Evaluating schools to determine which one offers the right graphic design program is an important first step in the student enrolment process. With more than 30 colleges and universities in Minnesota that offer graphic design programs, determining the school that is the best fit for you can be a formidable task – while there is no decisionmaking formula for choosing a college, you can get a head start by evaluating school rankings and guides to help you find the right fit.

Best Graphic Design Programs in Minnesota for 2019

Top 10 Graphic Design Programs in Minnesota

School rankings are based on data published by the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), a system of surveys conducted annually by the U.S. Department of Education. Key factors include a commitment to high academic standards, return on investment, faculty ratings, and long-term employment statistics that track graduate success.
  • Minneapolis College of Art and Design
  • University of Minnesota
  • Augsburg College
  • Bethel University
  • Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota
  • University of Northwestern, St. Paul
  • Concordia University, Saint Paul
  • Minnesota State University Moorhead
  • Bethany Lutheran College
  • St. Cloud State University

Our Rankings

Graphic design is the name given to the kind of art used to communicate a purposeful message, often for a third party like a company or non-profit organization. Because graphic design professionals use their creative and technical skills to communicate messages in a visual manner, the best college and university programs for the field integrate practical and theoretical training to build students’ innovation, communication and problem-solving skills. The colleges below have a proven history of teaching excellence, and they continue to offer the best education in the arts.

Minnesota Employment & Jobs Outlook

Students who complete a graphic design major graduate with a skillset that is very much in demand by employers in many fields. Often however, these new graduates face strong competition for graphic design jobs due to the many talented individuals that apply for graphic design position. Current data from Careerinfonet.org indicates that the employment outlook for the field is definitely promising. Graphic design employment in Minnesota is forecast to increase by 2% or by 190 jobs every year from now until 2020. These new jobs are classified by Careerinfonet.org as ‘new growth’.