Top Industrial Design Schools Admission and Tuition Comparison

Rhode Island School of Design is ranked first in Industrial Design and Art Center College of Design is placed in second.
Industrial design is the use of both applied art and applied science to improve the aesthetics, ergonomics, functionality, and/or usability of a product, and it may also be used to improve the product's marketability and even production. The role of an industrial designer is to create and execute design solution(read more at wiki)s for problems of form, usability, physical ergonomics, marketing, brand development, and sales.


Academic Factors Comparison Between Best Colleges in Industrial Design Major

2 public and 9 private schools are ranked in the top 10 Industrial Design colleges. The average acceptance ratio of the schools is 55.00% where Carnegie Mellon University has the tightest acceptance ratio of 22% and School of Visual Arts has the highest ratio of 74%. Total 155,745 students are enrolled into best Industrial Design schools where Ohio State University-Main Campus has the largest population with 59,482 students and Cranbrook Academy of Art has the smallest with 140 students. The average graduation rate is 74.80% and the average students to faculty ratio is 11.80:1 at those colleges.
Next table shows the academic information and key facts of the best Industrial Design colleges including acceptance ratio, graduation rates, student population, and students to faculty ratio.
Table. Best Industrial Design Colleges Overview
RankName Acceptance RatesGraduation RatesPopulationStudent-Faculty Ratio
1 Rhode Island School of Design
Providence, RI
34%90%2,477 9:1 (11.11 %)
2 Art Center College of Design
Pasadena, CA
69%73%2,138 9:1 (11.11 %)
3 Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA
22%90%13,258 10:1 (10.00 %)
4 Cranbrook Academy of Art
Bloomfield Hills, MI
--140 -
5 California College of the Arts
San Francisco, CA
65%60%1,983 11:1 (9.09 %)
5 Pratt Institute-Main
Brooklyn, NY
58%70%4,834 8:1 (12.50 %)
7 Ohio State University-Main Campus
Columbus, OH
54%84%59,482 19:1 (5.26 %)
8 Rochester Institute of Technology
Rochester, NY
55%66%16,507 13:1 (7.69 %)
8 School of Visual Arts
New York, NY
74%64%4,406 9:1 (11.11 %)
10 School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Chicago, IL
59%66%3,569 10:1 (10.00 %)
10 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Champaign, IL
60%85%46,951 20:1 (5.00 %)
Average55.00%74.80%155,745 (Total) 11.80:1 (8.47 %)

Best Industrial Design Colleges 2018 Tuition & Fees Comparison and 2019 Estimated Costs

Next table lists 2017-2018 tuition & fees and compares the costs between Best Industrial Design Colleges. The 2017-2018 costs are officially published by IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education. The estimated costs for year 2018-2019 are calculated and estimated based on each school's tuition rates last year.

For the undergraduate programs, the average tuition & fees of best Industrial Design schools is $42,856 where Carnegie Mellon University has the most expensive costs with $52,310 and Ohio State University-Main Campus has the lowest amount of tuition with with $29,696. The average graduate tuition & fees of best Industrial Design schools is $41,571 where California College of the Arts has the highest tuition with $49,720 and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has the lowest amount of tuition with with $31,811.
UndergraduateGraduate
Table. Best Industrial Design Colleges 2018 Undergraduate Tuition & Fees Comparison and 2019 Estimation
RankSchool Name 2018 Tuition & Fees2019 Estimated Tuition & Fees
In-StateOut-of-StateIn-StateOut-of-State
1Rhode Island School of Design $48,370$49,663
2Art Center College of Design $42,008$43,469
3Carnegie Mellon University $52,310$52,310
4Cranbrook Academy of Art --
5California College of the Arts $47,266$49,137
5Pratt Institute-Main $50,038$51,995
7Ohio State University-Main Campus $10,592$29,696 $11,178$31,239
8Rochester Institute of Technology $40,068$41,626
8School of Visual Arts $38,000$39,561
10School of the Art Institute of Chicago $49,610$53,795
10University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign $15,074$31,194 $13,223$28,610
Average$12,833$42,856$12,200$44,141
Table. Best Industrial Design Colleges 2018 Graduate School Tuition & Fees Comparison and 2019 Estimation
RankSchool Name 2018 Tuition & Fees2019 Estimated Tuition & Fees
In-StateOut-of-StateIn-StateOut-of-State
1Rhode Island School of Design $48,470$49,869
2Art Center College of Design $44,362$45,901
3Carnegie Mellon University $42,597$42,597
4Cranbrook Academy of Art $38,050$39,129
5California College of the Arts $49,720$51,684
5Pratt Institute-Main $32,358$33,150
7Ohio State University-Main Campus $12,425$33,897 $12,425$34,953
8Rochester Institute of Technology $43,840$45,675
8School of Visual Arts $42,570$44,319
10School of the Art Institute of Chicago $49,610$51,018
10University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign $18,224$31,811 $18,159$32,096
Average$15,325$41,571$15,292$42,763