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 Minneapolis College of Art and Design and University of Minnesota.
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 Dunwoody College of Technology, College of Visual Arts, and Concordia.
- Diverse: For a diverse student body, consider Saint Paul College and MCTC.
- Adult Learners: For lots of adult learners, consider Concordia.
School Setting
- Out of State: For geographic diversity, take note of Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Northland Community and Technical College, University of Minnesota, and Saint Mary's University of Minnesota.
- Dorms: For a residential campus environment, take note of Concordia, Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Saint Mary's University of Minnesota, and Concordia.
Excellence
- SAT: For students with high SAT scores, look at University of Minnesota, Concordia, and Minneapolis College of Art and Design.
- % Accepted: For selective institutions, look at University of Minnesota, Concordia, and Dunwoody College of Technology.
- Class Size: For small class sizes, look at Concordia, Dunwoody College of Technology, Minneapolis College of Art and Design, and Minnesota State.
Spotlight Schools Search
Spotlight Minnesota Schools Related to This Career
- Locations: Minneapolis
- Programs: 19 relevant programs; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Associate, Bachelor, Certificate, Diploma, Master
- Locations: St Louis Park
- Programs: One relevant program; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Bachelor
- Locations: Eden Prairie
- Programs: 8 relevant programs; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Associate, Bachelor
- Locations: Blaine, Brooklyn Park, Eagan, Hopkins, Lake Elmo, Minneapolis, Moorhead, St. Cloud
- Programs: 3 relevant programs; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Associate, Bachelor
- Locations: Saint Paul
- Programs: One relevant program; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Associate, Bachelor
See these schools on a map
Study from Anywhere at Online Schools Related to This Career
- Programs: One relevant program; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Bachelor
- Programs: 2 relevant programs; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Associate, Bachelor
International Academy of Design & Technology Online
- Programs: 2 relevant programs; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Associate, Bachelor
Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
Sort Reviews By:Sorting by: • Show All Details • Hide All Details
Minnesota State University Moorhead • Moorhead, MN
Studying Graphic Design (completion in 2010)
• 7/10/2011
"I am relatively satisfied with my schooling at MSUM. I learned quite a bit and am off to a good start to my career."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | The school is the only one in the area I would recommend. They did a good job of preparing me for my future. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | I've seen the art program mentioned in art magazines as being a very good one. The art program is based off of the old Bauhaus school in Germany which helps a lot with its reputation. |
| Program Quality | 8 | MSUM did a good job of preparing me for a job as a graphic designer. The art program also helped me to become a little more adventurous and daring with my work. |
| Instruction | 8 | A lot of the projects were used to give a better understanding of how to do various different action in Photoshop and Illustrator. They did so in a way that prepared one for working with clients. |
| How Difficult | 5 | Once I got the hang of the various programs, it wasn't too hard. The hardest part was probably finding ways to be creative. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | As a graphic design major you get a very good mix of this. They teach you with books to learn some background knowledge, but it is very hands on as well. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 7 | MSUM has all kinds of different classes. They offer a few saturday classes, many evening courses, various different summer schedules, and a program for online students. |
| Academic Facilities | 7 | The school has very good academics facilities and resources. Even as an art major you can take advantage of tutors. The labs are available to students 24/7. |
| Social Life | 3 | The school in general had good athletics and a good social life. However, I stuck to my group of friends and didn't do much in the way of clubs. |
| Placement Services | 4 | The school did help students find jobs pretty quickly. However, they were less concerned about finding one directly related to one's major. |
| Alumni Network | 4 | I haven't been an alumni for very long. They send me various things in the mail and thats about all I've noticed so far. |
Minneapolis Community And Technical College • Minneapolis, MN
Studying Graphic Design (completion in 2009)
• 7/21/2011
"Two thirds of my education I found to be an incredible experience. The last semester I found to be extremely frustrating due to poor instruction. I felt as though one of my teachers that I had in two classes,had a very difficult time staying on course materials and discussing relevant material. Her private life, and her tastes, rather than logically good reasons, for not liking pieces took focus rather than how to design advantageously."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | If I felt that someone had a really strong sense of art, font, and were able to execute and needed little-to-some guidance and needed to learn design programs... I would send them to MCTC. If I felt as though someone really lacked a lot of design principles (i.e., lacked any knowledge of color theory, fonts, photography or producing artwork) I would suggest they go to a four year. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | My mentor who passed away left a very strong legacy behind. He fought for the program to develop into more than just the technical basis but also taught more that was useful to the career itself. |
| Program Quality | 6 | My prior major was English with a Studio Arts minor. My mentor brought me into Graphic Design but passed away before I completed my studies. He was the head of the department, and a lot of what shined at my school was gone when he died. A lot of the teachers that still work there seemed to greatly dislike what they did. However, I had a few really amazing teachers. |
| Instruction | 8 | Over 50% of my teachers were in fact professors that taught at nearby universities and art schools around Minneapolis, and taught the same curriculum as they taught me. The rest had a lot of experience within the industry and offered a lot of insight into different aspects of design. |
| How Difficult | 9 | Anything subjective, if you care about what you're doing, is extremely difficult. It takes knowing yourself and having a high level of confidence within yourself and what you're doing. It's not just learning the computer programs. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | As a technical college, you learn both from the books as well as hands on. I always felt as though I had time to at least start ideation and never felt rushed. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 2 | MCTC is fantastic because it is literally the most diverse community college within the state and has the oldest median age of students attending. Because of this, they were/are extremely accommodating. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | We always had the newest version of Adobe software and opportunities for extra support. Some professors were more available than others to speak to, but our school was smaller, so I graduated with about 30 people. Due to the size, we had an advantage of materials we had to work with. |
| Social Life | 7 | One of my closest friends I met through the program on day one. He and I still meet up for coffee and get together to design. |
| Placement Services | 1 | My internship class was taught by a teacher who offered a blog linked with ads she saw of internships as our way to get an internship. I wasn't able to find one. I had a dean tell me I would never be able to do multiple majors and minors once I left MCTC and went on to a university. |
| Alumni Network | 4 | I don't really hear about it a lot and haven't heard from them since I graduated. |
Minneapolis Community And Technical College • Minneapolis, MN
Studying Graphic Arts/Visual Communications (completion in 2010)
• 8/8/2011
"I liked school. I liked MCTC and it was a good experience. In a way I'm glad that I got laid off from my old job and was thrown out there, going back to school in middle age. But I took a huge pay cut. I lost a lot because of the layoff."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | Besides the equipment that does not work, there are a lot of nice people working their tails off trying to get an education to achieve a better life. There is a lot of talk about how lazy people are, but at this school you observe on a daily basis how hard people are trying to get into the middle class. Working some terrible service job or two and attending school at the same time is where a lot of people are now. It really makes me mad that our politicians keep cutting funds for higher education. Education is a big part of getting America's economy turned around. |
| Program Reputation | 9 | It's known as a good school for graphic arts on the cheaper side of academia. The school is known for its diversity, as there are people from all over the world that go there. In some businesses that is a big plus. |
| Program Quality | 7 | Very good program, but due to budget cuts there were problems with equipment like computers and printers. The printer did not work the entire last two semesters I attended, and a printer is a pretty important part of graphic design. I spent a huge amount of extra money at Kinko's printing my assignments. |
| Instruction | 8 | Instructors were good except for one who was from the pre-computer age of graphic arts. Half the stuff I'm doing now (digital printing) was not covered or discussed in any way, shape, or form. |
| How Difficult | 9 | Very vague instructions. Stressing students out "to prepare for the real world." I was an older student that was learning new skill sets, and I didn't need to "prepare for the real world." The most valuable thing I learned in school was how to deal with people that were much younger than me. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Going to school for graphic arts is mostly making something and then slapping it up on the wall and the class critiques everything for hours on end. You don't use books except for learning computer programs like Photoshop and Illustrator. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 6 | Most of the classes in the last part of the program were at 7:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. one day a week. Most of the classes that involved learning computer programs were very flexible. |
| Academic Facilities | 5 | The printer never worked. Some of the computers were screwy. A lot of the blame for this was the IT department at the school. It was well known they were a bunch of lazy people. |
| Social Life | 10 | Sports were almost non-existent but there were a lot of social events and parties that groups would throw. There were many students from South America, Somalia, Liberia, and other parts of the world. They would have celebrations on their national holidays. It was interesting learning about the celebrations. |
| Placement Services | 7 | I never used the job placement services or career services assistance. I do know that if you applied yourself you could fairly easily get an internship through the connections the professors had. |
| Alumni Network | 7 | I don't put in any effort in contacting MCTC's school network or support so I can't really rate this very well. I did make some good friends at school that I keep in contact with via Facebook. |
Capella University • Minneapolis, MN
Studying Information Technology (completion in 2010)
• 8/29/2011
"They have great instructors. The flexibility and quality of teaching is the best. I have gone to traditional universities and felt ripped off. Usually those instructors want to talk about themselves all day."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | You can't beat the instructors. Plus, the flexibility is a huge bonus. |
| Program Reputation | 10 | They have a great reputation with employers. They also are looked at as a good university within the educational field. |
| Program Quality | 10 | Capella gave all the information I needed for graphic design. In the information technology field alone, many times I know more than those who specialized in specific areas. |
| Instruction | 10 | The instructors are people who have worked in the field for a very long time and know what they are talking about. They answer quickly and are fair on the grading. |
| How Difficult | 8 | For someone like me who has been in the business for over a decade it wasn't extremely hard. However, I know many who failed. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Many things are book learning - I would say 40%. However, most are project based courses, so this is why I lean towards hands on with my rating. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | It is great - they give plenty of time to complete assignments. Usually there is a week to complete discussions as well. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | The online library is top notch. They also provide resources such as paper checking and tutorials. |
| Social Life | 5 | It is an online university so I assume they are average. I don't know of any activities. |
| Placement Services | 5 | They provide guides on resumes, interviews, and the like. However, I am not aware of any job placement. |
| Alumni Network | 10 | They provide an alumni social network. Also, they contact the alumni on a regular basis with information. |
Alexandria Tech • Alexandria, MN
Studying Communication Art And Design (completion in 2009)
• 9/11/2011
"I couldn't have asked for a better program. It provided me with a well-rounded education. It was inexpensive compared to other schools. I obtained my degree in only two years and was prepared for work after college."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I can't imagine another school being able to provide as great an education in design. Our professors knew us on a personal level and work hard to put the most effort they can into our education. |
| Program Reputation | 10 | In the Addy Awards, our school consistently takes the cake. It has a good reputation for turning out great designers and is a good value for students. |
| Program Quality | 10 | The program was well-rounded. The professors were excellent and truly cared for us as students. I learned about every aspect of graphic design from printing, illustration, and layouts to typography and editorial design. |
| Instruction | 10 | The three professors I had for the majority of my classes were all quite different and it made for a well-rounded curriculum. The professors were very honest with us about how the real world would be and prepared us for it. |
| How Difficult | 8 | The work load was immense. I did homework with every free minute of my day. It was challenging trying to keep up with all of it. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | I hardly used my books at all! We were always working on our computers and doing hands-on activities. We did a lot of projects that weren't on the computer as well. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | For general classes, there are many options. For program-specific classes, there isn't much flexibility. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | Our classrooms were large and my program had an entire floor to ourselves. There were lots of people around to help and alumni were always stopping in to visit, so we could chat with those working in the field. |
| Social Life | 3 | Since there isn't campus housing, there isn't much to do around the school when you aren't in class. We don't have big social events there other than a few random activity nights. |
| Placement Services | 9 | The school will work with you to help you find a job. The job placement rating has averaged over 90% for a long time. |
| Alumni Network | 7 | The school has a great network of alumni. It also provides a good support system. |
Review your current or past school and help others make better career decisions.