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 Lane Community College, Portland Community College, and Chemeketa 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 Portland State and Pacific Northwest College of Art.
- Diverse: For a diverse student body, consider Lane Community College, Portland Community College, and Chemeketa Community College.
- Adult Learners: For lots of adult learners, consider Chemeketa Community College, Portland Community College, Lane Community College, and Mt Hood Community College.
School Setting
- Out of State: For geographic diversity, take note of Linfield, Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland State, and Linn-Benton Community College.
- Dorms: For a residential campus environment, take note of Linfield and Portland State.
Excellence
- % Accepted: For selective institutions, look at Pacific Northwest College of Art.
- Class Size: For small class sizes, look at Linfield and Pacific Northwest College of Art.
Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
Sort Reviews By:Sorting by: • Show All Details • Hide All Details
University Of Oregon • Eugene, OR
Studying Computer Science/Graphic Design (completion in 2008)
• 5/4/2011
"While I feel everything was amazing with the school, and the experience was better than anything I could have ever expected; the price I paid to graduate (as an out of state student) was disgusting. I will be in debt for a very long time:( While attending the University the tuition and fees for out of state students climbed more than 20% from around $28,125 to more than $34,700!"
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | While there are some negatives (tuition and neglect by the dean), I highly recommend this University. In comparison to other Universities we are only getting better each and every year. |
| Program Reputation | 5 | It is rated low because the program is just starting up and still organizing. Buildings and equipment are still being shipped in and set up every year. Once the school gets completely set up it will be one great program! |
| Program Quality | 9 | The school recently opened a new computer science wing, and in my opinion is one of the most technologically advanced schools in the nation. They provide everything you need to advance in the field which you study. With donations from some of the United States most wealthy people it is no wonder my former University is in the place it is. |
| Instruction | 7 | While the school is advancing rather quickly the teachers are not completely up to par. With the equipment we can afford I would think we could acquire some MIT or better grads to teach. |
| How Difficult | 8 | There are quite a few loop holes which allow those to graduate who shouldn't even be in the school at all. In one case I witnessed an entire group of people completely bypass their language and math requirements by taking a computer coding course, the key problem with this was the fact that these students would simply place their coding problem into Dreamweaver software and it would break down and solve the problem for them. It was disgraceful... |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | While it is ranked as one of the best research institutions in the nation, the hands on knowledge is bar none. We have a number of world class professors who are more than willing to meet with students on any number of topics. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | Most of the buildings and research facilities on campus are open 24/7 and there are plenty of online classes to choose from. It is one of the best atmospheres a student could have while attending a University! |
| Academic Facilities | 7 | As stated above, the program is still organizing, but as soon as it is complete it will be on par with some of the best CS programs in the country. The campus itself has 6 libraries which can be accessed by any student. There are also world class computer labs in every building for every school, accept for the language building... |
| Social Life | 10 | Our football team went to the BCS championship and didn't lose any players last year, enough said... On top of this we have a newly created division one baseball program, Oh and did I mention that the University of Oregon and Eugene, Oregon in general is known as Track Town to the rest of the U.S.A.? We hosted the Olympic trials and will be hosting them again in 2013. Almost all Greek life is represented on campus, the party and bar hopping life is amazing! The people are nice! The only problem is dealing with the random homeless bagger every day... |
| Placement Services | 3 | Look forward to finding your own work, if your not at the top of your class you will have just as hard a time finding work as all the rest of the undergraduates in the nation... |
| Alumni Network | 10 | Like I state above, when you have alumni like Phil Knight and Lorry Lokey there is no reason to seek any other outside funding... |
Oregon State University • Corvallis, OR
Studying New Media Communications/Graphic Design (completion in 2008)
• 7/31/2011
"OSU is a wonderful school. Aside from their rather strict class schedule, everything about the school was excellent."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | OSU will offer a great education in graphic design. It does a good job teaching CURRENT marketable skills, rather than focusing on things that worked in the past. |
| Program Reputation | 6 | OSU is famed for producing engineers. However, if an employer knows someone else who graduated in any art and design program at OSU, they know that it is a good school. |
| Program Quality | 9 | I have no other schooling to compare it to, but it was excellent. The double degree option from OSU was excellent. |
| Instruction | 8 | There were several classes that seemed unnecessary to the major. What I did learn about how to market myself, as well as the products, was excellent, though. |
| How Difficult | 8 | Rating the difficulty is hard, as my friends believed art to be hard, and I believed chemistry and engineering to be hard. I believe that my workload was often larger than theirs simply because I had to be the best, and not just complete an assignment. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | My major, at least, had very little reading. While a few classes were primarily based on reading, the majority were hands-on. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 3 | The summer options are limited at OSU. Many classes are only available at one specific time, and though some classes are spread out, it leaves very little flexibility. |
| Academic Facilities | 7 | There were plenty of places to work and find resources on campus. Teachers were readily available to critique work. |
| Social Life | 7 | The residence halls on campus were a veritable wealth of free food.... I mean, of "social hangout opportunities." Once I had a group of friends, I didn't spend much time at them, though. |
| Placement Services | 4 | To be fair, I never really sought out advice while I was there. However, the information was not easily available, as I never even heard mention of it. |
| Alumni Network | 7 | OSU seems to care about their alumni. I haven't been very involved with the network, though. |
Lane Community College • Eugene, OR
Studying Multimedia/Web Design (completion in 2014)
• 3/22/2012
"The FA office can be a pain, but overall I like my school. The quality of instruction more than makes up for the paperwork nightmare."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | The instructors are good and the knowledge I've gained is helpful. I think anyone who values hands-on learning would enjoy this program. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | The program is relatively new but seems to be held in high regard. Graduates seem to succeed in the field. |
| Program Quality | 9 | The overall program is excellent. The instruction I am getting benefits me. |
| Instruction | 9 | The curriculum is current for today's industry standards. I feel that I am getting good instruction in how the industry works. |
| How Difficult | 7 | The work is somewhat easy for me. The workload, however, can be a challenge at times. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | The hands-on aspect of my program is why I like it so much. Learning by doing works really well for me and I am glad that my school embraces this approach. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 6 | There are not a lot of night classes in my chosen field. There aren't any weekend classes at all. |
| Academic Facilities | 7 | Professors have generally narrow office hours. There are lots of computer labs, but they fill up quickly. |
| Social Life | 8 | I don't socialize much at the school but people generally are favorable towards it. Our athletic teams are pretty good. |
| Placement Services | I have not used these services yet. I hope to become familiar with them in the future. | |
| Alumni Network | 8 | Student services are excellent. I have not utilized any post-educational services yet. |
Online Course Finder
Find the path to your
education in 3 easy steps.