Here are some tips for selecting schools, based on an analysis comparing each school to all others across dozens of factors:
Schools Concentrating On Graphic Designers
- Focus: For schools with a focus on this career area, look at Norwalk Community College.
Fastest Response From Schools
- Request Info: For the fastest information for prospective students, look at the Spotlight schools on this page.
Student Body
- Part-Time: For schools emphasizing part-time studies, consider University of Hartford, University of Bridgeport, and Central Connecticut.
- Diverse: For a diverse student body, consider University of Bridgeport and University of Hartford.
- Adult Learners: For lots of adult learners, consider NCCC, Norwalk Community College, and University of Bridgeport.
School Setting
- Out of State: For geographic diversity, take note of University of Hartford, University of Bridgeport, and Central Connecticut.
- Dorms: For a residential campus environment, take note of University of Hartford, University of Bridgeport, and Central Connecticut.
Excellence
- % Accepted: For selective institutions, look at Central Connecticut and University of Bridgeport.
- Class Size: For small class sizes, look at University of Hartford and Central Connecticut.
Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
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Yale University • New Haven, CT
Studying Art (Concentration In Graphic Design) (completion in 2004)
• 7/7/2011
"I wouldn't have gone anywhere else. It was an amazing experience."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | It's a privilege that not many people have. If you find yourself in a position to be able to attend the school, definitely go. |
| Program Reputation | 10 | The Yale School of Art is one of the best in the country. This is part of the reason I ended up choosing Yale for my undergraduate studies. |
| Program Quality | 8 | The art department is very strong. Additionally, the excellent quality of the rest of my education makes me a more well-rounded person, instead of someone who's just technically proficient in graphic design. |
| Instruction | 6 | In this sense, the undergraduate art department at Yale isn't as strong as a dedicated art school such as RISD or Cal Arts. It isn't career-oriented, so I left school not really knowing what to expect of the graphic design field. |
| How Difficult | 9 | People think art majors are slackers, but there's actually a lot of work involved. Classes can be four hours long, and the requirements for the major can be more demanding than others. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | I think it's the nature of art programs to be very hands-on. There was always reading involved in every class, however, and a few classes were solely devoted to theory. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | With regards to class schedule flexibility, it's a very traditional school. Most students live on campus and are dedicated students. There are evening, summer, and online options, but they're purposefully limited. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | The resources are amazing. You just have to know how to take advantage of them. |
| Social Life | 10 | There is a strong sense of school spirit and community. There are plenty of clubs, social events, parties, and other extracurricular activities to take part in. |
| Placement Services | 7 | I'm not sure how good they are. The advice I got wasn't anything I couldn't figure out on my own. I think networking and the prestige of the school are more important than its actual career services. |
| Alumni Network | 9 | There is a strong sense of community. You're able to find fellow alumni in any major city you go to. |
Central Connecticut State University • New Britain, CT
Studying Graphic Design (completion in 2000)
• 7/26/2011
"I was fairly satisfied with my school. It was cheap and I left with a solid degree."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I believe it is a good place to build a strong foundation for this type of career. |
| Program Reputation | 4 | My school does have a fairly good reputation in the New England area for graphic design. |
| Program Quality | 5 | CCSU's program was rigorous enough to teach a student graphic design basics. However I believe I learned most of my skills and techniques through hands on experience. |
| Instruction | 6 | I had the opportunity to learn from very intelligent professors and staff. The quality of the curriculum was high. |
| How Difficult | 6 | The work load was challenging, but it was also rewarding. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | It was the perfect mixture of both hands on and book learning. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | The school's class schedule is as flexible as any other college's. They include evening, summer, and online options. |
| Academic Facilities | 5 | The school had many programs and facilities open to students, although I did not take advantage of many. |
| Social Life | 6 | My school had a good amount of social events. |
| Placement Services | 5 | Although I did not use the career services, I believe in some fields they are very helpful. |
| Alumni Network | 4 | I don't receive much support from the school's alumni network. |
Quinebaug Valley Community Technical College • Danielson, CT
Studying Fine Art With Certificate In Graphic Design (completion in 1996)
• 12/13/2011
"QVCTC was a lifesaver for me. I started out in the business administration program, and after taking an art class, my teacher encouraged me to explore art more as a career. He was so right! Parents were upset, because artists were poor; my teacher assured me that if I applied myself and was good at what I did, I would be paid well. Right again! I went on to work for R&R Partners in Las Vegas as a freelance graphic designer, earning $50 an hour to start. I designed billboards, TV ads, magazine ads, and even a storefront, complete with the logo for many casinos, like The Luxore, Circus Circus and more!"
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | If a single mother who had been out of high school for a few years can go back to school and achieve what I did at that school, anyone can! They were there to help me every step of the way, from financing, to winning scholarships and getting grants, to finding a job upon graduation. They rocked!! |
| Program Reputation | 9 | I have not kept up with the program since it has been a while since I graduated, and I have since moved out of state; however, it was really shaping up when I left and I am sure it's really great now. |
| Program Quality | 9 | I would have liked to see more classes for the actual computer programs. I am sure that these days, they are more advanced in their training, due to new programs like InDesign; I trained on Quark, Illustrator and Photoshop back in the 90s. My college was in the process of developing a Graphic Design Certificate program, so we were the first graduates of the college with that training. |
| Instruction | 10 | We had actual designers teaching our classes who were in the workforce, so they were able to relate to us the importance of certain design aspects, what to expect in the job setting, and how to deal with clients. That was very helpful. The teachers really encouraged us to get out there and work; to take design jobs pro bono for the experience. They really worked hard to keep us educated on the current workforce and had guest lecturers in class from design firms, newspapers and so on. The teachers were great! |
| How Difficult | 9 | I thought it was very challenging, because you are using many different aspects of learning to reach your goals; design skills, computer knowledge, math, etc. If you weren't computer savvy, you would have a really rough time! |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Hands on was a must when learning computer programs. Only used books for references; most of the time, we were actually working on the computers. Books provided our exercises and things like that. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | This was a community college with all ages. They even had their own daycare facility in the back of the campus, where my three-year-old son attended for the three years I was in college. I had night classes and day classes. It was super flexible! |
| Academic Facilities | 9 | It was in the 90s, so they were limited on graphic design programs, and we only had PC's. Macs are the norm for good graphics. I am sure they are up to date by now. We did have enough computers for our class work time; we never had to share, except with really expensive programs. They only had a few computers with high-end, fully accessible programs; others were the teaching versions. |
| Social Life | 7 | The college didn't have much in the way of sports teams or anything like that. I was Phi Theta Cappa and secretary of the honors society, but I kept to myself, since I was a little older than the kids and had a three-year-old to take care of as a single mom. Younger students had lots of school spirit. They had different activities at the college. |
| Placement Services | 10 | Our school had internships. I was one of the first ones in my certificate class to do a working internship at a local design firm. I was blown away by the work they did to get me into such an upscale firm. The school really came through in that respect. They also took a long time to help us with our portfolios and resume, along with having us go on actual interviews, to prepare for graduation. |
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