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What are the top Oregon graphic design schools for 2025?
| Ranking | School | City |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Portland State University | Portland |
| 2 | Oregon State University | Corvallis |
| 3 | Willamette University | Salem and Portland |
Our 2025 ranking of the top graphic design school programs in Oregon. For an explanation of the ranking criteria, click here.
1. Portland State University, Portland, Oregon
The College of the Arts at Portland State University (PSU) is the largest art school in the Pacific Northwest. Within the college is the Schnitzer School of Art + Art History + Design, which houses the Graphic Design BFA and minor programs. BFA students have the opportunity to work on projects for real clients through the Schnitzer School’s in-house studio A + D Projects. PSU's Business School has an Advertising minor for Graphic Design majors that provides additional opportunities for students to work with real clients through the Creative Strategy and Advertising Campaigns courses, and the on-campus advertising agency FIR. Graduates have gone on to land positions at places such as IBM, Microsoft, Wieden+Kennedy, Nike, Google, IDEO, Apple, R/GA, Adidas, Target, Snapchat, Columbia, Frito-Lay, and Interbrand.
2. Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon
The College of Liberal Arts at Oregon State University (OSU or Oregon State) houses the School of Visual, Performing, and Design Arts. Within the school is a Graphic Design (GD) program leading to a BFA or Honors BFA (HBFA). Both programs allow students to focus in other areas of art and design through the required 32 elective credits. The culminating experience for the BFA and HBFA is the Senior Capstone Project. Graduates are prepared to pursue careers in areas such as advertising, public relations, information design, motion graphics, and publishing. Program alumni have been hired at places such as Google, Nike, Microsoft, ESPN, Columbia Sportswear, Apple, National Geographic, Intel, ABC, Target, LAIKA, Amazon, HP, Williams-Sonoma, NBCUniversal, ABC, The Mill, and Ignition Creative (LA/London).
3. Willamette University, Salem and Portland, Oregon
Willamette University (WU) is home to Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA). Within the college is a Graphic Design BFA program that provides opportunities to gain experience through the Center for Design. Examples of client partners include Adidas, Mercy Corps, and Pendleton. Other program features include the Design Lecture Series; workshops; panels; access to state-of-the-art production facilities; and study abroad experiences in places such as the UK and Malaysia. WU PNCA graduates have gone on to work at places such as Disney, Microsoft, Adult Swim, Google, MSNBC, The Jim Henson Company, Nike, IBM, the LA Times, Apple, Lexus, the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA), Adobe, Starbucks, Netflix, Adidas, Meta, Coca-Cola, Xbox, Samsung, Legoland, and Viceland.