Strengths
Overview
With its devoted focus, an average class size of 13 and a 10-1 student-faculty ratio, this 100-year-old school guarantees students a close-up, in-depth look at an increasingly multifaceted field. “You get a lot of one-on-one time with the instructor, which leads to more in-depth learning,” says Anne Aristya, a recent grad who now works for Gensler in Singapore. Indeed, NYSID classifies itself as “a small school in a big city, educating designers [from some 35 different countries] to succeed around the globe.” Such access and specialization doesn’t go unnoticed: DesignIntelligence ranked the undergraduate and graduate programs first and second best in the United States in 2017. Projects such as a two-week charette for the 2014 MFA class in China’s Yunnan Province (to design dorms and outdoor spaces for a high school) offer real-world experience before graduation.
Notable alumni
Susan Nagle of Bentel & Bentel, Yiannos Vrousgos and Brooke Lichtenstein of Input Creative Studio, Yuan Yuan Ma of Tony Chi and Associates
