Design Discovery #4: Choosing a Design School
Having plans to study design at bachelor or postgraduate level, but feeling uncertain of finding the right school to pursue your design interests … … Well, if your answer is yes, I hope this article will be a good guide in helping you to shortlist a few design programs you wish to pursue. Finding a suitable school to do design is very important in building up your design credibility. So below are a few steps you need to think about as you shortlist your school options:
1. Understanding your primary reason to study
It is very crucial to first understand why you wish to study. Carefully review your design study intentions and question your own design background. There are people who wish to study to build upon their design strengths to furthåçer advance their design specialization, while they are others who wished to study on areas that they are weak at, to expand their abilities. So ask yourself if you wish to go deeper into what you have already studied or if you wish to expand upon your previous scope of studies.
In Niti’s Bahn’s Core 77 article on “Why Grad School”, she noted a few good reasons that are worth reviewing about choosing a suitable graduate school: finding career advancement, opting for a career change (from non design to design), looking for overseas design exposure, getting design industry connections, doing design research and academic teaching.
2. Be aware of the unique strengths of different design schools
Every design school has their own unique teaching method that differentiates themselves from other schools. Therefore, knowing every school’s design forte can help you very much in choosing a design program that best matches your design interests.
BusinessWeek published a global list of D-Schools that gives an informative list of design specialization the respected design institutes are good at - from technology innovation, business management, design conceptualization, art and design, to being engineering driven. Do also take note of the industrial collaborations the schools have worked with and the renowned graduates that have come from these schools.Taking these factors into consideration helps provide a clearer understanding of how the schools are involved with the real-world industries too.
From the schools that you have short listed, then think carefully about the courses provided in detail to understand which course will benefit you the most in your future plans, and apply for it.
3. Being practical about the costs of studying the programs
While gaining admission into the dream course of your choice is a crucial first step, the next important step is to prepare enough finances to support your studies. More often than not, I have witnessed people getting accepted into their dream design course, but only to forsake the program soon after, because of major financial concerns, which is often overlooked.
Therefore, it is always advisable to always save up enough money before you go study, or give yourself ample time to apply for study scholarships or bank loans for the programs you wish to study. Be realistic of the time-line given to you to pay for the program. And if you intend to study overseas, do be practical about the finances required for your living expenses. Because you are not earning money as you study, you do need to be very careful with your finances.
Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Illinois Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
National University of Singapore
Rochester Institute of Technology
Delft University of Technology
Eindhoven University of Technology
Taking all these factors into account, Studio469 hopes these tips would be good practical guides for you to find the school of your choice.
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