Rhode Island School of Design, as its name implies, is located in Providence, Rhode Island. According to "U.S. News & World Report," the graduate program in graphic design "emphasizes the roles of social context, media and aesthetics in the production of visible language systems."
The program offers two tracks: a two-year program for those who have already earned undergraduate degrees in graphic design, and a three-year program for those who had different undergraduate majors.
During the final year of the program, students create theses. Visiting speakers and experts in the field add value to the coursework.
Rhode Island School of Design
Master of Fine Arts Program
2 College St.
Providence, R.I. 02903
401-454-6100
risd.edu/graduate_graphic.cfm
Cranbrook Academy of Art, near Detroit, has been educating students in the arts since the 1930s. According to the Design Department website: "The Department continues to produce designers with an active disdain for 'the rules' and for established practices, with a resistance to 'categorization.' We want to create a home for designers with the courage to define life and work on their own terms." If you think outside the box, Cranbrook might be the place for you.
At Cranbook, you won't attend classes or turn in projects. You direct your own education, spending as much time as you desire in the design studios, which are open 24 hours per day. Designers-in-residence lend their experience and expertise to the few who are accepted into Cranbook's design program.
Cranbrook Academy of Art
39221 Woodward Ave.
Bloomfield Hills, Mich. 48304
248-645-3300
cranbrookart.edu/Pages/2D.html
If inside the box is the place for you, more traditional Yale University could be where you find your niche. This university, better known for its programs in history and English, rounds out the top three best graduate programs in graphic design as chosen by "U.S. News & World Report."
Yale's School of Art offers a master of fine arts in graphic design that focuses on a cohesive thesis. The thesis is made up of a variety of projects that are conceived during the two-year program. Unlike Cranbrook, you will take classes at Yale. You'll meet with small groups to work on your thesis, spend time in the studio with faculty and, of course, there are lectures, presentations and workshops.
Yale University
School of Art
1156 Chapel St.
New Haven, Conn. 06520
203-432-2600
http://art.yale.edu