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    Best Design Schools in World: Top Universities, Colleges
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    • Best Design Schools in World: Top Universities, Colleges

    Best Design Schools in World: Top Universities, Colleges

    #B.Des
    Team Careers360Updated on 20 Feb 2026, 05:03 PM IST

    Education abroad creates a dynamic environment for design aspirants as they can have a cross-cultural exposure to build a global perspective necessary for design. Aspiring design students always look for the best design colleges in the world to pursue their dream career. Candidates should know more about the top design schools in the world before taking admission like their ranking, fees, courses offered and more. In this article, we have discussed about the best design schools in the world based on QS ranking. Read further to know more about the top design colleges in world.

    Best Design Schools in World: Top Universities, Colleges
    best design school in world

    Top 10 Best Design Schools in the World

    List of best design schools in the world

    Country

    QS Ranking of top design schools in the world

    Harvard University, Cambridge

    United States of America

    4

    University College London, London

    United Kingdom

    9

    University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

    United States of America

    12

    University of Sydney, Sydney

    Australia

    19

    University of New South Wales

    Australia

    19

    The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh

    United Kingdom

    22

    Tsinghua University, Beijing

    China

    25

    University of California, Los Angeles

    United States of America

    29

    Australian National University

    Australia

    34

    New York University, New York

    United States of America

    38

    Best Design Schools in World

    Global education in design can open up many new opportunities for the students. The Global Design schools offer high quality of education combined with innovative technology which can help in personal and professional development of a student. Here are some of the top design schools in the world that provide enhanced career opportunities to the design aspirants.

    Harvard University, Cambridge

    One of the top design colleges in world is Harvard University Cambridge. It is a private research university founded in 1636 in Cambridge, United States. This prestigious university offers more than 170 courses across various disciplines. The University has 13 schools and institutes including the Harvard Medical School, the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the Harvard Law School, and the Harvard Business School. In the Design field, Harvard University offers M.Des i.e. Master of Design which is an post-graduate course of 2 years. It is a full-time course.

    Course Offered: M.Des

    Duration: 2 years

    University College London, London

    A renowned public research university located in London, England, University College London is considered as one of the best design colleges in the world. It was founded in 1826 with 28 Nobel laureates. Students enrol in thousands from all over the world. The University College London offers various PG and Ph.D programs under design discipline, such as M.Phil Environmental Design and Engineering, Ph.D Environmental Design and Engineering, M.Sc Building and Urban Design in Development, M.Sc Bio-Integrated Design, and more.

    Course

    Duration

    Fees

    M.Phil Environmental Design and Engineering

    3 years

    Rs. 27.75 L/yr

    Ph.D Environmental Design and Engineering

    3 years


    M.Phil Architectural Design

    3 years

    Rs. 27.75 L/yr

    Ph.D Architectural Design

    3 years

    Rs. 27.75 L/yr

    M.Sc Building and Urban Design in Development

    1 year

    Rs. 30.72 L/yr

    ME Engineering and Architectural Design

    4 years

    Rs. 30.72 L/yr

    M.Sc Urban Design and City Planning

    1 year

    Rs. 34.00 L/yr

    M.Sc Bio-Integrated Design

    2 years

    Rs. 34.00 L/yr

    M.Arch Fire Safe Design

    1 year

    Rs. 34.00 L/yr

    M.Arch Urban Design

    1 year

    Rs. 37.07 L/yr

    University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

    University of Pennsylvania also known as Penn, is a private research university established in 1740. It is another one best design colleges in the world. To get into the University of Pennsylvania, candidates must have a GPA requirement of 3.9 GPA or above or a percentile of 75 or above. The university offers one course in design. BA Design is a full time UG course for a duration of 4 years.

    Course Offered: BA Design

    Duration: 4 years

    University of Sydney, Sydney

    University of Sydney is one of the oldest Universities located in Sydney. It was established in 1850. It is a public research university. It is one of the top design colleges in world. University of Sydney offers 3 courses in the Design field: M.Sc Architectural Science – Illumination Design, B.Des Interaction Design, and B.Des. Hons, for the duration of 18 months, 3 years, and 1 year respectively.

    Course

    Duration

    Fees

    B.Des Interaction Design

    3 years

    Rs. 25.44 lakhs per year

    B.Des. Hons

    1 year

    Rs. 25.44 lakhs per year

    M.Sc Architectural Science – Illumination Design

    18 months

    Rs.23.80 lakhs per year

    The University of New South Wales

    The University of New South Wales in Sydney ranks as the fifth-best design universities in the world. It is also known as UNSW Sydney which is a public research university in Australia. The University of New South Wales which is the best university for design in the world offers two courses in design BA honest design and MA design the details about which is given below.

    Course

    Duration

    Fees

    BA Hons Design

    1 Year

    Rs. 20.34 lakhs per year

    MA Design

    2 Years

    Rs. 20.48 lakhs per year

    The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh

    The University of Edinburgh was established in 1583 in Edinburgh. It is a public research university. The University of Edinburgh is among one of the best university for design in the world. It offers various courses in numerous fields of study. The university is known for its academic excellence. It has only one course in design i.e. M.Sc Design Informatics. It is a full-time course for the duration of 1 year. The fee for this course is Rs. 40.78 lakhs for one year.

    Course Offered: M.Sc Design Informatics

    Duration: 1 year

    Fee: Rs. 40.78 lakhs for one year

    Also Check:

    Tsinghua University, Beijing

    Another best design universities in the world is Tsinghua University. It was established in 1911. It is spread over 1137 acres of land. It provides students with more than 49 UG, PG, and PhD courses. Tsinghua University, Beijing offers MA in Design which is a full-time course for the duration of 2 years. The fee structure for this course is between Rs. 3.23 and Rs.5.19 lakhs per year.

    Course Offered: MA in Design

    Duration: 2 years

    University of California, Los Angeles

    University of California was established in 1919 in Los Angeles, USA. It is a highly prestigious design institute in the world. University of California, Los Angeles offers BA Design course for the duration of 4 years. It is a full-time course and fee structure is Rs. 39.00 lakhs per year.

    Course Offered: BA Design

    Duration: 4 years

    Australian National University, Australia

    Australian National University is among the best design colleges in the world. It is a government owned university founded in 1944 in Australia. The university is known for nurturing brilliant students around the world. Australian National University offers two design courses: B.Des and B.Des Hons where first one is of 3 years and the latter is of 1 year course. The fee structure for both the course is Rs. 22.45 lakhs per year.

    Course

    Duration

    B.Des

    3 years

    B.Des Hons

    1 year

    New York University, New York

    NYU or New York University is a university located in New York. It was founded in the year 1831 and has grown from a group of students of 158 to more than 50,000 students. It is one of the best design universities in the world. The university offers two design courses: BS Integrated Design and Media and MS Integrated Design and Media of 4 years and 2 years respectively. Both are full-time courses.

    Course

    Duration

    BS Integrated Design and Media

    4 years

    MS Integrated Design and Media

    2 years

    Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

    Q: Which country is best to study design?
    A:

    The United States of America, Australia, Italy, Denmark, Sydney and Sweden are some of the popular countries to study design. 

    Q: Which country is best to study graphic design?
    A:

    The best country to study graphic design would be the UK and USA due to their high concentration of art studios.

    Q: Which is the best degree in design?
    A:

    There are many degrees available in design, however, some best degrees are Media Design, Product Design, Textile Design, Visual Design, Graphic Design, and UX/UI Design. 

    Q: How can I join design school after 12th?
    A:

    After completing 12th, start preparing for the entrance exam which is necessary to get admission in any design school. 

    Q: Which is the best design institute in the world?
    A:

    The list of best design institutes in the world have been provided in the article above for the aspirants willing to pursue their career in design sector.

    Q: What courses are offered at Harvard University in the design field?
    A:

    Design thinking and innovation, Digital Marketing Strategy and other Business-related courses with design elements.

    Q: How long are the design programs at the University of Sydney?
    A:

    Design programs at the University of Sydney ranges from 18 months to 4 years.

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    Questions related to B.Des

    On Question asked by student community

    Have a question related to B.Des ?

    Hello. Yes VIT offers a 4-year degree programme in BDes in Industrial Design. You can check more about VIT School of Design BDes by visiting the college link given here.

    No specific stream is required in Class 11 for BDes admissions. You can join B.Des (Bachelor of Design) with any stream in Class 11th (Science, Commerce, or Arts/Humanities). Top design institutes like NID ( NID DAT scores) and NIFT ( NIFT Entrance Exam ), as well as IITs (via UCEED),

    Hi Paavni,

    You can change your course from Bachelor in Fashion Technology to Bachelor of Design in NIFT. Please remember that Physics and Mathematics are compulsory in Class 12 for BFTech. However, BDes programme is open to all streams. Click on the link below for details:

    Yes, you can secure admission into BDes or similar programmes without appearing for an entrance exam. Institutes such as the Army Institute of Fashion and Design offer direct admission based on marks in 10th and 12th. Additionally, you can also apply to private universities such as UPES, which offer design

    Hello, the UCEED cut-off marks is expected to be higher this year. The UCEED 2026 Part A cutoff score is 83.76 marks which is higher than last year. After also, accounting for marks in Part B, 120-125 marks is expected to be a good score for IIITDM Jabalpur. Additionally, you