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 Johnson & Wales.
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 Johnson & Wales.
- Diverse: For a diverse student body, consider Johnson & Wales.
School Setting
- Out of State: For geographic diversity, take note of Rhode Island School of Design, Johnson & Wales, and Roger Williams University.
- Dorms: For a residential campus environment, take note of Roger Williams University, Rhode Island School of Design, and Johnson & Wales.
Excellence
- SAT: For students with high SAT scores, look at Rhode Island School of Design.
- % Accepted: For selective institutions, look at Rhode Island School of Design.
- Class Size: For small class sizes, look at Rhode Island School of Design and Roger Williams University.
Spotlight Schools Search
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
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Rhode Island School Of Design • Providence, RI
Studying Graphic Design (completion in 2001)
• 5/4/2011
"Very satisfied. Would recommend to others."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | Yes definitely. I loved this school! |
| Program Reputation | 10 | Great. Known as one of the best schools anywhere. |
| Program Quality | 10 | Very satisfied. One of the best schools in the country. |
| Instruction | 10 | Great school. No complaints. |
| How Difficult | 5 | Not too difficult. Not so easy to become boring. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Adobe Illustrator, Quark Express, Adobe Photoshop books/ and hands on. So both were used. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | Not too bad. Went nights. |
| Academic Facilities | 5 | Great facilities. Lacking nothing. |
| Social Life | 5 | Attended nights. Never dealt with this. |
| Placement Services | 5 | Wouldn't know. Never used placement services. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | Great school. Great alumni support. |
Rhode Island School Of Design • Providence, RI
Studying Graphic Design (completion in 2009)
• 5/4/2011
"The program was challenging yet supportive. I liked the mix of faculty and visiting lecturers. I thought it was fantastic that we were encouraged to enroll in classes in other disciplines."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | It is a supportive environment. You are encouraged to be unconventional. |
| Program Reputation | 10 | It is consistently ranked #1 in the country by US News. The industry recognizes the rigor of the program. |
| Program Quality | 10 | I learned an invaluable amount about how to think like a good designer and how to challenge myself in my role as a designer. I gained connections that are also invaluable. |
| Instruction | 8 | As with any school some teachers will be better than others. I did have extremely devoted advisers and also appreciated the quality of visiting instructors. |
| How Difficult | 10 | The course load is heavy and quality expectations are very high. People who are part of the program are self-motivated to do well -- finding solutions for design problems is challenging. It's not just about making something that "looks cool." |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Research and theory/history were certainly part of the studies. However, their application combined with craft were the foundation of learning. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 2 | There were few specifically required courses so that made schedules more flexible. On the other hand it was only available as a full time program. There were no online or night time classes, but for this level program I think it was appropriate. It is not a trade school, and it is an educational investment. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | The library was excellent and our space was sufficient. I did wish we had free printing, considering the cost of our education. |
| Social Life | 4 | I was an older student whose spouse lived in a neighboring state, so my social activity with campus and fellow students was limited. I did make a few friends, and do keep in touch with many members of my class through Facebook. |
| Placement Services | 4 | It was available and advertised and certainly helped students with finding unpaid internships. My personal experience was that connections (my own or through the RISD network as a whole) were more valuable. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | Official support is not very strong as an institution. Personal alumni connections are very important and helpful. |
Rodger Williams University • Bristol, RI
Studying Graphic Design Communication Major (completion in 2011)
• 7/7/2011
"It was what I expected college to be. Lots of fun, crappy food, and decent but annoying teachers. But I found a couple of teachers that truly loved their jobs and helped me until I got my first internship."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | The school never had any big glaring issues, it just was never amazing. It is worth the money, if you have it. RWU all the way! |
| Program Reputation | 8 | Among my peers, the school was known for its art majors. But the internship I got never really knew about the school. |
| Program Quality | 5 | The teachers were acceptable, but the program wasn't much different than other ones. I feel the school lacked any internship programs for during the summers. |
| Instruction | 8 | What we learned was challenging and useful in the real world. Some teaching styles were overall annoying, but it's still good. |
| How Difficult | 7 | Overall, the class material was pretty hard. The amount of knowledge we needed to know for each class was overwhelming. But the tests and projects didn't end up being that bad. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | We really couldn't use books for our major, because it was all about learning the skills of the programs. But when we did use a book, it was always engaging and helped our hands on experience. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 6 | It didn't seem like a big difference from other schools. I chose when I had my classes, but most of them weren't offered too many other times. |
| Academic Facilities | 7 | The school's computer software was very nice for my graphic design job. They had many copies of Photoshop for us to use in the computer lab and always had a couple of seats open. But there really wasn't a structured tutor system if I needed help. |
| Social Life | 5 | I had great friends I hung out with, but I didn't have any sort of clubs or teams that I liked. |
| Placement Services | 3 | There wasn't that much in place to help me get an internship just for the summer. I think I had to either do a full 5 year program or no program at all. |
| Alumni Network | 6 | To be honest, I never really dealt with support. But they have been bugging me for a while now to try and get my money. |
Johnson And Wales University • Providence, RI
Studying Graphics And New Media (completion in 2012)
• 8/9/2011
"I enjoyed the small class size, location, and student body. I only partially enjoyed half or part of the staff. What I wish there was more of was advanced coding and web knowledge such as drupal, joomla, wordpress, and database technology with ecommerce."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | I would say if your heart is set on design and print media, this is the school for you. However, if you are unsure, it is a very costly school to be unsure about enjoying your major on information you could easily learn at a community college. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | Overall, I've been told that compared to many schools in the area, Johnson and Wales can has the upper hand because they teach us about the values of business and pleasing the customer instead of pleasing ourselves with design work. Our university is more well known for culinary. |
| Program Quality | 5 | As far as my schooling and education, I had received a wide range and more "introductory" education; meaning I had the opportunity to learn about HTML, CSS, Web Standards, Logo Design & Development, Operating a graphic business, Print media, and SEO. I would have rather focused on one specific group. However, I still enjoy the vast average amount of knowledge I've gained in all of these areas. |
| Instruction | 7 | I would say just about average because of the broad spectrum of educational levels in my instructors. Some are highly knowledgeable and have even written the textbooks used in class, while others are simply just out of college adjuncts that don't have the teaching knowledge, but have the degree and work experience. |
| How Difficult | 10 | I would say extremely difficult only because your college education is not the end. Technology moves so fast, and so do the design and development trends and programs. Adobe has been quick at firing new versions of the software we learn, and often times, even new coding languages are filled, and it feels like a "start from scratch" learning position. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | For graphic design, Johnson and Wales has a slightly more hands on approach. I find this better because you don't design from a book. It is a lot of trial and error and working between many systems, programs, and browsers. Having a book on all of those would be costly and monotonous. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 7 | During the school week, hours are highly flexible. Classes run Monday through Thursday. The only reason I give it a 7 is because summer classes for graphic design are not allowed. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | Johnson and Wales has brand new facilities, always brand new technology and software, and has SMALL class sizes instead of auditorium style classes of 100 students. At JWU, you are never placed in a class with more than 32 kids. On average there were, between 10 and 25 students per class. |
| Social Life | 4 | Unfortunately, because we are a division 3 school for sports, I give us a rating of 4 because we have little to no spirit. While I have met many great contacts and had opportunities to enjoy other's company with our large amount of various clubs and groups, I really wish our sports had gotten the respect and funding they deserve. |
| Placement Services | 8 | Johnson and Wales has a vast number of business contacts as a business university partially for its wide variety of areas of education, and its location in a big city. We are also very involved with our internships, and currently have a 98% job acceptance rate after the first 6 months of graduating. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | Again, I would say this is average due to the broad spectrum of educational levels. Some people have written novels and have had ridiculous amounts of experience, while others have just simply graduated. |
New England Institute Of Technology • East Greenwich, RI
Studying Multimedia And Web Design (completion in 2011)
• 12/30/2011
"Going to NEIT was the best decision I have ever made! I am very satisfied with what I did while I was there (I left with a nice portfolio), and I am very satisfied with what I learned in class. The instructors were great as well. I honestly did not feel like I was back in school; it was such an interesting and fun program to take!"
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I absolutely would! There are just too many positives to dismiss this school without some serious thought. I learned so much while I was there and left feeling prepared for everything I might come across. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | I know students and teachers speak highly of the design program. The only negative comments I have heard come from students who don't put any work into their classes. |
| Program Quality | 10 | Everything was very hands on. I can't stress how much that helped me to both learn and understand the material we were being taught. The instructors were always willing to give extra help, even if it meant after class. |
| Instruction | 10 | I feel as though we were taught very relevant information. We learned all about design, what it means relating to different demographics, and even what to expect when freelancing. |
| How Difficult | 5 | If you put in the work and pay attention in class, the workload is not bad at all. We were constantly given challenges that made students produce work that they couldn't believe they actually did. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Classes themselves were hands on. We would be given chapters to read for homework, but that was all we really needed the book for. Homework also consisted of more hands-on projects than actual book reading. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | NEIT's classes were offered for only a few times. Generally, it was morning and evening, though some classes were offered during the summer. Only electives were available at multiple times, because so many students needed to take those classes. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | Instructors always made sure that students knew where the open labs were. At each open lab, there was at least one lab assistant; this person was nearing graduation, so he or she was able to help several students with different problems. If you needed to use something, be it a camera or a computer, or you needed extra instruction, there was always a way to get what you needed. |
| Social Life | My social experience wasn't that great. I was working while attending school, so I would often leave right after class to get to my job. I did speak to a lot of my classmates and am still in contact with many of them. The school did have several clubs and did things such as ping pong tournaments and video game days for students - I just never attended. | |
| Placement Services | 9 | Everyone at career services was great. I obtained quite a few internships through them. They're always there and encourage graduates to come back if they ever need help looking for a job. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | I haven't really looked into it. We were all given login information after graduation for a website, but I haven't logged in yet. I do know that career services encourages students to stop by to update resumes, look through internship and job listings, and even set up mock interviews to get you ready for the real thing. |
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