Top 25 Graphic Design BFA Programs in the U.S. – 2021 College Rankings

Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) offers a four-year undergraduate BFA in Graphic Design. One of the largest departments at RISD, Graphic Design serves approximately 165 students and features dedicated studios in the Design Center where they “learn the fundamental value of typography, imagery, grids, systems and more in the course of creating everything from traditional books, posters, logos and websites to apps, interactive texts and other digital media,” says the school.

The core BFA curriculum “builds a range of analytical, formal, sensory and technical design experiences. Sophomores begin exploring visual principles of form, image, color and typography.” During their junior year, students will focus on “conceptual thinking in areas such as communication theory, visual systems and information design.” The final year of the program focuses on “design applications, with a range of electives available to expose students to specific areas of graphic design practice.” Upper level students also have opportunities to pursue professional internships.

Graduates of enjoy a high employment rate. Around 96% of all RISD graphic design graduates are employed one year after graduation, and 70% are employed in positions directly related to their major.

The School of Visual Arts (SVA) offers a BFA in Design. The program “is a multidisciplinary educational system in itself, offering separate majors that include Graphic Design, Motion Graphics, Interaction Design and 3D Design,” says the school.

The program can be further divided into package design, editorial design, information graphics, corporate identity, publication design, CD packaging, book jacket design, environmental design and website design. Other program highlights include intensive one-week workshops, exhibitions that are routinely covered by NBC, CBS. ABC, and CNN, competitions, enrollment in the AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Artists) and the Art Directors Club—two of the most prestigious design organizations in the country, industry review, and internships.

Graduates of the SVA Graphic Design Program have gone on to work for commercial and not-for-profit corporations, institutions and businesses. Many founded their own start-ups, design firms and studios. Some have become partners in businesses and individual projects. Graduates have started over 50 design studios around the globe.

Pratt Institute houses the School of Design, which offers “up to four of Pratt’s oldest and most esteemed disciplines,” says the school. This includes the BFA in Communications Design, where “students learn to engage audiences, explore technologies, develop visual languages, challenge preconceptions, redefine problems, and identify opportunities through the lens of communication design.” Students in the BFA program have the opportunity to choose a focus area. Options include Graphic Design, Illustration, and Advertising Art Direction.

Graphic Design students will “explore topics and modes of practice, such as typographic and identity systems, visual rhetoric, interactivity, experience design, sustainability, and inclusivity.” Projects in the program “encourage critical inquiry, collaborative processes, and experimentation with multiple technologies and platforms.” Through electives students can explore a “wide spectrum of specializations in graphic design, including user experience, motion graphics, type design, independent publishing, data visualization, and post-artifact books.”

BFA students also have the opportunity to enroll in one of more than 20 study abroad programs and international exchange programs in over a dozen locations such as Florence, Milan, Copenhagen, London, and Tokyo.

Graduates of the Graphic Design and Communication Design Program at Pratt are “equipped to pursue a spectrum of exciting career paths as creative professionals.” Pratt alumni “continue to distinguish themselves in design studios, cultural institutions, branding agencies, and independent enterprises making significant contributions to the fields of art and design, publishing, education, film, gaming, advertising, and many more.”

Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) offers a BFA in Graphic Design. Offered in Atlanta, Savannah, and online via eLearning, the program highlights Entrepreneurship, Mobile Technology, Product Packaging, and User Experience and Interface Design (UX/UI). Students have the opportunity to declare a double major in the areas of Advertising, Branded Entertainment, Illustration, Motion Media Design, Sequential Art and more, and access to Minors such as Advertising and Branding, Advertising Copywriting, Mobile and Interactive Design, and Motion Media Design. Students may complement their degree with a Certificate in Digital Publishing as well.

All graphic design students will “learn how to weave entrepreneurship and modern technology with product and user-centered design,” says the school. They will “learn from titans of the industry at Airbnb, Google, Hasbro, and more” Students will also “gain an all-access pass to leading-edge resources and star-studded signature events like SCADstyle, attended by luminaries from global art, fashion, and modern design.”

SCAD graduates are prepared to join elite agencies, multinational companies, or start their own businesses as they lead branding, visual marketing, interactive media, and immersive campaigns. Graduates work at top companies around the globe including Apple, IBM, Ralph Lauren, Under Armour, Verizon, and many others.

The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) offers a BFA in Studio with a Visual Communication Design Pathway. The program has two major areas of focus: Physical Media (environments, print, and objects) and Virtual Media (interactive and time-based media). This includes books/bookbinding, coding/programming/scripting, data visualization/diagrams/maps, design issues, film titles and fonts, identity systems, illustrations, image text narrative, installations/wayfinding signage, and interface design. Other components include letterpress printing, methodologies, museum exhibitions/kiosks, packages/package graphics, posters, print production and offset printing, digital/screen-based production, publications/magazines, strategy, symbols/web icons, theory, typography, websites/design for mobile phone and tablets, and video.

Additional Visual Communication Design Program highlights include an active AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts) student chapter, Exploratory Languages (a lecture series featuring leading designers and design educators from across the country), and CIPB (Chicago International Poster Biennial), which is an international competition representing leading designers from throughout the world. Internship and optional study abroad opportunities are also offered.

California College of the Arts (CCA) offers BFA degrees in Graphic Design and Interaction Design. Highlights for both programs include the opportunity to immerse in the areas of Brand Identity, Motion Graphics, Print and Screen-Based and Interactive Design. Elective offerings will “strengthen” students “design toolkit,” says the school and CCAs extensive internship program provides real-world experience. Students have the opportunity to intern for design firms, publishing houses, and nonprofits as they work toward a polished thesis project.

“Situated within a top art college the Graphic Design program also benefits from an atmosphere of hands-on making and experimentation. Students are constantly giving and getting feedback and testing their ideas with faculty, visiting experts, and peers.”

Students also benefit from CCAs location in the San Francisco Bay Area, home to Apple, Netflix, IDEO, YouTube, Pinterest, NASA, Google, and many other technology companies. Graduates of the programs have landed positions at innovative design firms, museums, publishing houses, technology companies, nonprofits, and more.

Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD) offers a BFA in Graphic Design. The 120 credit hour BFA program allow students to “develop their own voice and produce original work,” says the school. “They will research, engage with, and create innovative concepts, content, and form, and learn to communicate ideas visually.”

Students have the opportunity to take electives outside of graphic design, complete a required internship to gain practical, real-world experience, participate in the Emerging Talent Showcase to share their work with potential employers, and complete a semester-long project to culminate in the Commencement Exhibition.

Graphic Design BFA students have the option to study abroad in places such as England, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, or anywhere in the U.S.

University of North Texas (UNT) offers a BFA in Communication Design with a Concentration in Graphic Design.  Students begin the program “by learning to use the basic principles of design and design thinking, and progress to learn image making, color theory and typography as they create a wide variety of visual communications,” says the school.

Course highlights include Advertising Copywriting, Cause-Based Design, Communication Design Studio, Foundations – Space, Foundations – Systems & Transformations, Graphic Design, Graphic Design Advanced Campaigns, Image Making & Color Theory, Interaction Design, Publication Design, and Typography. Other program highlights include intensive studio courses and the opportunity to complete a professional internship.

Students who complete the Graphic Design Concentration will gain the ability to generate original, creative messages and ideas, and develop a professional portfolio to submit to potential employers. Graduates “are regularly recognized in national and international design competitions and have a high placement rate at top design, interactive and advertising firms throughout the country.”

Otis College of Art and Design (OTIS) offers a BFA in Graphic Design. Formats covered in the program, include branding and logo development, posters, books, package design, apps, websites, and interactive design. Students “learn to articulate a critical and theoretical perspective and develop graphic design skills, such as type design and traditional letterpress,” says the school. “Strong craft and presentation skills are emphasized throughout,” with students achieving “the highest level of design excellence through critiques, reviews, and workshops.”

Course highlights for the program include Advanced Image Making Projects, Communication Studio I-IV, Connections through Color and Design, Creative Action Studio, Drawing and Building Form, Systems and Identity Design, Type and Alternative Media, Typography, Visual Language, and Writing in the Digital Age. A Senior Thesis/Research Paper, Senior Project/Seminar, and Capstone are also part of the program.

Graduates of the OTIS Graphic Design Program have landed positions at major companies and studios such as ABC, Inc. and Partners, Apple, Anthropologie, Capitol Records, Conde Nast Publications, Disney Consumer Products, GUESS?, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Ogilvy Worldwide, Sony Music, Twentieth Century Fox, Warner Bros. Records, and Young & Rubicam.

Brigham Young University (BYU) offers a BFA in Graphic Design that “simulates a professional studio experience with students working to solve complex visual problems,” says the school. “As members of a small cohort group, students complete a variety of individual and collaborative projects under close faculty direction.”

Course highlights for the program include 3D Design, Advertising, Bookbinding, Branding, Design Thinking, Entrepreneurship, Illustration, Interaction Design, Letterpress Studio, Motion 1 & 2, and Typography. Students in the program will complete the BFA Capstone Project and a required Professional Internship.

Student interns have the opportunity to apply their design skills in a real working environment, they will learn how to meet the needs of the client while preserving the integrity of the design principles they have learned in class, and interact with team members from all areas of expertise on a real-world project.

Graduates of this limited enrollment program (40 students) “will be able to create design solutions across multiple mediums, including print, interactive media, and film.”

University of Southern California (USC) offers a Design BFA. This four-year pre-professional program begins with foundation courses such as Drawing and Illustration. Students will gain experience “with a wide array of artistic media,” says the school, and participate in “skills-based workshops in 2D and 3D design-specific media.” Design coursework is “complemented by a series of critical theory seminars, professional design internships, and international design study tours,” along with “a senior thesis and Minors in Advertising, Business, Communication, Entrepreneurship and Marketing.” A required 26 units of electives allows students to refine their focus.

Course highlights for the BFA program include 3D Design Studio, Art and Design Studio, Digital Tools for Design, Illustration for Art and Design, Publication Design, Typography, and Web Design. Students may also take advantage of the New York or International Design Study Tours.

Auburn University offers a BFA in Graphic Design (BFA GDES). This is Alabama’s only GDES Program to receive accreditation by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD) accreditation.

Students in the program “follow a curriculum that provides variety and depth in all aspects of the field, supported by Fine Arts electives,” says the school. This includes branding, illustration, motion, packaging, publication, typography, UI/UX, and packaging, app, and wayfinding design.

In addition, “students have excellent opportunities for internship and cooperative education experiences as a result of well established relationships with regional, national and international companies and firms.” As a result of their overall experience and education, students will build a strong portfolio of work.

Graduates of the program are prepared to design positions with magazines and in logo and identity development, interactive media, exhibitions, illustration, environmental graphics, packaging, and web design.

Boston University (BU) offers a Graphic Design BFA that “provides a sequenced studio approach to design, preparing students to thrive in a dynamic, creative professional environment,” says the school.

Students begin the program with Foundations, which introduces “visual concepts in two and three dimensions, with an emphasis on drawing from observation.” In the second year of the program, students specialize in graphic design coursework, with yearlong graphic design and typography studios that emphasize form and communication.

Third year students participate in graphic design and typography studios that “address authorship, audience, and medium.” Projects are completed in communal workspaces equipped with flat files, printers, and paper trimmers. “With training, students are also granted access to the School’s Printmaking facilities, which include etching, lithography, silkscreen, bookmaking, letterpress, and digital print studios.”

Students in the BFA program have the opportunity to complete coursework outside of the School of Visual Arts and explore a variety of programs across the BU community. Many undergraduate Graphic Design students are dual-degree majors.

The BFA in Graphic Design culminates in the thesis project and end of year exhibition, where students “articulate a personally driven design methodology through an installation of their work in the Boston University Art Galleries.”

Upon completion of the BFA program, students have the option to enroll in BU’s Graphic Design Graduate Certificate Program. This one-year full-time rigorous and intensive study in graphic design is an ideal step towards an MFA in Graphic Design.