Apply to schools that fit with your interests. Do your homework. Decide what you want to study based on your career and personal goals. Then find the best schools that will help you meet your goals. Some grad programs in design are research-oriented, requiring a written master’s thesis in order to graduate. Others focus on individual creative expressions and the arts. Still others are business-oriented with a focus on professional practice. Some emphasize solitary exploration while others pursue collaborative inquiry.

Your grad school success depends upon identifying the program where you can find harmony between your goals and the objectives of the program & institution.

The documents below represent valuable insights into design and design education. Professors at respected design institutions author these documents.

“Making Choices about the study of Graphic Design”
published by AIGA / NASAD
This document outlines several program profiles among current graduate offerings.

“Plain Talk: About Learning and Life...in Design”
by Sharon Helmer Poggenpohl
Sharon Poggenpohl teaches in the graduate program at the Institute of Design, IIT and is the editor and publisher of the scholarly journal Visible Language.

“What is Design? Some Questions and Answers”
by Charles Owen
Charles Owen is a professor at Institute of Design, IIT.