Every year, the World Brand Design Society (WBDS) publishes its Global Design Education Ranking. Positions are based on the number of WBDS student awards given to entrants from each college and university. The table is compiled on cumulative stats going back to 2019.
This article is from "Design Week" Newsletter.
This means the rankings depend on how many students from a particular course enter the awards. But it still provides an interesting global snapshot of design education, that highlights an eclectic range of courses.
This year’s table was topped by San Diego City College in California, with the University of Hertfordshire placing fifth. It was the only UK course to make the top ten, although Norwich University of the Arts placed 11th.
“Some will be surprised by our ranking: they absolutely should not be,” said Stephen Partridge, the university’s dean of the school of creative arts. “Our success is well-established. Our graduates enter into a multitude of careers and industries due to our courses providing them with a wide variety of transferable skills and experiences.”
Partridge claims that the course’s “strong industry and vocational links” set University of Hertfordshire graduates up for success.
Rich Mitchell, a senior lecturer on the Graphic Design undergrad programme, agrees these close ties with the industry help prepare students for the world of work.
Mitchell, who worked as an art director and designer for Fosters, The Guardian, Pizza Express and SONY Entertainment, explains that design knowledge is paired with relevant commercial know-how.
“We’re increasingly known as a course that produces graduates who not only have killer craft skills, but who understand how to generate brilliant and relevant ideas based on in-depth research and clever strategy,” he said.
“We have this relentless drive to make sure the course content remains interesting and relevant for our students. They are part of a course that is constantly being reimagined to stay at the forefront of graphic design, branding and advertising practices.
“From briefs, to technology, to ways-of-working; we make it our goal to produce graduates who have the skills, professionalism and emotional intelligence to be able to thrive at the highest levels of industry.”
The course has brought in partners like DesignStudio, Droga5, Turner Duckworth and PRADA in recent years.
Mitchell thinks the university’s proximity to London gives it a big advantage.
“Being 25-minutes by train from the world’s creative capital means we’re easy to get to for industry and visiting lecturers – who play pivotal roles in our students’ success,” he explains.
The full top ten in this year’s Global Design Education Ranking is:
- San Diego City College (USA)
- HSE Art & Design School (Russia)
- British Higher School of Art & Design (Russia)
- ArtCenter College of Design (USA)
- University of Hertfordshire (UK)
- The KPU Wilson School of Design (Canada)
- ELISAVA – Barcelona School of Design and Engineering
- School of Visual Arts (USA)
- FH Salzburg (Austria)
- Art Academy of Latvia (Latvia)
The other UK courses placed in the top 35 were Norwich University of the Arts (11), Shillington College (21), the University of Central Lancashire (22), Loughborough University (27) and Nottingham Trent University (34).
