I’ve seen so many rankings for the best art schools, and I know RISD is always way above the others. The thing is, every other school is a blur from list to list. There’s never a solid second best, third best, etc. I think MICA and SAIC are kind of high up but I don’t really know for sure. Does anyone know how these schools are actually ranked, especially in terms of graphic design and stuff.
Yes. RISD, MICA, SAIC are all high up. I doubt that there is a clear ranking of art schools.
You may also want to look at –
Syracuse
U of Delaware
U of Cincinnati for industrial design
SCAD
Otis
CalArts
RIT has a program in medical illustration
UW Stout has a program in packaging design
FIT – great for fashion and many other types of design
Parsons
Pratt
Cooper Union
Ringling
Alfred has the best ceramics program
Centre has a fabulous glass arts program
Alfred also has a glass engineering program
And probably several others
USA Today a few years ago ranked Pratt first for “a degree in fine and studio arts”: https://www.pratt.edu/news/view/usa-today-ranks-pratt-number-one-college-for-a-degree-in-fine-and-studio-ar. If you’d prefer a more intimate setting for your first two years, look into Pratt-Utica: https://www.mwpai.edu/about-prattmwp/pratt-utica-campus/.
the #2 ranked mfa program (as undergrad is not ranked) is VCUARTS second only to Yale. AS per USNWR. Specifically it is a top rated school for GD . Also Richmond is one of the nicest and artistic cities in the country.
Our D attends VCUARTS and is a GD major. cant say enough good things about her experience. She has had so much opportunity, such as internship this past summer with a well known young artist in nyc as a sophomore, had several works sold professionally with faculty help, has a part time employment situation, was awarded a grant to attend GD event in S Korea, was a exhibiting artist at the international ny art book fair and that weeks ago lead to her first publication! So yes , consider VCUARTS
Great suggestions above! General reputation/ranking is important. AND I’d research those and see how they look specifically for graphic design and other areas where you might be interested. For art especially, you might look who teaches graphic design or your other areas of interest. How do they look for you? What kind of work do they do? What do students same about them on the main professor rating site? I think the student-professor relationship is more important in art fields than some others.
I have no idea about how it is for graphic design, but UNC-Asheville is another cool option, in general, for art. Great, great town that’s a folk art center. I’d also second VCU Arts, which is excellent, and right in a city very popular with students and young professionals right now.
Good luck!