<p>am planning to major in industrial design next year as a freshman at art school (i'm a senior in HS now). I have been accepted to Pratt, and I am waiting to hear back from Parsons, MassArt, and Cooper Union (I applied to the architecture school at CU). I have a good feeling I'll get into Parsons since I got into Pratt with a hefty presidential schollarship, and both are my top choice, being in NYC.</p>
<p>They have very a different feel to them, however, and I want to know more about the quality/comparison of their specific industrial design programs.</p>
<p>If anyone has any information/oppinions that would be great!</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>Also, does anyone know how the acceptance of Pratt, Parsons, MassArt, and RISD compare, as far as portfolio quality?</p>
<p>This should be posted in the arts forum. However, let me address them.</p>
<p>The top industrial design schools, as rated by Design Intelligence Magazine are as follows:</p>
<p>Undergrad:
1. Art Center College of Design in California
2. University of Cincinnati, which you should have applied to
3.Pratt institute
4.RISD
5.Carnegie Mellon
6. Cleveland Institute of Art
7. Univ of Illinois
8. Syracuse University</p>
<p>For graduate ID:</p>
<p>1.Art Center College of Design
2.Pratt Institute
3.Cranbrook Academy of Art
4.Illinois Institute of Tech
5.Stanford
6.RISD
7. Ohio State
8. Univ. of Illinois- Urbana
9.Syracuse University
10. Arizona State, Georgia state, North Carolina State</p>
<p>Note: Parsons isn't even on the list because their aren't really known for Industrial Design. Their claim to fame is fashion design, although I would imagine that graphic design would be good too.</p>
<p>Of the schools that you posted, Pratt institute has, by far, the best reputation for industrial deisgn. They have a very highly-ranked program for both undergrad and graduate. If money is a serious issue for you, pick either Mass Art or Cooper Union. Personally, I liked Mass Art better as a school.However, as I said in the other forum where you posted this, you should have also applied to University of Cincinnati, which has very reasonable tuition too. Sadly, it is too late for this year for you to be applying to schools.</p>
<p>Also, you should have considered RIT,which has a strong ID program, although not listed on the rating list.</p>
<p>For reasons mentioned on another thread, I don't trust Design Intelligence rankings. They're very unstable from year to year. So take them with a big grain of salt.</p>
<p>As for difficulty of admissions, of the ones you list RISD is the most difficult, followed by Pratt, Parsons and MassArt. I have a nephew finishing up this year at Parsons in illustration. It's a good program. But of the I.D. programs in NYC, I agree with TaxGuy that Pratt clearly has the strongest reputation. My daughter studied ID at RISD and works in NY and she feels that the RISD grads are generally much stronger than those from Pratt, but of course individual talent can vary a lot. She thinks MICA has a good program, too. One of her classmates in ID at RISD is now getting an MFA from the Art Center in Pasadena (after working for two years in industry); that's a very strong ID program.</p>
<p>Yeah, I applied to Cooper's architecture school (since they dont have ID) but im figuring my choice is going to be between Pratt and Parsons a. because I love nyc, but it'll be hard to choose between brooklyn and greenwich village, and b. because i live 20 minutes away from boston, so MassArt is a bit too close to home for me.</p>
<p>I was talking to a girl who graduated from RIT's ID program, and she said it was too much time in front of a computer, too technology-oriented, which is not what i'm looking for-- i'm looking for more of the artistic aspect as opposed to the technological or engineering aspect.</p>
<p>wickedfanone, I think you're going to find that the computer side is inevitable and increasingly integral to your work in any design field. When you design a product -- however you get there, whether with a spark of imagination, a pencil drawing, piecing elements of previous designs together, or some other method -- ultimately you're going to have to render your design in a computer design program of some sort. But as has been mentioned by some of the posters on this board before, the computer technology is no substitute for ideas, imagination, and artistic sense. So I encourage you to go with your good instincts on this issue.</p>
<p>//I was talking to a girl who graduated from RIT's ID program, and she said it was too much time in front of a computer, too technology-oriented, which is not what i'm looking for-- i'm looking for more of the artistic aspect as opposed to the technological or engineering aspect.//</p>
<p>when it comes to efficiency, precision as well as the ability to make modifications quickly...what choice do you have ut to use technology? Don't know much about I.D. but I don't think paper mache is very useful. You're looking to work with your hands more, consider furniture design, or textile design, or jewelry design perhaps.</p>
<p>I understand your comment; RIT's ID program is known for the depth with which they prepare you for the digital aspect of Industrial Design. Contrast that to Art Center, which is based nearly entirely on "sexy renderings", or to SCAD or CMU's programs, which are focused on user-centered design and process. </p>
<p>Each program has a personality; you will have to visit the schools to find out what these personalities are ..</p>
<p>I have visited, but its just hard to gauge which school I will come out of with the best education and connections and opportunities and all that.</p>
<p>//I have visited, but its just hard to gauge which school I will come out of with the best education and connections and opportunities and all that.//</p>
<p>The bottom-line truth is, these things will be up to you.</p>