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 Columbia College, Harold Washington College, Moraine Valley Community College, and The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago.
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 The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago, Judson, DePaul, and Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
- Diverse: For a diverse student body, consider Kennedy-King College, The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago, Harold Washington College, and Prairie State.
- Adult Learners: For lots of adult learners, consider John A Logan College, Rend Lake College, Kennedy-King College, and College of DuPage.
School Setting
- Out of State: For geographic diversity, take note of University of Chicago, Columbia College, Loyola University, and The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago.
- Dorms: For a residential campus environment, take note of North Central College, Judson, Bradley, and Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
Excellence
- SAT: For students with high SAT scores, look at University of Chicago, University of Illinois, Loyola University, and DePaul.
- % Accepted: For selective institutions, look at University of Chicago and The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago.
- Class Size: For small class sizes, look at University of Chicago, American Academy, Bradley, and Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
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The School Of The Art Institute Of Chicago • Chicago, IL
Studying Fine Arts/Painting (completion in 1998)
• 4/29/2011
"Overall, I felt it was a good place for me, and gave me the kind of training I wanted. It was also a good community to be part of. People know the reputation of this school and consider it to be favorable."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | It would depend on the person and their motivation to pursue an art career, which is not as easy as it sounds. It would also depend on their financial resources because its quite costly. |
| Program Reputation | 10 | Its very highly regarded among art schools. The school is known to be one of the best art schools in the country. |
| Program Quality | 10 | I felt it was the best place for studying art. It was attached to a major museum and had many very talented and accomplished faculty. |
| Instruction | More than 5 years ago | |
| How Difficult | 5 | It was art school, so in terms of academics they didn't challenge us too much. Also, this particular school doesn't give letter grades unless you request them, so it was difficult to actually fail at anything. If you want to be serious in art school, its really up to you and what you put into it. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | For the most part, there was a lot of hand-on work that was required to learn art. Students studying fine art tend to have more studio classes. We did have academic requirements. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | The school offered evening courses. They also had Saturday classes and summer classes. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | At the time I was there the classroom facilities were pretty bare-bones. It has improved since then. The computers available to students were adequate but not extraordinary. The library was kind of small. There were academic advisors who were ok. |
| Social Life | 5 | Social activities were not typical of a campus school as many students commuted. Also, there were no sports teams. There were a lot of art openings and parties. |
| Placement Services | 4 | The school is not geared towards finding gainful employment upon graduation. The emphasis seemed to be on development as an artist and an individual. They did have career counseling and job placement, but more for students looking for student work. When I finished I had to figure out job seeking for myself. |
| Alumni Network | 2 | I have never heard from them. There really is not a network. Artists are not always joiners of groups. |
College Of DuPage • Glenn Ellyn, IL
Studying Graphic Arts (completion in 1991)
• 7/6/2011
"To me the degree was an means to an end. Because I did not take advantage of the services offered to me, I might have missed out. It would be hard for me to give them a bad review without taking some of the fault."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | The programs for Graphic Arts have probably changed drastically. 20 years later, I'm sure the program looks nothing like it did when i was a student. I would tell them to go and make their own determination. |
| Program Reputation | 2 | Being a community college I guess no one really looked that highly upon the school. Also in the early '90's there were not a lot of schools offering degree's in Graphic Arts and none that I recall teaching web classes. |
| Program Quality | 4 | In the early 1990's there were not a lot of schools offering computer graphics. I'm sure things have changed since then. |
| Instruction | 4 | As stated earlier, the lack of computer instruction was a major hurdle. The industry was going to be all about computers and COD was a bit behind the times. I give them some leeway because of the time period. |
| How Difficult | 5 | I had more difficulty with my general studies classes. But my mind was focused on the Graphic Arts Studies, because that was my passion. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | The Graphic Arts classes were very hands on. 80% of my degree program was done in lab type environments or settings. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | The classes I needed were available. But I was working a night job and didn't want any weekend classes, so I never needed any night or weekend classes. I do not know of their availability. |
| Academic Facilities | 4 | As I stated earlier, at the time I was going to school computers, Mac's specifically, were still in their infancy and COD had just a small handful. Though they were slightly behind, I do remember them being better than most schools. |
| Social Life | 5 | My social experience was limited. I have to take partial credit for that because I never put out an effort. I was more interested in getting started in the work environment. I paid very little attention to the social environment. |
| Placement Services | 5 | I never really used any of these services or was even aware if any existed when I was in class. So I can't really give a good or bad mark for this. |
| Alumni Network | 2 | There was not much of an alumni network at COD. Perhaps I didn't seek it out, But the fact is I never knew where to look. I'm not sure it holds any type of prestige to be an alumnus from that school. |
Illinois Wesleyan University • Bloomington, IL
Studying Art (completion in 2008)
• 7/11/2011
"The liberal arts program provided a great way to get a well-rounded education. I feel like a got a decent art education while also learning about a wealth of other topics that have helped tremendously since graduating."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | There are other schools that may provide a better art program, but if someone is looking for a liberal arts degree in the midwest, it would be the first place I would recommend. |
| Program Reputation | 5 | The school primarily focuses on Chemistry and Physics. While the quality of the art that comes from the students within that major is good, there isn't much support for the art program. |
| Program Quality | 6 | The school I went to is a bit behind when it comes to digital arts. It mostly focused on art for art's sake. |
| Instruction | 5 | The quality of instruction at the school was great, however the curriculum was a bit dated. The professors did very little in terms of instructing us for the real world. |
| How Difficult | 8 | I went to a Liberal Arts college, so I had a wide range of studies at the school. Along with learning things outside of my comfort zone, I had to put in very late hours to complete studio work for my degree. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | The art history classes were all textbook and slideshow based. As for studio classes, they were 100% hands-on, with no training as to history of the medium or written tests. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 7 | The classes that were required to graduate were somewhat flexible and allowed for substitutions. On the other hand, often times there was only a single offering of a class in a given school year. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | IWU has a fantastic library and areas for research. As it relates to art specifically, the building is aged, and some of the studios and labs are very dated. With that said, they provided private studios to almost all art students who wanted them. Being a smaller school, they didn't have all of the amenities a larger school might provide. |
| Social Life | 2 | Most social activities at the school were Greek-based. Not being a part of the Greek society, I was rarely on campus for social events. |
| Placement Services | 6 | IWU provides many job fairs and assistance for students looking for jobs. However, their help for art-based careers was extremely lacking. I lucked out and got direct help from a professor that had an 'in' in the industry. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | I get frequent updates about IWU alumni happenings. I do not know anything about the alumni program beyond that. I was very disconnected from school while in college. |
The School Of The Art Institute Of Chicago • Chicago, IL
Studying Fine Art - Printmaking Emphasis (completion in 2007)
• 7/30/2011
"It was a good experience, but the cost was high for the value of my degree."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | I did not anticipate working in graphic arts so much as working in a fine art capacity. While it prepared me for my current career, there was a lot I ended up having to teach myself in order to make myself employable. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | Behind the Rhode Island School of Design, SAIC is quite a prestigious institution. |
| Program Quality | 9 | The print department is very good, and instruction is excellent. The school is quite overpriced, however. |
| Instruction | 8 | Although I found a job within the fine art field, I did not receive much help in securing a position. |
| How Difficult | 7 | If you show up and work hard, you should have no problem finishing the program. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | It's mostly hands-on, at least for the print courses. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 2 | It is a set schedule. Three absences result in being automatically dropped from the course. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | Facilities are very good with up to date technology, etc. |
| Social Life | 7 | Being an art school, many other students are unapproachable. |
| Placement Services | 5 | I did not have much help. This office is perhaps inundated with requests for help, and thus is unable to help individuals extensively. |
| Alumni Network | 3 | There is little in the way of an alumni network in place. |
Illinois State U • Normal, IL
Studying Graphic Design (completion in 1987)
• 8/8/2011
"I got what I paid for in every way. I came with talent, but the teachers gave me practical experiences and helped me build my portfolio. I knew what kind of job I wanted when I left and I had a pretty good idea about how to get it."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I would absolutely recommend ISU as a great place to train as a Graphic Designer. In fact if I lived a little closer to the school I would still be taking classes! |
| Program Reputation | 8 | I cannot say that I know what their rating is now. I only know that when I first looked at the school their rating was quite high according to some recent grads I spoke with and an art magazine survey I had read. |
| Program Quality | 10 | I was very impressed with the staff at ISU and the equipment was either new or well kept. |
| Instruction | 10 | While at ISU I had teachers that worked only as instructors and teachers who were also full time designers. A great mix of people to glean practical information from while concentrating on learning how to please all of them as if they were clients. |
| How Difficult | 9 | I felt very challenged by the curriculum and very empowered by the teachers as well. I have to say that every week I was geared up to do another assignment and part of the reason was that I saw the tasks as intensely interesting and pertinent to my career. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | In terms of hands-on work, if the class was not a lecture based class I knew I was going to be physically doing a lot of actual labor to get my A+ grade. Art History classes meant lectures and vigorous note taking, but believe me, I read the material and made flash cards to get through it all. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 8 | I never had a problem getting a full load of classes in my major. I was very happy with the variety of classes and class times offered. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | Artists have their own building complete with their own art library. Graphic design and photo/video people have their own floor together. The building has studios of all types and lecture halls -- the layout is logical and creatively stimulating. |
| Social Life | 8 | There is a design club called Design Streak and most of my socializing was done through that entity. I am not a wild party person and have no interest in college level sports. |
| Placement Services | 4 | This type of assistance was quite rare when I was at ISU. I was told of a graphic design job on campus by one of my professors and got a recommendation from that professor. The professor's opinion of me and also my portfolio got me that job. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | I don't know what kind of support I would be needing from them. They trained me well to just go out and get a job. |
Columbia College • Chicago, IL
Studying Graphic Design/Advertising Art (completion in 1986)
• 8/28/2011
"I am proud to have graduated from Columbia. I think it is the best art school in the country."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | There is no better place for the creative fields than Columbia. I do highly recommend my school to others pursuing my career. |
| Program Reputation | 10 | Columbia has an excellent reputation for all of its majors. Graphic designers who graduated from there are usually very successful. |
| Program Quality | 9 | I loved my school. It taught me how to think creatively but at the same time satisfy the commercial end. |
| Instruction | 9 | I still use concepts and skills that I learned in college. I think that this is were I learned to harness my creativity. |
| How Difficult | 7 | It was easy because I was interested in the subject matter. It was difficult in that there were a lot of projects to do and deadlines to meet. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | The teachers are actual professionals. This is a learn as you do school. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 6 | There were many evening classes. I don't remember any Saturday ones, except for dance. |
| Academic Facilities | 9 | We had wonderful art rooms and media rooms. The facilities were excellent. |
| Social Life | 3 | Columbia, being a city school, did not have much in the way of traditional social activities. You made friends mostly in your department. |
| Placement Services | 3 | I never received any career services from Columbia. I don't know if they have them currently, but when I graduated there were none. |
| Alumni Network | 9 | The alumni website is awesome. There is also an excellent publication for alumni called "Demo." |
School Of The Art Institute Of Chicago • Chicago, IL
Studying Fine Art (completion in 2000)
• 10/8/2011
"The education and experiences were great, but the school is too expensive."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | If you are looking to create then yes, but to find actual career counseling or a fixed path after school you have to forge your own way. |
| Program Reputation | 10 | It has a great reputation. |
| Program Quality | 8 | It was a great experience but it was very expensive and I don't think I enjoyed it as much as I should have because I was working while in school. |
| Instruction | 5 | They honestly did not prepare us for the real world and the teachers acknowledge that. Sink or swim! |
| How Difficult | 8 | A lot of hours and work went into my projects. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | We were always creating work and working with our hands. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | Great resources - we had anything we needed. |
| Social Life | 9 | Made some great friends there. Even though I worked a lot, I did go out and have a good time. |
| Placement Services | 1 | When I graduated there was not much help. Now they have a career website where job listings are posted. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | The alumni network is nothing spectacular. I get emails and am linked through Facebook to them. |
College Of DuPage • Glen Ellyn, IL
Studying Digital Prepress Technology (completion in 2010)
• 2/23/2012
"It was a great stepping stone. I found a passion for Print Media and graphic design. I made connections and got a legit associates degree which has gotten me to where I am."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | Depends. It could be easy to just jump into the field without a degree. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | For this major, it's pretty good. |
| Program Quality | 9 | I learned great hands on skills, visited companies, went to Print09 in Chicago, and made great connections at places I visited. In school, the teaching staff was terrific. I learned a business approach from the head of the department in his business classes for graphic design (he worked in the field at big name companies and even owned his own place for print). It wasn't broad enough, but I am highly learned in the field of print media and I'm great with Adobe programs. |
| Instruction | 10 | I learned a lot from the hands on work I did in class. The teachers challenged me and kept me responsible and professional, yet they gave me the respect of a young adult. |
| How Difficult | 5 | It wasn't too difficult, at least it didn't seem that way because I loved what I was doing. I did a lot of work on the computer each week, but I loved what I was doing so it was not too difficult at all - really just average. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Many projects and field work, some tests. Business classes were hands on, yet there was still some reading. I learned computer programs, visited business, and went to Print09 in Chicago. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 3 | |
| Academic Facilities | 9 | Very nice facilities - just recently updated before I left. Everyone was quite pleased. |
| Social Life | 3 | It is a community college. Everyone commutes and has their own lives. We would always smoke and chat outside while taking breaks on projects, and everyone was very encouraging of each other. |
| Placement Services | 1 | They did nothing - it was just the teaching staff that I've spoken so highly of. |
| Alumni Network | 10 | Staff were references for me and still are whenever I need want to do some freelance work. I still keep in touch with them. |
Columbia College • Chicago, IL
Studying Graphic Design (completion in 2011)
• 3/17/2012
"It almost seems like I could have just worked really hard from home to put together a suitable portfolio. It did teach me different techniques and styles, but not much more in the way of what I did."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | If you really work hard and work with the college, you can easily expand and put together works of art to get yourself into the job market. But the price tag of 20k a year just for tuition makes it a hard price to justify. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | If you put your heart into it and try to express yourself, your portfolio will come out great. It teaches you to expand and refine what you already do. |
| Program Quality | 6 | Columbia College is a great school if you put your heart and mind into it, but it was lacking if you didn't have a feel for the class. Teachers let the students run the class most of the time, letting everyone do what they wanted in the field of study. |
| Instruction | 6 | The professors let the students do whatever they wanted and did little other than put in their opinions and assign projects for us to do. It was good for letting students express themselves, but they didn't give much direction. |
| How Difficult | 4 | As long as you took time, the projects turned out well and it was worth it to add them into a portfolio. But not giving much direction made every project a new breed of work. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Other than art history and English classes, everything else was pretty much hands on. Rarely did professors require anything to be read or researched for a project. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 7 | They offer a lot of different classes and many only meet once a week for 3 hours. but the number of different times each class is offered is only 2-3 different times a week. |
| Academic Facilities | 6 | The digital part of the facility is great with a large number of computers and different printing options. Everything else graphic design wise is extremely limited. |
| Social Life | 3 | There was never any real unity in the college. Other than brief friends in classes, there was no bonding between students. No sports team to join together over, and the only social event was the end of the year art event called manifest. |
| Placement Services | 4 | They didn't really place me in anything right away. They help you refine your portfolio and may throw a job opportunity at you, but not much else. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | They haven't really contacted me since graduation. However, they have allowed me to still use the college's facilities for a year since graduation. |
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