The first thing if you are looking for information about design schools is to specify what kind of design you are interested in, because it is a very wide field. Are you talking about graphic design, for example, fashion design, interior design, industrial design or another form of design?
However, we will assume you are asking about art and design. Of course the ratings and quality of any school or college can go up and down, but the following information was correct as of 2013, and all these schools have a long lasting and high reputation.
If you are looking for a large and famous school, the Academy of Art University in San Francisco is the largest school of art and design in the country and offers the widest range of programmes. There are 21 different areas of study with 6 degree programmes at a range of levels. There are also various different ways you can study at the Academy including part time and online courses. The Academy focuses on practical skills, and in particular on helping each student to start building up a portfolio and a wide skills range right from the start.
As an art university as well as a design school, the Academy offers courses in subjects as diverse as acting and landscape architecture, but the range of courses focusing just on design is also large. If you look at the list of courses you can find illustration, web design and industrial design as well as general design courses.
A smaller but very highly rated school is the Carnegie Mellon School of Design, part of the Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. This school places a lot of emphasis on the discipline of design as part of a broader approach that integrates humans, products and services within the wider environment. Theory and practice are considered equally important and there is a strong connection with the liberal arts and science curricula based in the wider university, as well as a thorough grounding in the use of the technologies that are essential to modern design.
The school offers bachelors’, masters’ and doctoral degrees, and offers the option to study design as either a major or minor area. There are also a number of shorter courses including the pre-college program, and the visiting scholar and international study options which are often suitable for overseas students.
A third school that may interest you is the Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts and Design, located within the wider Drexel University in Philadelphia. As its name may suggest, this college has a wider focus than pure design, and in fact it offers a total of 21 courses, the same number as the San Francisco Academy. Of these, 16 are undergraduate and 5 are postgraduate courses. The courses are taught with a strong emphasis on practical skills. The setting and learning conditions are attractive to many students as the courses are taught in small studio-type classrooms and the teaching staff are people who actually work in the design industry and have a wealth of practical experience. Because of the practical focus there is also a strong emphasis on the use of new technology and, due to the media arts focus, on the use of media and new media in graphic design in particular. Students learn to work in a variety of media and create a portfolio during the course. This, together with the 6 months practical experience that is included, is aimed at making them more ready for employment when they finish studying.
You can learn more about top design schools and find links to their websites here.