I found that University of Washington School of Art and Philadelphia University in Pennsylvania offer industrial design program. Does anybody know about these schools? If you have any info, please let me know!
bump…
i’m also interested to hear what you guys hvae to say about phila U.
I am a student at PhilaU, and we have an excellent industrial design program. They do great work. I am not studying ID (i am graphic design), but I will say that the program is good. This school is known for its excellent work in textile, fashion, architectural, graphic, and industrial design. They do a lot of innovative product development and prototyping (eg. furniture, tools, lighting). The students come up with a lot of creative stuff. At the end of every school year, there is a student show showcasing all of the work. If you are interested, you should check that out (dont know the location- it changes yearly). Or just call the Admissions office and ask about tours. As far as student population, it has a very low percentage of minority students. When I entered it was about 7%, and I am a senior now so it has increased since then, but not by much. If you are looking for the HBCU type college, this isnt it. But you will get a great education and meet some wonderful people in the industry. Many of our professors are very well respected in their disciplines especially within Philly. Hope this helps you out! 
I am a student at Phillyu in the ID program. I can tell you from first hand experience that it is a good program. I am a 3rd year student and it is easy to tell that the program is progressively getting better year by year. It is a relatively new program (about 7-8 years), but it is coming along quite well. We just got a few new cool machines like a 3D printer, 3D scanner, CNC machines, laser cutter, and there are more to come as the program is actually expanding and moving to a larger area. It is a great time to jump aboard in ID. The profs are very knowledgeable about the industry. The program is set up to get you a job. By your senior year you will know much about the internal industry workings and what it ist that employers want to see. Some noteables in recent news are that a group from phillyu won 3rd in the dyson eye for why comp last year and a senior won a bunch of loot from a staples contest this past summer. The faculty and students are always thinking of ways to make the program better and more admirable. There is an active IDSA chapter here that continually plans designy activities and trips to studios. At the least, tour the school and check it out for yourself. There is a section on philau.edu but the site isn’t the best. For an ID school in PA I would say it’s one of your better bets.
Thanks for the great info! I am now very excited about the school. I decided to visit the school this weekend, so hopefully I can get more info there!
Hi. I visited PhilaU today. The campus seemed very nice. Although I wasn’t able to see ID department today.I may contact with a chairperson so I can see facilities. The campus was located suburb of Philly and it seemed hard to get around without a car. And are there any stores to get materials and tools for school projects? I was wondering about it.
any links to student’s work or work from alumni?
I’m an alumni of Philadelphia University…
The program was very young when I attended (only two graduating classes before me). Since then the program has evolved leaps and bounds. The faculty are very personable and they are talented.
I will state that the competitive environment may not rival those of Pratt, CIA, or RISD. If you want to push yourself with the best in the field then consider other schools. But like I said they are a developing fast and the program has become extremely competitive as has every single other decent design program in this country.
- Check out my link for some of my work -
Thank you for the comment. I really appreciated. I am going to do more research about industrial design school in the U.S and other coutries. But Phila U seems to have a good probram,too.
Seriously late reply, but I just found this place! I am a design student at the University of Washington, so I just had to reply. We are not very well known for ID, but the program is very up and coming. They recently did a complete over haul of the entire “design devision” and redesigned admissions, majors and hired a couple new faculty members. I am in the very small “design studies” program, which is a multi-disiplinary, self directed design major and allows me to take upper level classes from both the Visual Communication Design and Industrial Design major tracks. Anyhow, I love the ID classes I have taken so far, and I feel like the program on the whole is really great. One of my favorite professors, Axel, (http://depts.washington.edu/vcd/designs/02/f_roesler.shtml) is a brilliant ID guy from Germany. He is incredibly well educated, of course, and is one of the most forward thinking and inspiring people I have ever met. I haven’t had the new ID prof. yet, but I will this coming year.
The website is not very up to date regarding ID admissions, or faculty, because of the restructuring in the dept. that happened just this past year.
Anyhow, if you hvae any more specific questions about ID at UW, please ask!
The University of Washington, used to have a fairly well known ID program, and turned out some very prominent graduates.
It was my understanding that, it sort of went into sharp decline, and staff members started to leave… so they scrapped the program.
I think that the restructuring is a new attemp to revive the ID program there. I’m not sure what the level of work from graduates is. I live in Seattle and I haven’t seen any portfolios for UW students.
here’s a PhilaU page with links to alumni portfolios:
Whats you all’s opinion of University of Phili Vs. The University of the arts (also in Philli) as for as ID goes? I have only taken a look at the websites and from what I can see U of the arts looks better , but that a ver superficial judgment. what do you guys think?