Experimental Letterpress