I am looking to go for my undergraduate in graphic design. I am hoping to stay in Texas. I’ve been looking at the options but I would like to know if anyone has suggestions for me. I am having trouble finding good information and I am getting discouraged because it looks like most good schools are outside of Texas.
I think there’s some general advice I can repeat for you, it’s not all original to me.
Apply to a variety of schools in and out of state.
Choosing will take a lot of self-examination.
It’s often been said here that the cost of out of state tuition or big name Art school tuition is minor compared to the lifetime income of a career.
And it’s been often said that you get out of an education what you put into it. So if you’re a highly motivated individual and demand the best effort from yourself, most any school will get you the start you need.
I know that’s not what you wanted, perhaps after you visit some shcools it will become clearer.
Thank you for taking the time to respond. This is good solid advice. Of course I was hoping that someone would tell me that there are good schools in Texas for graphic design but I also realize that I don’t exactly live in a center of creativity and learning (as far as the design world goes).
I would definitely welcome suggestions for design schools in the states with good programs. I would like to go somewhere with a friendly community and a teaching staff that is excited to spread their knowledge and push students to expand their thinking.
I graduated from the design program at The University of Texas at Austin in 2009 and loved it. It’s not necessarily a graphic design program but rather a program that covers the whole spectrum of design. It leans a bit more towards graphic design but it gave me a great foundation in design theory and conceptual thinking. We did a little bit over everything, but differs from most graphic design programs because it deals less with the acquisition and polish of technical skills and more with a concept driven approach that produces much more thoughtful solutions to problems.
The professors come from a variety of backgrounds. Architects, furniture designers, photographers, industrial designers, typographers and design journalists. They provided me with a great foundation as well as an opportunity to dip my toes into different design disciplines. Turns out ID was what interested me and ended up going to grad school right after I graduated.
I had also wanted to close to home, but not too close and Austin seemed like a great fit. I had looked into all the other schools in Texas but UT turned out to be the right choice. There are tons of graphic design firms working in Austin and if you’re proactive you should be able to land an internship or two.
Hope this helps!
If you are looking for ID check out the University of Austin.
There’s a relatively new industrial design program at the University of Houston ( I taught a few semesters there when I was working down there in 2008)
They’ve only been around for about 5 years, but have potential - several of the students I worked with have gone on to do well soon after graduation, landing in spots at BMW Design Works, HP, CCI-Ryobi, Martha Stewart, Boshe, NASA, and others… some in design positions as far out as China and India. The winner of the IDSA South East Student merit award came from there, so did the winner of the Dell “Regeneration: International Green Computing Design Competition”
(edit some were internships)
Granted, those students really made their time there count and went above and beyond on projects, but it’s definitely gaining much credibility and worth a look.