Which universities have the best undergraduate programmes for industrial design and product design? I was considering Art center college of design, SCAD and CCA. Which uni has the best faculty and industry connections for industrial design specifically?
Not sure about CCA. Art Center and SCAD both have high rankings on Design Intelligence. I think Art Center is typically ranked #1 or #2. You should consider other factors besides rankings; however, rankings are very helpful in seeing how professionals in the industry view the program. In general there is going to be a strong correlation between a school’s quality and it’s ranking.
My D2 is attending SCAD this fall for animation. SCAD in general seems to encourage the professional development of the students and is very much about them getting a job in the creative field upon graduation. While I can’t speak to Industrial Design specifically, it doesn’t surprise me that it’s ranked so high because that’s consistent with other programs for the school.
@Mamelot thank you!
Are you a transfer student or have you been on a gap year?
Are you an int’l?
What is your budget? These art/specialty schools are expensive and often don’t give much in aid.
I’m an international transfer student from SAIC. I just got done with my first year at university. I guess i’d want to look at the schools without thinking about the budget at first. If budget is a major issue, I’d tick the school off my list later. @mom2collegekids
As a transfer don’t count on any financial aid. Have you checked the price for each? Can you afford them all?
Do you want art schools or do you want more mainstream universities?
Three schools off the top of my head with industrial/product design majors: Georgia Tech (industrial design), UIUC (industrial design), and University of Utah (multidisciplinary design).
Looks like Stanford has a product design major too. RIT has an industrial design major. RISD has an industrial design major. UW has an industrial design major and also has an interaction design major, as well as a human centered design and engineering major. Western Washington University has an industrial design major. A couple Cal State campuses have one too.
University of Cincinnati has strong industrial design with a coop program. Don’t know policy about transferring and/ or aid for internationals